Yahoo is running a story based on an article on Jeanna Bryner's article at LiveScience.com. It says that the women who take birth control pill tend to seek mates with same Major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This happens because birth control pills stop ovulation in women, causing them not to seek out a mate. Such type of mating creates fertility problem in future generations and makes them unfit.
As per the article:
MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring's immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.
It also says:
Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matching-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.
Stewart Craig Roberts from University of Newcastle in England says:
Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems, but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.
This research has higher ramifications.
- In countries where personal freedom is highly valued over religious or moral values by youngsters, use of birth control pills would mean that they are building relationships with mates which are essentially not suitable to them; there will be reduced satisfaction and more wandering eyes, would mean that most relationships will be short-lived, creating further breakdown of social family structure.
- In countries where generation is more workaholic or for any reason prefers to use birth control pills, a similar impact will be created. These countries may show that newer generations are less fit or an impact similar to above where social family structure starts breaking down.
Some of the countries that come to my mind are USA and Japan.