---
title: Does birth control change mood and premenstrual symptoms? | Niyora
description: Birth control reduced irritability and aggression between periods and made cycles shorter, more regular, and less painful. It also caused nausea, vomiting, wa
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-menstrual-cycle-1972/
---

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- Does birth control change mood and premenstrual symptoms?

Randomised trial, 1972

# Does birth control change mood and premenstrual symptoms?

Birth control reduced irritability and aggression between periods and made cycles shorter, more regular, and less painful. It also caused nausea, vomiting, water retention, and drowsiness. We cannot be very confident because this was a tiny study of only 8 women.

 Early or limited evidence

8 healthy single university students at Stanford

## What they did

Double-blind crossover study of 8 healthy single female university students at Stanford. Each took Enovid (a birth control pill) or placebo for 4 cycles. They tracked their mood daily and had various tests measuring mood, blood hormones, and urine chemicals on 9 days of each cycle.

## What they found

On placebo, women had more premenstrual and menstrual irritability, tenseness, and aggression. On Enovid, cycles were shorter, more regular, and less painful. Enovid reduced irritability and aggression between periods but caused nausea, vomiting, water retention, and drowsiness. Blood cortisol was higher throughout the cycle on Enovid.

## What it means for you

Birth control may reduce some mood symptoms related to the cycle but causes other side effects. This study is very small (n=8) and from 1972, so results may not apply to newer birth control pills or a broader population.

8

Participants

4

Cycles studied

9

Days per cycle with measurements

## About the study

Original title THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE Authors Sam Silbergeld, Neil Brast, Ernest Pascal Noble Journal Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey Year 1972 Study design Randomised trial Participants 8 What was tested Enovid (oral contraceptive pill) versus placebo Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00006254-197206000-00018](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006254-197206000-00018)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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