SIZING IT UP

HOW body parts can change. This week: Ovaries shrink if you’re on the Pill THE ovaries of women on the contraceptive pill are smaller than those of women not taking it, according to research by Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

The study came about after researcher Dr Kathrine Birch Petersen noticed that young women at her fertility clinic had ovaries that looked closer in size to those of menopausal women (ovaries get naturally smaller with age).

‘Oral contraceptives inhibit follicle growth in the ovary and inhibit the size of hormoneproducing tissues, so you see a change in size,’ she said.

‘Women younger than 30 who have been on the Pill for more than ten years can have a 50 per cent reduction in ovary size.’

The good news is that the size change is not permanent and it does reverse within six months in most cases. ‘Although some women can take up to a year,’ said Dr Birch Peterson.