Prescription pill that prevents divorce? Drug me up!

Would you take a prescription drug to improve your marriage? If you were Matt French's patient, you might. French, a chiropractic physician in Arizona, is touting the use of the hormone oxytocin as a treatment for marital issues.

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Oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, is produced by the brain's pituitary gland and is known for the role it plays in the bonding of parents to their newborns. Moms may also recognize the name of synthetic oxytocin, Pitocin, as the hormone given to pregnant women to help induce or speed up their labor.

In French's Wellness Solutions Clinic, he prescribes daily doses of oxytocin, in the form of a bioidentical hormone, for both spouses in a distressed marriage, particularly if their problems involve intimacy issues. He cites anecdotal evidence from patients who are feeling "more open and more concerned with the people around them" as proof that the supplemental oxytocin works.

Hmmm.

Other research has shown that increased oxytocin can actually have the opposite effect on a person. For example, women who have high levels of oxytocin and have recently had a bad relationship experience are more likely to be anxious and less forgiving.

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So how do you know which way the oxytocin is going to affect you? Well, you don't. Which leads me to think that taking a daily supplement of oxytocin is not the route I would go if I were having marital issues. Relying on drugs, especially one whose efficacy has not been scientifically proven and whose long-term side effects are not known, seems like a quick fix for these couples without having them actually dealing with their real marital issues. And that is if it works.

If you're looking for an all natural way to increase your body's production of oxytocin? Have an orgasm or two. Orgasms release oxytocin into the blood stream, one of the reasons we feel so relaxed post-sex. And orgasms are always good for your relationship.

Would you take oxytocin to try and improve your marriage?

Image via Charles Williams/Flickr

Written by Jennifer Cullen for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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