Sweat of nursing mothers lifts libido
Thursday October 18 2007
The sex drive of women could be boosted by drugs based on chemicals found in the sweat of breast-feeding mothers, a scientist predicted yesterday.
The research, which Martha McClintock, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, discussed at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Washington, established that chemical cues found in the sweat of nursing mothers can raise sexual desire among women, suggesting that extracts could be developed into an aphrodisiac drug.
Desire
Professor McClintock, who led the study of libido in women, said: "It could be used for the treatment of disorders of desire. For men, the major problem is erectile dysfunction, for which there is Viagra, but for women it is a disorder of desire and there isn't anything as effective."
In the study, a team from the University of Chicago and the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia used a daily questionnaire about moods and sexual desire that was completed by a group of women who were asked to sniff a pad twice a day that had been scented with sweat from a breast-feeding mother. The women were not told the reason for the research.
The results showed that sexual desire increased by 24pc in women with partners, and the number of sexual fantasies increased by 17pc in women without partners. In a control group, women without partners reported a 28pc decrease in sexual fantasies. (© The Times, London)
