Women who meet their spouses while they are taking the pill may find them less attractive once they stop taking contraceptives, according to research.

Scientists have found that newly married women who were taking hormonal contraceptives when they met their husbands see them differently when they stop using the pill.

With men whose faces did not conform to objective measures of attractiveness, the women became less satisfied with their relationship when they stopped using oral contraception.

Men who were deemed to be attractive, however, saw their wives’ satisfaction increase when they stopped the pill.

The findings suggest hormonal contraceptives can interfere with the way women assess male attractiveness and so how satisfied they are with their partner. While relationships are usually built on a range of traits, the researchers warn that contraceptives can have an unexpected influence on what women look for in a partner.

Michelle Russell, a psychologist at Florida State University, said: “Marital satisfaction is strongly associated with mental and physical health and a host of physical, mental and social outcomes for children.

“The fact that wives’ hormonal contraceptive use was linked to their marital satisfaction suggests that hormonal contraceptives may have far-reaching implications, both beneficial and harmful.”

The researchers followed 118 newlywed couples over four years, with the women completing regular surveys on their level of satisfaction with their relationship and their use of contraceptives. The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also used “trained observers” to rate the men’s facial attractiveness.

They found that women who had been using the pill when they met their husbands and later stopped taking the contraceptives saw a change in how they rated their relationship. Those with attractive husbands became more satisfied while those with less attractive husbands became less satisfied.

Those that had not been taking the pill when they met their husband but later started did see a change in how they felt about their relationship.

However, women who changed their use of the pill reported that their relationship became less sexually satisfying regardless of what their partner looked like.

The findings mirror previous research that has indicated that hormonal contraceptives interfere with women’s preference for male body odour and can influence how sexually satisfying they find a relationship.

Fertility experts have warned women against abandoning the pill if they are taking it as the consequences of unintended pregnancy could have a far greater impact.

Dr Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at Sheffield University and chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: “To even think about coming on or off the pill to influence any aspect of a relationship would be the wrong thing to do in my opinion. The pill is an important contraceptive and a pregnancy when not planned could change a relationship irreversibly.”