A study suggests that women really are more sexually appealing to their partners when they ovulate. A UCLA research team led by Dr. Martie Haselton showed two kinds of pictures of a woman to 42 men and women: the first one taken during her ovulation and the second at other times. It turns out that 60 percent of the men found her more attractive in the pictures taken during her ovulation period.

It is established that women go through physical changes during their ovulation, and experts say ovulation activates the secretion of hormones, which makes women’s skin softer, their breasts larger, and increases their unique body odor. Some explain that around 14 days after their menstrual period ends, the cervix becomes more elastic and the vagina produces more viscous liquid, which makes having sex more comfortable and helps sperm enter the womb.

More active secretion of hormones during the ovulation period temporarily increases women’s sexual desire, some studies suggest. As a result, women change their behavior without knowing it, wearing heavier make-up, more accessories, and clothes that expose more of their body, experts say. Sometimes, women who are ovulating also become more competitive with other women or become more interested in men other than their own partner, generally feeling more attracted to masculine pheromones. That is probably due to changes in the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. “Estrogen and testosterone temporarily surge for one or two days during women’s ovulation period,” says Kim Mi-ran with Bundang CHA General Hospital. “This is why women’s sexual desire becomes the strongest during that time.” Estrogen tends to make women feel highly sensitive to even a trivial stimulus, and testosterone increases their sexual desire.

Some behavior experts say women have a stronger desire to reproduce during ovulation, just like animals during their mating season, to increase the chances of getting pregnant. Another characteristic women show during ovulation is a variety of pains. When eggs are ejected from the ovary, it can cause pain, and some women even experience a small amount of vaginal bleeding. As their breasts enlarge, it can also be painful.

But established theories still do not recognize such psychological and behavioral changes. “Behavioral changes are the result of combination of hormonal imbalance, errors in the human body’s network and other factors, so it is too premature to draw a conclusion just by focusing on hormonal changes,” says Prof. Ko Young-hoon of Korea University’s Guro Hospital.

(englishnews@chosun.com )