Peptides for women's health: what TikTok gets wrong

What did @o.g_family actually say?

The creator, a mother speaking to other mothers, made several specific claims: that low libido after pregnancy is "actually a hormone imbalance," that carrying a boy floods your body with testosterone while carrying a girl loads you up with estrogen, and that both hormones can "lower your libido tremendously." She also plugged a medication called Vyleesi as "female Viagra" and said a virtual doctor visit costs $15 with insurance coverage. This is a sympathetic, well-intentioned video, and parts of it are genuinely useful. But some of the biology she describes is simplified to the point of being misleading, and the Vyleesi framing needs a serious correction.

Does the science back this up?

The core claim, that postpartum libido loss is frequently tied to hormonal shifts, is solid. Less solid is the specific mechanism she describes. After delivery, the dominant hormonal story is estrogen and progesterone dropping sharply, while prolactin rises if breastfeeding. That combination, especially low estrogen paired with high prolactin, is well-documented as a driver of reduced sexual desire and vaginal dryness. Shifren and colleagues (2008, Obstetrics and Gynecology) found that low sexual desire is the most common female sexual complaint, with hormonal factors playing a significant but not exclusive role. The "pregnant with a boy means more testosterone" claim has some marginal research support, but the effect size is small and the clinical relevance to postpartum libido is essentially unstudied. The real hormonal culprit postpartum is usually estrogen deficiency and prolactin elevation, not testosterone from the fetus.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

Credit where it is due: recommending that women see their OB and get hormone levels tested is genuinely good advice. The first doctor who told her it was "just part of being a woman" was, as she put it, wrong to dismiss her, and the second doctor who recommended investigation was right. That part of the video is legitimately helpful.

What she got wrong:

• The fetal sex hormone transfer theory is oversimplified. Fetal testosterone does circulate, but attributing postpartum low libido to testosterone absorbed during a male pregnancy is not supported by clinical evidence.
• Calling Vyleesi "female Viagra" is inaccurate. Vyleesi (bremelanotide) is a melanocortin receptor agonist injected before sex. Sildenafil (Viagra) is a PDE5 inhibitor taken orally. They work through completely different mechanisms and are not comparable. Vyleesi is also FDA-approved specifically for premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, not general postpartum libido loss.
• The "$15 virtual visit through your insurance" claim is unverifiable and almost certainly varies widely by plan. Presenting it as a general rule is misleading.

What should you actually know?

Postpartum low libido is real, common, and treatable. But the treatment pathway matters. A 2020 review by Laumann and colleagues published in Archives of Sexual Behavior confirmed that sexual dysfunction in postpartum women is multifactorial: hormonal, psychological, relational, and physical recovery all contribute. If you are breastfeeding, prolactin suppresses estrogen, and that low-estrogen state is often the primary driver of both low desire and painful sex. Hormone testing is a reasonable starting point, but a full picture should include thyroid function, prolactin levels, and a mental health screen, since postpartum depression and anxiety are independently associated with reduced libido. Vyleesi is a real, FDA-approved medication, but it carries a side effect profile that includes nausea in roughly 40 percent of users and transient blood pressure changes. It is not a casual first-line fix, and anyone considering it should have a real clinical conversation, not just a $15 chat.