No baby booms or birth sex ratio changes following Fifty Shades of Grey in the United States

The absence of spikes in births or M/T may have been due to exaggeration of the FSOG effect, it may only have provoked planned pregnancies, or modern contraception was sufficiently effective to prevent extra conceptions. The media build-up may also have stimulated a Hawthorne effect, with FSOG-affected individuals employing effective contraception. This study highlights the importance of measurement of cause and effect since anticipated results may not always ensue from events.