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Male Birth Control

Lots of controversies have accumulated on the topic of male birth control, and things have been going like this for quite a while now. Schering, Wyeth, Organon and other large pharmaceutical companies used to be actively involved in the development of male birth control, but their efforts have been put on hold indefinitely. Why? The market seems to be little receptive to male birth control shots or pills, and the investments in technologies are huge. So far, many drug manufacturers have abandoned their projects, stopping research programs in progress.

Some men are willing to try other forms of birth control. Normally, male birth control should consist of some form of testosterone shot or pill that would impair the production of sperm. Women, however, have shown reluctance towards entrusting men with birth control treatments. At present, vasectomy is the only viable male birth control solution besides the condom. How is hormonal birth control supposed to work for men?

The male birth control solution has to combine testosterone with progestin so as to suppress the production of sperm but with process reversibility. This is not possible with a pill because the testosterone would be too quickly broken down by the liver. The solution seems to come from a monthly shot, or the combination of the ingredients in a topical products such as a cream. Biannual implants could also be a solution, but the procedure required is considered too invasive.

Between 10% and 15% of men have a low reaction to hormonal male birth control, which is quite a high inefficiency rate. The issue is in the number of cells that need to be blocked. While with female hormonal treatments, there is just one egg to prevent from fertilizing, with male birth control shot, the treatment has to solve the issue of millions of spermatozoon. The efficiency of this birth control method also seems to depend on race factors.

Last but not least, we should also briefly refer to condoms as the most commonly used form of male birth control. Couples successfully use condoms, and so do people who have occasional sex. It is the only birth control method that is non-invasive and protects against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

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