Male Birth Control And The Controlversial Issue

Male birth control is considered a controversial issue for lots of reasons. A few years ago large pharmaceutical companies like Schering, Organon or Wyeth announced the production of hormonal birth control designed especially for men, but the results of their research hasn’t been finalized yet. Why? Because the investments are huge and the market is not that receptive to male birth control pills. So far, many drug manufacturers have abandoned their projects, stopping research programs in progress.

Statistics show a certain willingness on the part of men to use alternative forms of birth control. Normally, male birth control is administered as an injection with testosterone that would prevent the production of sperm. Women, however, have shown reluctance towards entrusting men with birth control treatments. For the moment, vasectomy is the only viable male birth control option, yet, few people are willing to try it. 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. Hormonal male birth control may be produced either as a monthly shot or as a topical product. 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 rate of non-response. 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, there are millions of spermatozoon that have to be inactivated. The efficiency of this birth control method also seems to depend on race factors.

Condoms definitely make the most viable 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.