Contraception
The endless forms of birth control for women still present significant and complicated problems but men’s birth control options are only slightly more scientifically advanced than using a poncho in a rainstorm - Brad Casey
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The Reason We Don’t Have Male Birth Control Is Simpler Than You Think
Many people, including us, have lamented why the world still doesn’t have male birth control. A new Atlantic story looks at the history of the effort including arguments that we don’t have a male pill because pharmaceutical companies don’t think it would make money and a concern that men wouldn’t be trusted to take it. But there is another, much simpler explanation: It’s just a lot harder to make reversible birth control for sperm-wielders.
A quick primer on how the existing options work: birth control pills, patches, rings, and shots use hormones to prevent ovulation in women. No egg, no pregnancy. In some women, hormonal IUDs may also stop the ovaries from releasing an egg, but…
Resources
Everything you need to know about male hormonal birth control
There are several promising options in the works.
A New Male Birth Control Pill is Being Tested. Here's What to Know
“In females you have many, many methods. You have the pill, you have the patch, you have the vaginal ring, you have intrauterine devices, injections,” Wang says. “In men there is nothing that is like hormonal contraception. The standard is not equal for the genders.”
Don't Hold Your Breath Waiting for Male Birth Control
Proving that male birth control is as safe and effective as existing female birth control will be an additional hurdle, particularly because men aren't the ones risking pregnancy.
Here’s what’s on the horizon for a male contraceptive pill – but don’t hold your breath
The female contraceptive pill has helped millions of women take control of their fertility and reproductive health since it became available in 1961. Yet a male equivalent has yet to be fully developed. This effectively leaves men with only two viable contraceptive options: condoms or a vasectomy.
Male Birth Control Could Actually Happen. But Do Men Want It?
The contraceptive gel is being tested in nine cities. It seems to work, but it’s hard to know how eager men are for the new option.
No, We Still Do Not Have Hormonal Birth Control For Men
Men, as CNN likes to point out, have “only two” choices for birth control — condoms or a vasectomy — whereas women have so many! And gosh, are they great. So great, in fact, that quest continues to develop more birth control choices for men, especially of the hormonal variety.
The Different Stakes of Male and Female Birth Control
A clinical trial of contraceptives for men was halted because of side effects—side effects that women have dealt with for decades.
The Perfect Birth Control for Men Is Here. Why Can't We Use It?
The future is here, and it's not what we thought it would be. But screw flying cars and hoverboards—where is our legit birth control?
The world’s been waiting for male birth control. India may be the first to launch it
Some researchers are skeptical that it’s safe and effective.
We’re one step closer to a male birth control ‘pill’
The gel is expected to have less severe side effects than the injection since the hormones are released more consistently, rather than all at once every couple of months, according to Diana Blithe, chief of the contraceptive development program at the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, who’s leading the trial.
Where the Hell Is Birth Control for Men?
For years, headlines have promised birth control for cis men is just around the corner. The truth is more complicated.
Young men still don’t want to talk about contraception – here’s why
In a culture where almost all forms of contraception are designed for women, most men couldn’t come to a satisfactory resolution between sharing equal responsibility for contraception and respecting a woman’s right to control her own body. What’s more, they said that this conflict contributed to their general reluctance to engage with the issue of contraception at all.
The Different Stakes of Male and Female Birth Control
A clinical trial of contraceptives for men was halted because of side effects—side effects that women have dealt with for decades.
A New Kind of Male Birth Control Is Coming
Doctors are on the cusp of launching the first new male contraceptive in more than a century. But rather than a Big Pharma lab, the breakthrough is emerging from a university startup in the heart of rural India.
A New Push for the Male "Pill"
An international clinical trial will give a contraceptive gel a test drive.
After a 40 Year Battle, Is Male Birth Control Finally Coming?
Meet the man who never gave up on bringing it to market.
Another Bright Glimmer In Search For Male Birth Control Pill
Unlike women, who mature a single egg each month, men produce something like 1,500 sperm a second from puberty on. Stopping them is like trying to combat a Zerg rush. And while hormones are effective—many female contraceptives use hormones too—trials have found they have adverse mood effects. All that plus the cost of drug development has meant pharma companies have mostly ignored male contraceptives over the last several decades.
Are Men Ready for a Contraception Injection?
Contraception for men is a game of extremes. On one end of the spectrum we have condoms, and on the other is the vasectomy. And in between those two options there's... pretty much nothing. You can either go with a simple tool that has a reasonable chance of failing, or permanent shutdown.
Block That Sperm!
The future of birth control, from remote-controlled implants to—at long last—a pill for men.
Doctors on the cusp of launching the first male contraceptive
With the exception of condoms, most forms of non-permanent contraception are under women's control. There's the pill, the patch, the implant, the IUD (hormonal or non-hormonal) and, less popular nowadays, the diaphragm. Now scientists are closer than ever to developing new techniques for male birth control ready for clinical trial.
Gene Editing: The Path to a Male Contraceptive?
The search for a suitable male contraceptive has been long and mostly fruitless. Though ideas ranging from hormonal treatments to plugs inserted into the vas deferens have been proposed, none has yet made it to market, and men still rely on either condoms or vasectomies to prevent unwanted pregnancies. A new method interferes with genes responsible for creating new sperm, which could be a more attractive approach.
Male Birth Control Treatment Could Focus on Sperm Proteins, Not Hormones
A male form of "the pill" has stymied researchers for years, but now a new study finds that such male birth control may be possible by blocking a single protein in sperm cells.
Male Birth Control: What's Known, What's Not Known, What's Next
We may be years away from viable new options for male birth control, but we are moving in that direction. Most research is currently taking place in areas where birth control is more urgent due to population spikes, like China, India and Africa.
Male contraception
Contraception is an accepted route for the control of population explosion in the world. Traditionally hormonal contraceptive methods have focused on women. Male contraception by means of hormonal and non hormonal methods is an attractive alternative. Hormonal methods of contraception using testosterone have shown good results. Non hormonal reversible methods of male contraception like reversible inhibition of sperm under guidanceare very promising. In this article we have reviewed the current available options for male contraception.
Male Contraception Initiative
Male Contraception Initiative works with researchers across the globe to make male contraceptive options a reality.
Men Deserve Birth Control Options, Too
In the effort to improve family planning options, we’ve somehow overlooked half of humanity: men haven’t gotten a new option in more than a century.
Parsemus Foundation
Aside from Vasalgel (our largest project), the foundation’s focus is on supporting small proof-of-concept studies and then pursuing press coverage of the results so that the advances change treatment practice rather than disappearing into the scientific literature.
Sperm-Halting 'Molecular Condoms' Found In Plants May Be The Future Of Birth Control
In the future, preventing unplanned pregnancy could come down to sending chemical cues that stop sperm swimming in the first place.
That Male Birth Control Story? Women Are Laughing Because We’re So Fed Up
No one is mocking the dangerous side effects of hormonal birth control, least of all women, who have been subjected to them for decades. Women are laughing because we are fed up and angry that double standards continue to define our lives.
The Best Birth Control Might Be For Men, And No One Can Have It
The endless forms of birth control for women still present significant and complicated problems but men’s birth control options are only slightly more scientifically advanced than using a poncho in a rainstorm.
The Male Birth Control Pill Is About to Come (So Your Boyfriend Can, Too)
We spoke to the researcher who has been trying to develop the ever-elusive solution to contraception for men for 10 years.
The Search for a New Form of Birth Control, This Time for Men
Researchers are testing a male contraceptive gel that’s shown early signs of working—but it still faces hurdles.
We still don't have male birth control — but no, it's not because men are wimps
The desire to vent about the lack of male contraception — and the side effects the women who use it may endure — is of course understandable; women have always carried the burden of birth control. But we shouldn’t blame the men in this study for that inequality. In fact, 75 percent of the men wanted to continue using the shot, according to a press release from the study.
We still don't have male birth control — but no, it's not because men are wimps
There’s a new study making the rounds about a seemingly effective male birth control. The hormonal injection, designed to slow or block sperm production, had a 96 percent success rate at preventing pregnancy among couples who completed the study. There was just one problem, according to some media reports: The new method won't be available anytime soon because the men in the study were wimps. They couldn’t handle side effects — moodiness, acne — that women on birth control deal with all the time, and so the study had to be terminated.
The Reason We Don’t Have Male Birth Control Is Simpler Than You Think
Many people, including us, have lamented why the world still doesn’t have male birth control. A new Atlantic story looks at the history of the effort including arguments that we don’t have a male pill because pharmaceutical companies don’t think it would make money and a concern that men wouldn’t be trusted to take it. But there is another, much simpler explanation: It’s just a lot harder to make reversible birth control for sperm-wielders.
Vasalgel
VasalgelTM is a long-acting, nonhormonal contraceptive with a significant advantage over vasectomy: it is likely to be more reversible. The procedure is similar to a no-scalpel vasectomy, except a gel is injected into the vas deferens (the tube the sperm swim through), rather than cutting the vas (as is done in vasectomy).
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