Male Birth Control

Male birth control includes the various pharmacological and other methods employed to temporarily halt human male fertility for purposes of increasing male control over the reproductive process. To date, publicly available commercial methods do not exist, requiring men to rely on condoms, female participation in contraception, the “pulling out” method, or abstinence.

Background and Current Contraceptives

The idea to create a male contraception method first arose decades ago. However, there has been no practical substitute for the condom, despite continued male economic incentives for their own birth control stemming from the firm implementation of child support policies. Currently, the options for men desiring to control their fertility largely reside with the woman’s use of contraceptives, vasectomy, condoms, and abstinence . In regards to participation, men’s decision to use conventional contraceptives has proved successful, contributing to a decrease in global fertility rates .

Impact on Women and Social Relationships

Preventative approaches, hormonal methods, and long-acting reversible contraceptives, referred to as LARCs, are among the 11 contraceptive types available to women. For a number of reasons, this disproportion between female and male LARCs is a public issue. Lack of male contraception requires females to take on more financial responsibility and personal contraception risks. In order to create greater equality, progress needs to be made in creating male LARCs . Condoms are estimated to have a 16% failure rate, giving urgency to effective and reversible options for men . This lack of options leaves men to largely rely on the woman’s initiative to regularly use contraceptives. If pregnancy occurs, women may turn to men for social and financial aid. The cultural reasoning behind the deficiency of male reversible contraceptives is that women have always been known to have responsibility for contraception, which discourages investment in male alternatives .

Male Perceptions and Social Norms

The dominant male perception has been that men do not believe they should be responsible for contraception . However, approximately 70% of men are in favor of taking more responsibility for contraception. More men are taking interest in the existing contraceptive methods. Between 44% and 83% of men confirm they would use hormonal approaches . Indeed, the belief that men should be involved in family planning has become more popular, re-orienting long-standing beliefs. In a national survey, 78% of men were in favor of more equal responsibility for decision-making regarding contraception . More male contraceptive variety would allow couples to experiment with different options, giving them more freedom in determining reproductive alternatives. This would encourage family planning service industries to become more inclusive of men as customers.

Scientific Efforts

The search for a male birth control pill is ongoing, with hopes that it will successfully render men momentarily sterile, while being reversible and taking immediate effect. There is need for male birth control because it could mitigate the amount of unplanned pregnancies, which are contributing to unsustainable global population growth . Uncontrolled fertility is a serious public health concern in the 21st century .

Testing

Unsuccessful trials have taken place, causing some participants to commit suicide, while several others experienced forms of depression. Because of the repercussions, some pills were tested on animals, making them permanently sterile . Human testing in this case could potentially yield more positive results. Although some animal tests have successfully achieved reversibility, they were undertaken over brief periods in relation to the animal’s life span . In addition to ensuring long-term human safety, future pill tests must account for potentially severe long-term tissue remodeling in the testes .

Biological Challenges

Creating a pill has been quite challenging. A crucial issue is how to achieve sperm production prevention without permanently sterilizing the male . For male birth control to be effective, it must produce immediate effects that restrain sperm, faster than female pills. This is highly challenging, because men produce millions of sperm a day, while women produce a single ova every month . The pill cannot risk being anything but 100% effective in order to be a useful contraceptive.

Promising Leads

The goal of interrupting sperm production has been explored promisingly in tests. Overcoming current financial roadblocks, experimental trials may ensue in the near future. Current efficacy targets under investigation include disrupting spermatogenesis, blocking sperm production during meiosis, attacking sperm proteins, and blocking seminal fluid production . A safe and successful male contraceptive gel used in trials on primates, Vasalgel, shows 100% accuracy, and has been potential to be reversible. The gel is applied to the vas deferens, thereby barricading sperm movement. This gel injection is believed by researchers to be a simpler reversible form than a vasectomy. According to a recent study, the male contraceptive injection method had effectiveness similar to that of female pills . Despite Vasalgel’s current success, side effects such as depression, acne and decreasing libido still need to be addressed. Another injectable method targeting hormones has been explored but abandoned due to side-effects. Some potential future possibilities under discussion include a non-hormonal contraceptive pill, as well as an on/off switch placed under the skin.

Challenges Facing these Efforts

The main challenge facing male contraceptive research is that it is fairly new. A successful product must ensure safe usage for men of all ages, while also not passing on harmful effects to future generations . These reasons have led to a sustained absence of funding of marketable products.

Lack of Investment

Tentative research has so far not produced marketable products, further undermining investment from pharmaceutical businesses. Over the past decade, the pharmaceutical industry has withdrawn most of its investment, leaving the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the major organization providing funds . Female birth control receives a vastly larger amount of funding. However, at the National Phenotypic Screeening Centre in the UK, Matzuk’s received $600,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to analyze advances for male birth control . However, this is a miniscule amount in comparison to the $147.9 million the same organization donated to female birth control, particularly family planning efforts targeting women. Even with aid from non-profit organizations and public entities, without crucial financial investing from pharmaceutical businesses, there is a low probability that male contraceptives will ever be available on the market .

Potential Impacts of a Male Birth Control Pill

The development of male birth control would mean giving men more control over their own bodies( http://www.healthline.com/health-news/male-birth-control#2). In addition, women would continue to make their own decisions about taking birth control. However, questions linger regarding most men would embrace this new form of contraception. A recent poll demonstrated that approximately more then half of men confirmed would use the male pill if it were available, leaving 25% undecided on the issue and another 25% who would refuse . Many scientists are optimistic that this new method would appeal to many men. In addition to the condom failure rate, the “pulling out” method has reported a 20% failure rate, and vasectomies sometimes do not account for male indecision about whether they will continue to procreate in future . Because of these complications, a method that could ensure extra precaution and control over fertility could attract widespread interest.