Contraceptives

Women’s contraceptive pills use chemical signals in our bodies to block ovulation so how are things going with the development of a male contraceptive to block sperm production, will it be in the form of a pair of sperm suppressing knickers, (now they really would be magic!) an implant, injection or a contraceptive pill?

It looks like it’s going to be a while yet before further options are added to what is currently a very short list of options for male contraceptives ( condoms and vasectomy) but the GOOD NEWS is that male hormonal birth control methods appear to have lower risks of side effects than female methods.  Oh, I do hope so for the sake of those little lab mice!  Read this latest news article about how men can be turned on and off, literally, in the reproductive basement.

A man’s pituitary gland produces the chemicals that signal sperm and testosterone production to commence in the testes. Men do not produce female progestin so a male hormonal contraceptive would have to consist of testosterone, along with the female hormone progestin. Once in the bloodstream, these hormones would tell the pituitary that the testes already had done their job, so the pituitary would not produce the signals.

Switching off the signal is likened to a thermostat switching off an air conditioner according to Ronald Swerdloff, head of the endocrinology department at the University of California, Los Angeles, Harbor Medical Center. You may be surprised to read in this article that in one survey of 9,000 men, more than half said they would use male birth control. They have never struggled and sweated themselves into a pair of magic knickers though have they girls, so it’s my bet that the pill will get the vote!