Male Contraceptives - Current Research

Then came the development of the female hormone pill - or The Pill, as it was called in those days. It offered reproductive freedom to the woman, inspired the development of many other forms of birth control, and may have even been a catalyst for the "Women's Liberation" movement of the 1960s and 70s.

There have been several other types of contraception developed since that time, but almost all of them have been for women. A lot of men have been fine with this idea - it did seem to go along with the larger concept of a woman having control over her own body. But times are changing, and today many men - especially younger ones - would like to take on some of the responsibility for contraception.

The trouble is, birth control methods available to men haven't changed much. The condom is more popular now, especially since it's been linked to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV. But the other choices, at least when it comes to a reversible method, are still withdrawal and abstinence. And all of these options have disadvantages. Withdrawal has a high failure rate, abstinence is not popular with people in relationships - especially committed ones - and condoms, besides being inconvenient, can break.

So what other options are there? This question is being asked by a lot of physicians and scientists around the world, and has prompted quite a bit of research. The most promising methods seem to fall into one of three categories, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages.

Hormonal treatments, probably in the form of patches or injections, would be used to decrease the production of sperm. This concept is similar to the "pill" or "patch" method for women (which stops ovulation), except that the hormones would be different. Currently there is at least one treatment being developed in Europe, and there has been promising research done in Asia as well. However, there will probably need to be several different formulations; for example, it's been discovered that Asian men respond better to testosterone than do men whose origin is European.

Occlusion (blockage) methods are also similar to those used for women. The major difference, of course, is that in women the fallopian tubes are blocked, while in men it's the vas deferens. Currently it is possible to have surgery to cut and tie off the vas deferens - that's what a vasectomy is. However, researchers are working to develop methods that are less invasive and more reversible. The most promising ideas are being studied in China (injectable silicon plugs that can be removed later) and India (an injectable compound called RISUG).

The heat method is probably the only one that could be used right now in the US. It's based on the observation that a buildup of heat around the testes has been known to cause a decrease in the sperm count. Right now there is research being done on the use of moist heat and of suspensories (briefs that are designed to keep the testicles closer to the body, where they'll be warmer). But as for self-administered heat - well, no one knows how reliable it is, and too much could produce the risk of burns.

It's true that the development of male contraceptives is lagging behind that of female methods. But men are now more interested in birth control they can use themselves. They're also more willing to share the responsibility for contraception with their partners. And both of these traits are motivating researchers around the world to give men more choices when it comes to birth control. It's just a matter of time before we see safe, reliable, and reversible contraception for men as well as women.