Women have a variety of birth control options available to them, including pills, patches, and artificial insemination. In part because of this, women are responsible for the majority of pregnancy prevention efforts. Men’s birth control options, and thus, obligations, may soon be growing.
People have benefited greatly from the availability of contraceptive choices when it comes to family planning or avoiding pregnancy. But because of recent developments in male contraception, males now have additional birth control alternatives both now and in the future.
Condoms
Due to its effectiveness in preventing both pregnancy and STDs, condoms have been a common method to avoid pregnancy in males (STIs). In addition to working better than withdrawal, condoms can be effective in conjunction with other birth control methods. For example, with a female partner who is taking the birth control pill.
Although there are several potentials for human inefficiencies that might reduce their effectiveness. Condoms can be a very effective method of birth control when used appropriately. For instance, some semen may enter the ovum if a condom has been applied improperly or has tiny tears or holes, allowing fertilization to occur.
Make sure that the condoms haven’t expired. That they’ve stored it properly, and that you’re using them the right way if you’re using them as a birth control technique.
Outercourse
Sexual action known as outercourse doesn’t entail typical (penis in vagina) penetration. When used as a method of birth control, outercourse is successful in preventing the sperm and egg from fusing, which is essential for fertilization to take place.
Including of oral or anal sex may happen in certain instances of outercourse because the term can imply various things to different individuals. Condoms are always worth mentioning to prevent STIs even if these actions won’t lead to fertilization (unless the sperm ends up entering the vagina).
Withdrawal
The Latin term for it is “coitus interruptus.” One of the earliest and most basic methods of birth control, withdrawal is also one of the least successful. Before ejaculating, you remove your penis from the vagina.
There are a few advantages to the pull-out approach. It costs nothing and has no adverse effects. Additionally, being nude doesn’t affect your sexual ability.
However, the technique only works properly executed. In order to prevent semen from getting on or into your partner’s vagina, you must withdraw as quickly as possible. You must act quickly and at the proper moment. That might be challenging, particularly if you’re young and inexperienced with sex.
Because of this, the pull-out technique alone only succeeds 78% of the time. Therefore, 22 out of 100 couples who rely on it to avoid pregnancy will become pregnant in a given year.
Additionally, the withdrawal technique won’t save you from STDs.
Male Birth Control Gel
For men seeking hormonal birth control, a contraceptive gel known as Nestorone-Testosterone (NES/T) has been in development for more than 10 years. The gel slows down gonadotropin hormones and lowers testicular testosterone synthesis. This has the effect of lowering sperm count, which then prevents conception. In a 2012 trial of 99 guys, the gel, which the FDA advises putting to the shoulder twice daily, had proven to be effective in reducing sperm production.
This medication could not be offered on the market right once due to the lengthy Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and safety testing procedures. By 2022, the clinical trial procedure for the gel will finish, at this point, it will be decided whether to continue with the smaller Phase III research or not.
Vasectomy
A vasectomy is one of the most popular methods to avoid pregnancy in males. Vasectomy is a surgical sterilizing procedure that is quite successful but can see as irreversible. Even with successful reversal, the likelihood of becoming pregnant decreases according to how long it has been since the vasectomy was initially performed.
They can reverse in some, but not in all situations. The sperm-transport tubes from the testicles are severed and sealed off during a vasectomy. This results in the male being infertile for reproductive purposes. The sperm remains in the testicles, separate from the semen, and eventually enters the body.
Vasectomies are a frequent treatment with few risks that are frequently carried out in a medical office. Bleeding, swelling, and bruising are a few after-procedure side effects that might occur. Rarely do issues become more severe. Vasectomies are quite efficient in preventing conception, but they do not offer STI protection.
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Male Birth Control Shot
Whether a combination of hormones administered to males through injection was successful for contraception was the subject of a 2016 research, funded by CONRAD and the World Health Organization. But because of the shot’s significant adverse effects and associated psychological problems, the research had rejected early.
Norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN), a progestin, testosterone undecanoate, and androgen, is included in the injection in long-acting forms (TU). The injection had administered to male participants as a method of contraception every eight weeks.
The findings revealed that although the injections effectively prevented the generation of sperm entirely. The adverse effects were too severe for the trial to continue. Acne, soreness at the injection site, increased sex desire, erectile dysfunction, and mental issues were also reported by the male subjects.
An injectable male birth control termed RISUG has undergone clinical testing by Indian experts in recent months (reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance). A second injection that dissolves the gel, can be used to undo the effects of a single injection, which can last up to 13 years. For guys who don’t want a permanent, surgical vasectomy, RISUG has great potential.
More than 300 men participated in the studies, which had a success rate of more than 97 percent in preventing pregnancies. In India, regulatory medicine approval is still waiting.
Vasalgel, a RISUG-based contraceptive technique, has been developed in the United States. If studies are successful, it is unknown when Vasalgel will be available in the US.
Male birth control pill
When it comes to a pill-based alternative to avoid pregnancy in males, there was a breakthrough in March 2018. A male supplement containing dimethandrolone undecanoate has successfully undergone early testing. According to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (DMAU). 100 healthy men were given a daily dosage of DMAU for the course of the trial. And after 28 days, they checked the effect of the contraception. According to their research, the male volunteers had fully accepted the trial. And after 28 days, their fertility had fallen to levels that were almost comparable to castration.
An injectable form of DMAU is also being investigated in other clinical investigations. We might not see this on the market for a while, though, given how slowly the FDA approves drugs.
Non-surgical vasectomies
Non-surgical vasectomy, techniques have emerged thanks to recent advances. A nonsurgical vasectomy falls within the category to avoid pregnancy. The vas deferens are severed, much like a traditional vasectomy, to stop sperm from exiting the testicles.
The method, however, differs in that, a tiny puncture has produced in the skin with a specialized instrument rather than making an incision in the scrotum with a knife. The skin is then, gently stretched by this instrument to create a passageway to the vas deferens. Less bleeding, fewer problems, no need for sutures, and a speedier recovery are the outcomes of this.
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Conclusion
Even while there is a huge amount of innovative new advancements for male birth control in the works, there are currently few alternatives on the market. In the future, having additional alternatives for male contraception might have several advantages. And relieve women of the burden of bearing the majority of the responsibility for pregnancy prevention.
Any birth control technique you decide to use, have to discuss it with your doctor to determine its efficiency and any possible negative effects the individual may experience.
