There are pills, patches and artificial insemination as a variety of birth controls that women have. That is why most efforts to prevent pregnancies are made by women. The range of birth control choices for men might become wider, thereby raising their responsibilities too.
This new age of contraceptive options has had great benefits to people on the subject of family planning or avoiding pregnancy. Nonetheless, this recent breakthrough in male contraception has availed more reproductive choices for the males both now and in the future.
Condoms
Condoms have been one common method used by men to prevent pregnancy due to its ability to do away with both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). For example, condoms can be effective when combined with other methods like withdrawal or even they work better than withdrawal. Like if you are in a relationship with someone who is also on the pill.
However there are numerous ways humans can fail which may decrease their effectiveness. In appropriate use, condom is an extremely effective way of birth control. For instance, a condom that has been put wrongly or broken thus there is a passage for semen into it will allow some spermatozoa enter an ovum hence making fertilization possible.
Check that they haven’t expired. That you’ve stored them properly and are using them correctly if you’re using them for birth control.
Outercourse
The sexual act known as outercourse does not involve typical (penis-in-vagina) penetration. Hence when practiced as a means of preventing pregnancy, outercourse prevents the fusion of sperm and egg necessary for fertilization.
Some instances of outercourse may include oral or anal sex because the term itself can mean different things to different people. Although these acts would not result into fertilization (unless sperms find themselves in the vagina), condoms could still be recommended against STIs.
Withdrawal
What is called “coitus interruptus” in Latin? Withdrawal happens to be one among earliest and simplest birth control methods, although it is also one of the least effective. By pulling away before you ejaculate.
There are some benefits of pull-out method too. It is free and has no side effects. Further undressing does not affect your sexual performance.
However, this technique only works if performed properly. This means that you have to withdraw as fast as possible in order to avoid semen touching or getting into your partner’s vagina. You must do it quickly and at the right time. That may be a little hard especially if you are young and inexperienced with sex.
For this reason, the pull-out method alone fails 78% of the time. Hence, out of every 100 couples who rely on it for contraception each year, 22 will still get pregnant.
Finally, withdrawal will not save you from STDs
Male Birth Control Gel
For more than a decade now there has been a contraceptive gel known as Nestorone-Testosterone (NES/T) under development that could offer men hormonal birth control options. The gel suppresses gonadotropin hormones leading to decreased testicular testosterone synthesis. Consequently, sperm count decreases ensuring no pregnancy occurs as a result. In a study conducted in 2012 involving 99 men, the gel – which FDA recommends should be spread onto one’s shoulder twice daily – proved efficient at reducing sperm production levels significantly .
It would have been impossible to release this drug out so soon for the lengthy FDA clearance and safety testing protocols. In 2022, the clinical trials of the gel will be over and at that time it will be determined whether or not to proceed with a smaller Phase III study.
Vasectomy
Definitely, one of the most effective ways to prevent pregnancy in males is through vasectomy. Vasectomy is a form of surgical sterilization that is quite successful but apparently irreversible. However, even if vasectomy reversals are successful, the chances of getting pregnant fall depending on how long ago the vasectomy was done originally.
There are those which can be reversed and others which cannot. During a vasectomy, tubes carrying sperms from testicles are cut and blocked. Consequently, a man becomes infertile for reproduction purposes. Sperms remain in the testicles separate from semen until it goes out.
Vasectomies are common procedures with minimal risk often done in an office-based setting. Some potential postoperative effects include bleeding, swelling as well as bruising among others. Rarely does severity escalate further than this level? While efficacious for contraception, vasectomies do not provide STI protection.
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Male Birth Control Shot
Whether or not male injections containing a combination of hormones were successfully used for contraception was investigated by CONRAD and World Health Organization funded 2016 research; however early research had rejected it because of significant adverse effects associated with shot.
Long-acting preparations such as Norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN), testosterone undecanoate ,a progestin and an androgen contained in the injection (TU). As part of contraception method every eight weeks male participants underwent this injection.
It was found that while these shots adequately prohibited sperm production; yet it became impossible to continue with them due to their intolerable side effects including acne, pain at site of injection, increased sex urge, erection inability as well as other psychological issues among men who participated in these studies.
Indian experts have recently completed clinical trials on a reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance (RISUG) injectable male birth control method . A gel dissolving injection could be administered to remove effect after a single injection that lasts for up to thirteen years. RISUG may be a great option for men who don’t want to undergo the permanence and surgery of vasectomy.
The studies involved over 300 men with more than 97% success rate in preventing pregnancies. Regulatory medicine approval is still pending, in India.
In the United States, there has been Vasalgel, contraceptive technique which was developed based on RISUG. It remains unclear when it will be available in the US if trials are successful.
Male birth control pill
The breakthrough came in March 2018 regarding the use of a tablet as an alternative measure towards pregnancy prevention among males. So far, preliminary tests have shown that DIM enhanced male contraceptive has good promise. This was according to researchers at National Institutes of Health and Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (DMAU). One hundred healthy men were assigned DMAU daily within this trial period. Finally, they checked how effective it was following twenty-eight days after being administered the drug for contraception purposes. 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.
Additionally, other clinical studies are investigating an injectable form of DMAU. Nevertheless it might take some time before this product gets into market since FDA takes time approve drugs.
Non-surgical vasectomies
Recent advancements have made non-surgical vasectomy possible. Fall of a pregnancy is what nonsurgical vasectomy is defined as. The same as in a traditional vasectomy, the vas deferens are severed so that sperm cannot exit the testicles.
This technique however differs whereby instead of making an incision in the scrotum with a knife, a tiny puncture has been made on the skin by use of some specialized instrument. This instrument stretches the skin gently hence creating an opening to vas deferens. Consequently this results into reduced bleeding, fewer complications, no need for sutures and faster recovery from surgery
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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 method you should decide to use, have to discuss it with your doctor to determine its effectiveness and any possible negative effects the person may experience.
