Introduction
Ever since the introduction of birth control, the practice has been entirely exclusive to women. Birth control is significant as it helps to prevent pregnancy thus helping families plan for the number of children that they can have even as they continue to have a healthy sex life. Until lately, the birth control has been mainly used by women because the male birth control pills never existed. However, a recent study shows that a new birth control pill that is effective in men has been created and has up to 96% success rate ( Male Birth Control Shot That Actually Works, 2018 ). This can come as a reprieve to the women who have all along exclusively used birth control pills where some have had severe side effects on them. Even as the issue of male birth control pills continues to bring more controversy, the progress could mark a new beginning to the men who want to control the number of children they want to have.
Birth Control Research
At least 40% of the pregnancies that occur are unintentional. In many circumstances, men use specific methods such as pull out, vasectomies and condoms which sometimes fail to work effectively and still result in unplanned pregnancies ( Early studies of male birth-control pill show promise , 2018). Even though the birth control pill for women exists, there has been a need to have more options for partners to control unintentional pregnancies. Some women tend to be incompatible with the female birth control pills putting them with limited options for controlling the unwanted pregnancies. The introduction of the male birth control pills could help provide more options for the partners and ensure that unintentional pregnancies are eliminated.
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Scientists have been working on the male contraceptives for decades now, and a new study which shows that the male birth control pills have been discovered could be significant progress in the issue. A recent discovery, however, shows promising results by demonstrating that the new male contraceptive pills covered could indeed help reduce the sperm production in men thus effective in birth control ( Le Guen et al., 2015 ). After about a month of treatment, a new prototype pill called dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAU, had reduced levels of hormones including testosterone that is necessary for sperm production ( Cunningham, 2018 ). The study which was conducted in 83 men showed that it had a 96% effective rate in the reduction of sperm production. The dramatic drop in the testosterone means that the sperm production will be cut thus making it impossible for a man to reproduce. The DMAU shows a great promise that the drug soon is developed to help men also assist women in the birth control. The recent studies have shown that the majority of the women prefer to use pills instead of condoms and vasectomies. The current progress made in the research could be a good start as the full launch could be just around the corner.
The hormonal contraceptives have been confirmed to work well for men just as they do for women. By working to shut down the production of sperms in the testes, male contraceptives can stop the fertility of men. It can manipulate the levels of certain hormones in the body, and when such hormones which are responsible for sperm production are altered, one is less likely to remain reproductive ( Herzog et al., 2016 ). In men, the extra testosterone suppresses the brain’s release of luteinizing hormone which then stops the testicles from the production of sperms thus making a person infertile. The body can go back to normal once the treatment ends and one can return to fertility. However, testosterone does not stay in the body for long and thus taking a single dose may not work for the male contraceptives. The various doses for men were studies, and it showed that men of high dose experienced precipitous fall in luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone from taking just one daily pill for 28 days. Those low levels are known to prevent sperm development.
Soon, the research will be conducted to test the sperm count in the men who are taking the testosterone pills. If found to be effective, the drug could be tested in couples to ascertain its effectiveness. This will be important for men who are yearning to use the contraceptive pills as compared to other methods. While this only marked an early phase of the study, it represents a significant improvement towards developing the male contraceptive pills and could soon be launched if found to be safe and effective in the second phase of the experiment. While the promising male birth control pills are about to get to the second phase of the trial, it could emerge to be helpful in solving the long waiting problem of men having to use specific methods which in the first place have proved to be less effective.
Side Effects
The primary issue that has delayed the release of the male contraceptive pills is its side effects. Even though the first phase of the study showed a 96% success rate, the second phase suffered a setback after the participants developed side effects such as severe acne and mood swings ( Michael, Silva &Hamil, 2016 ). Other men developed serious depression and weight gain. In other men, there was high sex drive and pain in the muscles which led to more research to improve the combination. According to Yen et al. (2017),”It has taken them a long time, and they are working on the right combination of hormones to prevent pregnancy and the limitation of side effects.” It is due to these side effects that the release of the male contraceptive pills could be delayed once more as a detailed clinical study is required to get the right combination that could eliminate the side effects. When the new combination that can help minimize side effects is found, it can be launched to the market.
Conclusion
A good step has been made towards the development of male contraceptives due to the higher success rate. This is quite a promising results from the first phase of the clinical study and a more focused move to help men acquire the male contraceptives. However, the major problem has been with the side effects. The contraceptives remain to cause serious side effects such as depression, mood swings and acne. A new study is being conducted to get a male contraceptive that can have the least side effects and higher success rates. If the combination works, men would soon have an option to either use the old methods of birth control or move to the side effect.
References
Male Birth Control Shot That Actually Works | BirthControl.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.birthcontrol.com/options/male-birth-control-shot/
Early studies of male birth-control pill show promise. (2018). Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-early-male-birth-control-pill.html
Cunningham, A. (2018). Male birth control pill passes a safety test. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/male-birth-control-pill-passes-safety-test
Yen, S., Parmar, D. D., Lin, E. L., & Ammerman, S. (2015). Emergency contraception pill awareness and knowledge in uninsured adolescents: high rates of misconceptions concerning indications for use, side effects, and access. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology , 28 (5), 337-342.
Michael, G. O., Silva, E. J., & Hamil, K. G. (2016). Non-hormonal male contraception: A review and development of an Eppin based contraceptive. Pharmacology & therapeutics , 157 , 105-111.
Herzog, A. G., Mandle, H. B., Cahill, K. E., Fowler, K. M., & Hauser, W. A. (2016). Differential impact of contraceptive methods on seizures varies by antiepileptic drug category: findings of the Epilepsy Birth Control Registry. Epilepsy & Behavior , 60 , 112-117.
Le Guen, M., Ventola, C., Bohet, A., Moreau, C., & Bajos, N. (2015). Men's contraceptive practices in France: evidence of male involvement in family planning. Contraception , 92 (1), 46-54.
