Ever since the approval of the birth control pill in the 1960s, men have mostly stood on the sidelines in regard to contraception. Women looking to prevent a pregnancy have various forms of pills, patches and implants available, but options for male contraception fall on distinctly different ends of the spectrum: the one-time-only condom and the often permanent vasectomy.
But the responsibility of family planning may not need to be borne by women much longer.
For several years, researchers have been working on a hormonal contraceptive for men that would provide long-term, non-permanent contraception by stopping the production of sperm. So far, the methods developed seem to be quite effective in preventing pregnancy—more so than using a condom—but questions have been raised as to how reversible such procedures are.
In a review of previous studies on the subject, researchers have found that, after stopping a hormonal form of birth control, most men became fertile again within five months. Up to 90 percent, in fact, regained fertility within a year.
"The findings increase the promise of new contraceptive drugs allowing men to share more fairly the satisfaction and burden of family planning," write the study authors in The Lancet.
Most male hormonal contraceptives being developed include some combination of progestin and an androgen. These two hormones work together to block the signal that initiates sperm production, similar to how birth control pills prevent the releas...
Copyright 2009 NBC Health
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