Hallelujah! Women have something to rejoice about, a male contraceptive pill has finally been tested successfully. University of Washington and Los Angeles Biomed Research Institute (LA BioMed) tested it on 30 males over a period of one month. The men took the pill with food daily for a period of one month and the pill caused a large drop in the levels of two hormones required for sperm production. The side-effects of the drug included headaches, mild erectile dysfunction, fatigue, acne but it did not decrease the men’s libido.
Stephanie Page, a professor of medicine and co-senior investigator on the trial at the University of Washington in Seattle, said: “The goal is to expand contraceptive options and create a menu of choices for men like we have for women. We are neglecting a major potential user population with the limited options currently available to men.”
“Our results suggest that this pill, which combines two hormonal activities in one, will decrease sperm production while preserving libido,” said researcher Christina Wang. However, before you think that this will be available at your neighbourhood chemist, Christina said that more testing needs to be done before making it available to the public.
“Safe, reversible hormonal male contraception should be available in about 10 years,” she said.
The pill has spiked interest among couples, added Christina: “Men have really limited options when it comes to reversible contraception. When we ask men about hormonal compounds, about 50% are willing to try this new method. And when you ask their partners, the percentage is even higher.”
However, a separate study done by Anglia Ruskin University of United Kingdom in 2011, found that 70 out of 134 women worry that their male partner would forget to take a pill.
In the past, scientists have tried to find alternative contraceptive methods for men, other than condoms and vasectomies. The female birth control pill was launched in 1960 which has been a popular choice among women, but not without side-effects such as mood swings, weight gain and nausea.
