What are the options for male birth control?

Despite major advances in contraception during the past several decades, responsibility for preventing pregnancy falls largely on women.

As recently reported in Endocrinology Advisor, limitations of existing female contraceptives, combined with the scarcity of male-directed options, have contributed to unintended pregnancy rates, with approximately 44% of pregnancies worldwide remaining unplanned — equating to nearly 100 million cases annually.

For decades, male contraception has been limited to condoms and vasectomy. Now, a new generation of male contraceptive candidates — spanning nonhormonal oral agents, hormonal suppression strategies and vas-occlusive devices — is advancing into early- and mid-stage clinical trials. More than 23 male contraceptives are in the pipeline.

“Giving men more options for effective contraception likely will increase adherence and desired pregnancy prevention,” Wesley Baas, MD, associate professor of clinical urology and director of men’s health at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, told Endocrinology Advisor. “Male contraception first started getting seriously studied in the 1970s and was put on the back burner for quite a while, and only in the last five to ten years has it become a more talked-about issue. There are now several studies underway for a variety of male contraceptive options.”

Male contraceptive development has increasingly relied on support from government agencies and nonprofit organizations, including the Male Contraceptive Initiative and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Baas said, “In the last five to ten years, for whatever reason, I have found men taking more ownership over their sexual health and contraception, and I believe that is the reason we are seeing this discussed more frequently.”

Read an overview of male contraceptive clinical trial pipelines and the full Endocrinology Advisor article.

Featured image at top: iStock/AscentXmedia.