Global InformationMale contraceptive information
Male contraceptives, also known as male birth control, are methods of preventing pregnancy that are used by males or people who produce sperm.[1] The main forms of male contraceptives available today are condoms, vasectomy, and withdrawal, and these methods combined make up less than one-third of global contraceptive use.[2][3][4][5]
New forms of male contraception are in clinical and preclinical stages of research and development, but as of 2024, none have reached regulatory approval for widespread use.[6][7][8][9] These new methods include topical creams, daily pills, injections, long-acting implants, and external devices, and these products have both hormonal and non-hormonal mechanisms of action.[6][10][11][12][13][14][15] Although this article will use the term "male" for clarity, these contraceptives are best described as "sperm-targeting", since they would be effective in any person that produces sperm, regardless of that person's gender identity. Some of these new contraceptives could even be unisex, or usable by any person, because they deactivate mature sperm either in sperm-producing bodies before ejaculation or in egg-producing bodies after sperm arrives.[16][17]
Surveys indicate that around half of men in countries across the world are interested in using a variety of novel contraceptive methods,[18][19][20][21] and men in clinical trials for male contraceptives have reported high levels of satisfaction with the products.[12][22] Women worldwide have also shown a high level of interest in new male contraceptives, and though both male and female partners could use their own contraceptives simultaneously, women in long-term relationships have indicated a high degree of trust in their male partner's ability to successfully manage contraceptive use.[18][23][24]
Modelling studies suggest that even partial adoption of new male contraceptives would significantly reduce unintended pregnancy rates around the globe,[25] which remain at nearly 50%, even in developed countries where women have access to modern contraceptives.[26][27][28] Unintended pregnancies are associated with negative socioeconomic, educational, and health outcomes for women, men, and the resulting children (especially in historically marginalized communities),[27][29][30][31][32][33][34] and 60% of unintended pregnancies end in abortions,[35][36] many of which are unsafe and can lead to women's harm or death.[37][38][39][40] Therefore, the development of new male contraceptives has the potential to improve racial, economic, and gender equality across the world, advance reproductive justice and reproductive autonomy for all people, and save lives.
- ^ "FAQS". Male Contraceptive Initiative. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "Contraceptive Use by Method 2019" (PDF). United Nations.
- ^ "Contraceptive Use in the United States by Method". Guttmacher Institute. 7 April 2021.
- ^ Haakenstad A, Angelino O, Irvine CM, Bhutta ZA, Bienhoff K, Bintz C, et al. (July 2022). "Measuring contraceptive method mix, prevalence, and demand satisfied by age and marital status in 204 countries and territories, 1970-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019". Lancet. 400 (10348): 295–327. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00936-9. PMC 9304984. PMID 35871816.
- ^ Daniels K, Abma JC (2023-12-12). Contraceptive Methods Women Have Ever Used: United States, 2015-2019 (Report). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). doi:10.15620/cdc:134502.
- ^ a b "What Is In Development". Male Contraceptive Initiative. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ Gorvett Z. "The weird reasons there still isn't a male contraceptive pill". BBC Future.
- ^ Gibbens S (2023-03-03). "Birth control options for men are advancing. Here's how they work". National Geographic Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Barber R (Dec 4, 2022). "In the hunt for a male contraceptive, scientists look to stop sperm in their tracks". National Public Radio. Retrieved Oct 12, 2023.
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:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Glasier A (November 2010). "Acceptability of contraception for men: a review". Contraception. 82 (5): 453–456. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2010.03.016. PMID 20933119.
- ^ Heinemann K, Saad F, Wiesemes M, White S, Heinemann L (February 2005). "Attitudes toward male fertility control: results of a multinational survey on four continents". Human Reproduction. 20 (2): 549–556. doi:10.1093/humrep/deh574. PMID 15608042.
- ^ Friedman M (2019). "Interest Among U.S. Men for New Male Contraceptive Options" (PDF). Male Contraceptive Initiative. Retrieved Oct 12, 2023.
- ^ Nguyen BT, Farrant MT, Anawalt BD, Yuen F, Thirumalai A, Amory JK, et al. (July 2020). "Acceptability of oral dimethandrolone undecanoate in a 28-day placebo-controlled trial of a hormonal male contraceptive prototype". Contraception. 102 (1): 52–57. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2020.04.006. PMC 7287214. PMID 32298717.
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:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Dorman E, Perry B, Polis CB, Campo-Engelstein L, Shattuck D, Hamlin A, et al. (January 2018). "Modeling the impact of novel male contraceptive methods on reductions in unintended pregnancies in Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States". Contraception. 97 (1): 62–69. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2017.08.015. PMC 5732079. PMID 28887053.
- ^ Sedgh G, Singh S, Hussain R (September 2014). "Intended and unintended pregnancies worldwide in 2012 and recent trends". Studies in Family Planning. 45 (3): 301–314. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4465.2014.00393.x. PMC 4727534. PMID 25207494.
- ^ a b Singh S, Sedgh G, Hussain R (December 2010). "Unintended pregnancy: worldwide levels, trends, and outcomes". Studies in Family Planning. 41 (4): 241–250. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4465.2010.00250.x. PMID 21465725.
- ^ Finer LB, Zolna MR (March 2016). "Declines in Unintended Pregnancy in the United States, 2008-2011". The New England Journal of Medicine. 374 (9): 843–852. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa1506575. PMC 4861155. PMID 26962904.
- ^ Herd P, Higgins J, Sicinski K, Merkurieva I (March 2016). "The Implications of Unintended Pregnancies for Mental Health in Later Life". American Journal of Public Health. 106 (3): 421–429. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302973. PMC 4815713. PMID 26691118.
- ^ Finer LB, Sonfield A (February 2013). "The evidence mounts on the benefits of preventing unintended pregnancy". Contraception. 87 (2): 126–127. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2012.12.005. PMID 23305754.
- ^ Gipson JD, Koenig MA, Hindin MJ (March 2008). "The effects of unintended pregnancy on infant, child, and parental health: a review of the literature". Studies in Family Planning. 39 (1): 18–38. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4465.2008.00148.x. PMID 18540521.
- ^ Trussell J (March 2007). "The cost of unintended pregnancy in the United States". Contraception. 75 (3): 168–170. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2006.11.009. PMID 17303484.
- ^ Wise A, Geronimus AT, Smock PJ (2017). "The Best of Intentions: A Structural Analysis of the Association between Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Unintended Pregnancy in a Sample of Mothers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979)". Women's Health Issues. 27 (1): 5–13. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2016.10.006. PMC 5219931. PMID 27913056.
- ^ Trussell J, Henry N, Hassan F, Prezioso A, Law A, Filonenko A (February 2013). "Burden of unintended pregnancy in the United States: potential savings with increased use of long-acting reversible contraception". Contraception. 87 (2): 154–161. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2012.07.016. PMC 3659779. PMID 22959904.
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