Male Birth Control Pills?

Health Wellness

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Over 50-years ago, a huge medical breakthrough was discovered with what became known as ‘The Pill’. Carefully packaged combinations of female hormones were administered orally for three weeks a month. The pill worked as an effective form of birth control, preventing millions of unwanted pregnancies.

However, there were some problems with the pill. Some women had negative reactions to the pill. Then it was reported that prolonged use could increase the chances of breast and ovarian cancers, along with the rare incidents of heart attacks and strokes.

Then it was learned that many forms of the birth control pills could be defined as an abortifacient – causing an abortion. This was due to the fact that a female egg could be fertilized by a male sperm, but the effects of the pill prevented the fertilized eggs from imbedding in the lining of the womb, thus being passed out and killed. For those who believe that life begins at conception, using the pill was a huge violation of their faith.

Over the years, the pill has undergone a number of refinements and improvements and is still used by millions of women. A number of doctors also prescribe the pill to help many teens and younger women to regulate their menstrual cycle and also help relieve some of the more severe and sometimes debilitating cramping and mood swings.

Even with the improvements of the birth control pills, there are still many women who cannot or will not take the pill. They are left with trying to use other forms of birth control, which all have their own issues and may not work for everyone.

A remedy may be on the near horizon, thanks to researchers at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, who report that they have developed a birth control pill for men:

“In a preliminary study, researchers found that when men took an experimental pill every day for a month, the drug appeared to act in ways that could potentially block sperm production, and it seemed to be safe.”

“The drug, known as dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAU, is a major step forward in the development of a once-daily ‘male pill,’ study senior author Dr. Stephanie Page, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, said in a statement. The pill contains a drug that acts like an androgen, or male hormone such as testosterone, and a progestin, another sex hormone…”

“The new study involved 100 men ages 18 to 50, who were randomly assigned to receive one of three doses of DMAU (100, 200 and 400 milligrams), or a placebo. Participants took the pill once a day for 28 days. DMAU needs to be taken with food to work properly, the researchers noted.”

“The study found that men who took the highest dose of DMAU, 400 mg, showed ‘marked suppression’ of levels of testosterone and two hormones required for sperm production: luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. (The study did not measure the men’s sperm count.)”

“These low levels are consistent with what’s needed for effective male contraception, Page said.”

One of the concerns of the researchers was that men taking this new male pill would suffer from some of the signs of testosterone deficiency, but so far, none of the male test subjects showed any signs of this condition.

Dr. Page warns that more testing needs to be done, including some long-term testing, but she is hopeful that if the results continue to be as positive as they have been so far, that in time, men will be able to take pill instead of women.

Birth Control

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