Tag Archives: male birth control

A Birth Control Method for Men?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Genevieve

I was teaching a class last week and one of my students asked if I had heard about the reversible male birth control method that was developed in India. I was unaware that this method existed, decided to do a little research and, hopefully, share some new information with you.

The procedure, called a reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance, was invented by a scientist named Sujoy Guha in India. The procedure may be approved for use in India by 2014. It is similar to a vasectomy, but does not cut the vas deferens. It injects a non-toxic polymer substance into the vas deferens. The substance forms a coating on the walls of the vas deferens and chemically immobilizes the sperm. The procedure allows the sperm to be released, but leaves them unable to fertilize an egg.

I know what you’re thinking: where can I get some of that for myself or my partner? Unfortunately, it will be quite some time before the procedure is approved by the FDA. Many speculate that it is because men would not find it en vogue, but I have asked my partner and other men and they have stated otherwise. Who wouldn’t want something that could be a long-lasting male birth control method that has been proven to work 100 percent of the time? Many men who would like to have a permanent method to prevent pregnancies, or future pregnancies, would jump at the idea of having this procedure administered versus a vasectomy.

I find it offensive that there are so many birth control options for women and only a couple of options for men. Change will only happen if men and women speak up and let the FDA and pharmaceutical companies know there is a demand for this type of procedure.

You may be asking yourselves, “If this procedure has been developed outside of the United States, are there other methods that have been researched and developed?” Why yes, there are! For more information on male contraceptive methods like: the dry orgasm pill, injected plugs, external heat, hormonal, and many others, visit this site.

If I Didn’t Love Him Before…

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Fosgood

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So, I was sitting at a table across from a man I’d been with for a few months.

Since I’m a sexpert and this was my first partner after a lengthy marriage and recent divorce for us both, condoms were definitely part of the picture. We’d both been in long, monogamous marriages and were sure of our STI status, but I wasn’t on birth control and was premenopausal. My first husband had been born when his father was retired and mom was 48. No chances of that happening for me!

I’d given birth to 2 daughters and was fed up with hormonal methods and the diaphragm. I’d wanted my husband to get a vasectomy. But despite my best efforts, he was staunchly against it. He couldn’t adequately verbalize his reasons as far as I was concerned. After all I’d gone through, I’d had enough of taking all the responsibility. What I saw as his selfish, unfounded fears, was one of the many obstacles in our marriage remaining happy and healthy.
But, back to my love story! As we chatted over dinner, he suddenly said, “So I know your concerns about the safer sex stuff and all that, but is there a reason we still are using condoms?”

Startled, to say the least, I responded, “Well, I can still get pregnant.”

“Not with me you can’t,” he quipped. I found out that he had already had a vasectomy and needless to say, I was thrilled!

I’d know from the start that this man was more concerned with others than he was with himself. Always gentle, asking how I’d slept the night before, how my day was, what he could do to help in the kitchen. This act of sharing responsibility for birth control was right in character. If I hadn’t already fallen madly and passionately in love with him, I would have at that moment.
“Waiter! Check, please!”

Nearly 13 years later, I’m delighted to report that our love and passion is as strong as ever. I’m a very lucky woman.

Deciding to Come Clean: One Man’s Vasectomy Experience

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Guest Post

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Today, we’re delighted to have a great guest post about…well, you just have to read it. A retired health care professional, Sunny Lobo is currently a professor of Anatomy and Physiology. He’s a long time volunteer for Planned Parenthood.

There I was, naked from the waist down, in a room with a man I barely knew. His hand strategically wrapped around my prized possessions.

I kept thinking, “What am I doing here”? I never thought I’d do anything like this. What would people think of me if they knew? To say that I was nervous is an understatement. I could just get up, get my clothes on and leave. No harm done. But I told myself, I was being true to who I was as a man. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t thought long and hard about going through with it.

I said, “Okay, let’s do it,” and we did. To my surprise, it was over before I knew it.
“Happy Mother’s Day,” I said to my wife when I got home and told her what I had done. She was surprised, but delighted. We had talked about my doing it and she was wholeheartedly in favor of my decision, but I hadn’t told her that I had put my plan into action. “I’ll be needing your help over the next couple of weeks,” I said. “I need to have at least six orgasms before I go back and see Frank again.”

Frank, you see, is the urologist I went to for my vasectomy. I did indeed feel strange and awkward at first, but the “procedure” was quick and remarkably pain free. I was a bit uncomfortable for a few days and was certainly careful. Very quickly, I was completely back to normal. Physically nothing changed at all for me. Emotionally I couldn’t be happier with my decision. No ill effects of any kind.

It was definitely the right thing to do. My wife no longer had to be concerned with any kind of birth control, freeing her from a task that she carried out for years. We no longer had to even think about birth control. I was and still am so happy to have been able to do this for both of us.

Mother’s Day has just passed and maybe you gave your wife flowers and candy are nice. But what about giving her a gift she can conceive of as a gift that keeps on giving?

Check out the National Institutes of Health for more information about vasectomies; click here if you’d like to schedule a vasectomy at a local Planned Parenthood.

(PS: Sunny also happens to be Fosgood’s husband; check back for her post on this tomorrow!)

The Final Frontier: Birth Control…for Men?

Posted on May 2, 2012 by E.G. Hanna

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Every once in a while, a news story pops up about some new male birth control that’s in the works, and I always think the same thing: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Although we get an occasional tease in the media, birth control has always largely been the domain of women. Sure, vasectomies have been around for a long time now, but when it comes to reversible birth control men have condoms, withdrawal, and…what else? Let’s do a quick run down of male birth control options, the current and the (allegedly) upcoming.

Condoms. You know how these work; if you don’t, we’ve covered it here on the Feronia Project.

Pros: Up to 98% effective when used correctly every time. Easily available and simple to use, and you can get them for free at the Health Department and Planned Parenthood. Try using them with some water-based lubricant (not nonoxynol-9, which can cause irritation which may increase the chance of getting an STI) and spermicide.
Cons: feels unnatural to some people, may decrease sensation or cause allergies in the latex-sensitive (try polyurethane condoms!), and you have to interrupt foreplay to put them on.
Biggest bonus: Condoms are the only method on this list which protect both partners from sexually transmitted infections.

Withdrawal. Also known as the pull out method. I’m super biased against this method for three reasons which we’ll discuss.

Pros: It’s available to everyone with a willing partner, free, and doesn’t require health insurance or seeing a doctor.
Cons: It’s only 73-94 % effective, and here’s the catch: you have to do it right (that’s what she said! Sorry). Men have to have a lot of self-control and knowledge about their bodies, which takes experience and practice. Pre-seminal fluid, the fluid that comes out of the penis before the man ejaculates, can still contain sperm so pregnancy can still happen. Also, if the man ejaculates on the vulva (outside the vagina), pregnancy can still occur – sperm really can swim.

Here are my thoughts:

73% effective with typical use? When there are methods out there that are up to 99% effective? No thanks.
Trust no one, that’s my motto. Even the most well-meaning man can forget, or get caught up and lose control, and hey, pre-seminal fluid is beyond their control anyway. Too risky.
The plural of anecdote isn’t data, but I swear that I’ve seen so many positive pregnancy tests in my day by women who checked the “withdrawal” box on their birth control questionnaire. Scary. Still, I know it’s not easy for everyone to obtain other birth control methods for financial, time, or other personal reasons, so withdrawal may be your best option at times.

Vasectomy. Story time! I was on a first date with this guy, and he mentioned that he wanted to get a vasectomy soon and was just waiting for an appointment with his doctor. Instantly, music swelled and cartoon birds started flying through the air, and my eyes turned into hearts and sprung out of my head. (That really happened. We broke up, though.)

Vasectomies deserve their own post (which is coming soon!) because there are a lot of myths and misinformation surrounding them. I think the biggest barrier to a vasectomy is getting the man to agree because a lot of men think you’re cutting off their testicles or forcibly removing their manly essence or something. In reality, vasectomies are safe, quick, and easy. Ejaculation still occurs, but the vas deferens (the tube that carries sperm) is blocked so that there is no sperm in the seminal fluid. Sex still looks and feels totally normal. No organs are removed, hormones and sperm production continues; sexual pleasure and sexuality are not effected.

Pros: Birth control that doesn’t interrupt sex and is nearly 100% effective and I don’t have to do anything – and it’s permanent? Sold. As you can tell, I love vasectomies.
Cons: It’s permanent. Reversal surgery is expensive, complicated, and there’s no guarantee, so you need to be sure that it’s what you want.

(PS: Our local Planned Parenthood offers vasectomies; if you’re in Florida and interested in a vasectomy, check out our man Dr. Stein at his site).
RISUG. The most exciting up-and-comer. The hard-to-pronounce acronym stands for Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance and in the US is called Vasalgel. I’m not a fan of the names, but otherwise it sounds amazing.

The vas deferens is numbed with an anesthetic and then a polymer gel is injected into it and kills sperm – for up to 10 years. Then, when the man decides he’s ready to have kids, there’s another injection to get rid of the polymer and welcome back sperm. It’s been in trials for about 15 years in India, and starting trials this year in the US with hopes that it will be available in the United States by 2015. I’m really hoping this becomes available and catches on, because it sounds like it could be a revolutionary new family planning tool for men and women both.

What else?
Apparently there are other things potentially on the horizon, creams, implants, and pills, which I can’t find a lot of information on, individually. However, you can read this article on male birth control options on MSNBC and the men who are trying them out.

Here’s my question, though. Say we finally get reversible male birth control on the market – will men use it? Would women want them to?

For a lot of people, the answer is an obvious yes. Many men will be delighted at the chance to have more control over the decision of when to get pregnant. Women who have experienced bad side effects on hormonal birth control will be happy to let their men try it out so they can have a break. I think a lot of men may be suspicious and hesitant; men aren’t used to their sexuality being medicalized like women’s sexuality has. Plus, for some men, there may be psycho-social factors to take into account, given the cultural links between masculinity, power, the penis, testicles, virility, etc. For women, giving up control may feel too risky – if a guy misses his pill or his birth control otherwise fails, he’s not the one getting pregnant.

What do you all think? Would any of you try RISUG? Have you had experiences with condoms or vasectomies, good or bad? Dudes, would you take a birth control pill? Ladies, would you feel comfortable with your man being the one on the pill? Tell me about it.