Contraception is a birth prevention method that works by attempting to keep the egg and sperm apart or by stopping egg production, or by stopping the combined sperm and egg, known as a fertilised egg, from attaching to the lining of the womb thus producing a pregnancy.
There are different types of contraceptives on the market, namely the pill, male condom, female condom, diaphragm, cervical cap, intrauterine device (IUD) and a contraceptive implant, to name a few.
For many years it has been known and has been the norm that prevention measures should be taken by women. That’s why most contraceptives are for women only, however, there has been a recent development in contraceptive measures and this is a birth control pill for men.
Also read : Crippling contraceptives
A recent overseas study has shown that a new birth control pill for men which is called dimethandrolone undecanoate (DMAU) appears to be safe when used daily for a month, with hormone responses consistent with effective contraception thus reducing the chances of fertilisation just as in the birth control pill women take.
It is about time men take on a shared responsibility with women with regards to family planning.
Yes, the male counterparts make accompany you to hospital to get an injection or remind you to take the birth control pill but is that really sharing the responsibility?
Birth control has different effects on your body, emotionally and physically, because they do disrupt your hormonal balance.
Not to imply that I would like for them to experience all the negative side effects but years of that disruption could do damage to a person.
If men and women shared the responsibility of prevention then you will find that each party would spend less time on the birth control method.
You find unfortunate instances where birth control has lead to a woman becoming infertile and it then becomes a problem for some men who were looking to have children in the future.
Also read :Department supplies the pill
What if this male birth control method would be of assistance because the female might need to take it for a shorter period, which could lessen the long-term side effects.
We could also find that males respond better to birth control because of the ways their bodies function, like the fact that most males have a faster metabolism than most females.
The social constructs of the past actually may have hindered us in some ways.
I hope to find that birth control is actually more effective when taken by men so women can take a break from years and years of birth control.
Let’s change the narrative a little and be as equal as they say we are.
Sibonelo Khosa says: “I wouldn’t mind taking the pill as soon as it has been proven to be safe, as with the female pill.”
According to the Huffington Post, these are the things to know about the new male contraceptive pill:
DMAU includes a long-chain fatty acid that slows down the clearance of the pill, allowing just one daily dose to suffice.
Male hormonal pills in the past have resulted in liver inflammation. All the subjects that took part in the trial passed their safety tests, including markers of liver and kidney function.
Hormone responses were also found to be consistent with effective contraception.
Volunteers took the pill for 28 days once daily with food because DMAU must be taken with food to work effectively.
Notably, all groups taking DMAU experienced some weight gain, as well as decreases in good cholesterol.
Low testosterone levels may lead to loss of sexual desires and fatigue, but most of the participants in the trial did not appear to suffer.
As this was an experiment, studies are currently underway to confirm long-term effects to ensure that DMAU taken every day blocks sperm production.
If you ask me, this is not at all a bad idea and it doesn’t seem like it will put the lives of men in danger.
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They are not just being thrown into the deep end so let’s go ahead with this game changer.
It’s a great way to alleviate or share the burden among sexual partners.
However, please remember contraception, both for males and females, are not used to substitute condoms as they cannot stop the transfer of any sexually transmitted diseases.
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