How do you feel about male contraception?
Prototype of male contraceptive stops sperm from swimming.
We never really thought that this would be something for the future of contraception.
But scientists believe it is a real possibility and that's a shocker for us.
For so long women were the ones who have had to be responsible for taking care of themselves by using birth control.
However, it seems that is all changing.
"An on-demand, non-hormonal male contraceptive pill may be a real possibility say scientists who have found a cell pathway, or switch, that stops sperm from being able to swim." (BBC)
Interestingly, the tests on mice showed that sperm were stunned for a couple of hours.
Long enough to stop them from reaching the egg.
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Here's how it works:
"Unlike the female contraceptive pill, it does not involve any hormones. Scientists say that is one of the advantages of the approach they are exploring - it will not knock out testosterone and cause any male hormone deficiency side effects." (BBC)
If it in fact works in humans, then men would only be required to take it when or as often as they needed.
A way for them to make day-to-day decisions about their fertility, which is more than we can say for female contraception.
"But it would not protect against sexually transmitted infections, experts warn. Condoms would be needed for that." (BBC)
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