Predict Baby Gender

Lots of controversies have accumulated on the topic of male birth control, and things have been going like this for quite a while now. A few years ago large pharmaceutical companies like Schering, Organon or Wyeth announced the production of hormonal birth control designed especially for men, but the results of their research hasn’t been finalized yet. Why? The market seems to be little receptive to male birth control shots or pills, and the investments in technologies are huge. Several programs have been abandoned for this reason, and it seems that drug companies don’t show any renewal in their interest for this kind of birth control products.

Statistics show a certain willingness on the part of men to use alternative forms of birth control. Normally, male birth control is administered as an injection with testosterone that would prevent the production of sperm. A certain prejudice has been recognized with women because many are reluctant to trust men to follow such treatments. At present, vasectomy is the only viable male birth control solution besides the condom. How is hormonal birth control supposed to work for men?

The male birth control solution has to combine testosterone with progestin so as to suppress the production of sperm but with process reversibility. This is not possible with a pill because the testosterone would be too quickly broken down by the liver. Hormonal male birth control may be produced either as a monthly shot or as a topical product. Biannual implants could also be a solution, but the procedure required is considered too invasive.

Between 10% and 15% of men have a low reaction to hormonal male birth control, which is quite a high inefficiency rate. The issue is in the number of cells that need to be blocked. While with female hormonal treatments, there is just one egg to prevent from fertilizing, with male birth control, there are millions of spermatozoon that have to be inactivated. Race also seems to affect the efficiency of this birth control method although researchers don’t know why.

Last but not least, we should also briefly refer to condoms as the most commonly used form of male birth control. This is preferable for many couples around the world, as well as for people who change their sex partner often. It is the only birth control method without a direct impact on health.

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