This is actually a crazy important development if the results can be reproduced in larger studies.
Hormonal contraceptives are absolutely terrible. None of my long term partners were happy with them—whether it was a hormonal implant, hormonal IUD or pill, the side effects have always been ridiculous.
In addition, WHO classified oral contraceptives as G1 carcinogens. So having a potential alternative is incredibly important.
It is insane to me that as a society, we’re fine asking women to “just take drugs” that mess with their reproductive system, affecting their mood, sleep, weight, libido, and blood pressure (and most likely a lot more I’m not aware of).
My wife asked herself for her IUD, and it made a huge positive difference for her. Her goal was just pain relief; we don’t need contraceptives since I got a vasectomy after our second baby.
Our daughter also asked for contraceptives on her own, and for the same reasons (though the contraceptive part is a nice side-effect in her case).
No society asked either of them for this.
I don’t doubt your partners had bad experiences with contraceptives, but that’s not a universal problem, and it’s also why it’s important to discuss them with the right professional to make the best choice for each person.
I never said they had no uses! I’m glad they are effective in managing your family’s pains (I’ve experienced that as well, so I fully understand where you are coming from).
But that wasn’t really the discussion I was trying to start. I realise I made my point quite poorly.
I was lamenting the fact that because “female contraceptives” are a “solved problem”, there is basically no research or innovation in male contraceptives. See sibling thread.
I see what you mean now, I’m afraid I misunderstood you.
I never thought about male contraceptives other than condoms or a vasectomy, so I guess I’m part of the reason for the lack of research. That said, I suspect a contributing factor may be that female contraceptives can be used for other reasons (pain relief, having more predictable periods, etc) so that is also a big driving for research (some female contraceptives can be quite expensive). Of course, those side-effects are also what can make them unsuitable in many cases too.
Yeah, that was my point, but obviously not very clear. It feels to me like male contraceptive offerings are basically non-existent, and that there is basically no research/innovation in that field because it’s sort of expected that women will shoulder that burden.
I feel like it’s more that woman have a significantly higher incentive to make it happen.
Even if male contraceptives existed (in pill form), chances are they wouldn’t be nearly as effective, since the men just aren’t the ones that end up with the child if they’re acting unsafe. You’d be mostly relying on goodwill for your contraception.
Except that in many countries nowadays the father is very much on the hook for child support. It's not 100% perfect (I can imagine a few scenarios how it can fail), but birth control works best if everyone involved pays attention to this concern instead of being lazy and relying on the woman to take care of it.
Of course it works better if you are both paying attention. I never tried to say otherwise. I’m trying to say that, as a woman, you probably never want to rely on the man alone (at least, I think I’d feel more nervous if they baby would end up growing in me)
The options for men (besides condoms) are not much better.
I'm not asking my partner (I'm married) to take any hormones while I wouldn't take any myself.
The problem is that much medicine was developed by men for a long time.
Female doctors are a (relatively) recent development and I'm sure they the situation will improve over time (maybe not in trumpet America) in civilised parts of the world.
> The options for men (besides condoms) are not much better.
I have talked about it before, but silodosin prevents ejaculation (but not orgasm) in men, which can be seen as a contraceptive. It is non-hormonal, it is an alpha-blocker. You would have to experiment with it, however.
Catholics have been doing this for ages with urine tests. Ignoring any morality whatever, this 'tech' is really old. People malign it as the 'rhythm method'.
However, keep in mind that with the 'in-use' efficacy rate of 92%, about 1/12 couples using this method will fall pregnant in a year.
Hormonal contraceptives are absolutely terrible. None of my long term partners were happy with them—whether it was a hormonal implant, hormonal IUD or pill, the side effects have always been ridiculous.
In addition, WHO classified oral contraceptives as G1 carcinogens. So having a potential alternative is incredibly important.
It is insane to me that as a society, we’re fine asking women to “just take drugs” that mess with their reproductive system, affecting their mood, sleep, weight, libido, and blood pressure (and most likely a lot more I’m not aware of).