What You Should Know About the New Birth Control for Men

Courtesy+of+Womens+Clinic

Courtesy of Women’s Clinic

Elise Adams, Layout Editor

A new study conducted by The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism found that hormonal birth control shots for men are 96 percent effective when it comes to preventing pregnancies.

Researchers looked at a group of 266 men between the ages of 18 and 45. The men received birth control shots of testosterone and progestogen every eight weeks that lowered their sperm count. Only four pregnancies occurred out of the 266 men who participated in the study.

Initial results proved the hormonal injections to be as effective as the pill, but the study ended after rising safety concerns and complaints of side effects.

The side effects most commonly reported included acne, increased libido—sexual desire—, pain at the injection site, and drastic mood swings. Twenty couples dropped out of the study due to intense side effects of mood swings and acne.

Sound familiar, ladies? Seventeen percent of the participants said they experienced emotional disorders during the study but most considered the symptoms mild, The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism reported.

“Despite the adverse effects, more than 75 percent of participants reported being willing to use this method of contraception at the conclusion of the trial,” the Endocrin Society said.

Women who take hormonal birth control are often treated for depression and experience mood swings. They also experience acne break outs and muscular pain, which are similar side effects that the men in the study experienced. This is due to an increase of hormones that your body is not used to.

“I don’t know if I would use male birth control,” Pace business student Dillon Swayer said. “The whole concept seems very foreign to me and I’ve never heard of it before. I think it’s great to give men the option though, but I don’t know if I would feel comfortable taking it.”

Sawyer does not think men’s birth control will become too popular and will need time to become a commonly used form of contraception.

“Also, from what I understand, birth control helps regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle, so I don’t know if women would want to go off of birth control,” Sawyer said. “I like the idea of birth control for men though, so at least the option is there.”

Men’s birth control is not available over the counter yet and is still being reviewed by researchers.

The study conducted made men’s birth control one step closer to becoming a reality and the combination of hormones is being altered to decrease intense side effects.