Men Wanted to Test Contraceptive

"Men wanted to test contraceptive," is an ad placed by Edinburgh University. The men will need an injection in their butts every two months. The scientists are actually seeking couples to take part in a trial of a new contraceptive injection for men. A team from the University is involved in the World Health Organisation research into the jab.

The scientists claim it can give much better protection against pregnancy than condoms. And it is hoped the work could help pave the way for such a form of contraception to become more widely available. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are hoping to recruit 20 couples to take part in the study - which is being run by the World Health Organisation.

The injections contain the hormones testosterone and progesterone, and are given to the men every two months. Sperm counts fall rapidly, and when these are low enough couples taking part in the trial would use the jabs as their method of contraception for a year. Scientists also stress that the effects of the injections are fully reversible.

Professor Richard Anderson of Edinburgh University's reproductive and development sciences division said: "If this trial is successful I imagine there would be interest in looking at marketing the injection as a male contraceptive.
"Even if not all men would be keen on an injection, there would definitely be a market to make such a treatment available."
The study will involve 400 couples from 10 centres across Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
And Professor Anderson said: "This larger study is needed to add to the evidence as to how good these longer acting injections are and what couples think about it."
The study is looking to recruit couples where the man is aged under 45 and the woman is under the age of 37.
Those interested in taking part can email j.george@hrsu.mrc.ac.uk.

A NEW GENERATION MALE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE SOON

'Women doubt men would take pill'

A university report has claimed that while men welcomed a male contraceptive pill, women said their partners could not be trusted to take one regularly.
A Teesside University team questioned 380 people about their attitude to the male pill, which is still under test. Judith Eberhardt, who led the team, is urging companies to make the pill in many forms to allay women's fears.

Writing in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, Ms Eberhardt said: "Once the male pill is widely available, promotional campaigns could target not only men but also their female partners, as the latter tend to come into contact with health services more frequently." She said that men, were often reluctant to discuss health matters and women were afraid their male partners would forget to take the pill regularly. Her study also revealed that men in stable sexual relationships were more positive about the male pill than those in casual sexual relationships.

The injectible contraceptive sounds like a better alternative because the men only need to bother with it every two months and it frees them of being the one responsible for birth control and pausing in the middle of heated love making to put on a condom. As we all know, that can kill the mood...well, dampen it a little. And if a guy reaches in his nightstand or his pocket and discovers he's all out of condoms, that can ruin the whole evening; maybe even the whole week... until next Saturday.