Attention mums who love their kids but would rather poke their eyes out with a pitchfork than go through the whole pregnancy/baby phase again: We have GREAT news for you!
It’s your husband’s turn to step up to the no-baby responsibility plate every month thanks to a team of Aussie scientists who are thisclose to designing a male contraceptive pill.
Although this isn’t the first time we’ve caught wind of this elusive male birth control pill or injection, the latest news surrounding the development on this new drug sounds extremely promising.
And it couldn’t come soon enough. Because it’s about time we get a break from having to remember to take a little pill every morning, inserting weird rods into our arms and dealing with plastic tubes stuck in our uteruses. And let’s not even discuss the fun side effects that come with these pregnancy-preventing procedures.
Male birth control pill back on the table
Well, men, the tables have turned. Or, they will, in five to ten years’ time when the male birth control pill is finally ready for us to take home.
The team at Monash University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences attempted to design the male birth control pill before back in 2011. However, they ran into a few minor setbacks (mainly in the form of money, or there lack thereof). These problems are now in the past because the team is back up and running after funding came through.
Whoop whoop.
No babies, more sex
The Melbourne scientists are on the verge of discovering how to block the transport of sperm through their hormone-free pill. Plus, the male birth control pill skips those scary unwanted side effects. You know, such as infertility, birth defects, erectile disfunction and loss of libido.
In fact, the pill is actually set to increase the male libido. More sex. Less hassle for you. Talk about a win win.
How will it work?
Essentially the pill use chemicals to switch off the brain signal that causes sperm to be released from the body. So hubby takes a pill. His sperm stop swimming. And you don’t have to worry about peeing on a stick at the end of the month.
Monash Uni’s Dr Sab Ventura explains that there is a lot of research that indicates men would happily take control of contraception, and not just in the “yes, I picked up condoms” kind of way.
But don’t bin your birth control script just yet. The drug still needs to be tested, trialled and approved, a procedure that is expected to take five to ten years.
“We are moving closer to developing a convenient, safe and effective, non-hormonal oral male contraceptive that can be readily reversed,” Dr Ventura says.
“We aim to do this by developing a combination of two drugs that simultaneously block sperm transport rather than disrupt sperm development or maturation.”
But don’t bin your birth control script just yet. The drug still needs to be tested, trialled and approved, a procedure that is expected to take five to ten years.
In the meantime, you could always look into this fun little condom for your main man, which acts like a Fit bit for his d*ck, tracking his thrust counts and everything. Isn’t technology amazing?
