Men ARE happy to take contraception, study reveals

It has long been said that men are reluctant to share the burden of birth control.

But research now shows that is no longer true.

Three-quarters of men are willing to take a contraceptive, such as the pill, if it eventually becomes available.

There are currently only two birth control options — condoms or an irreversible vasectomy — for men.

However, scientists believe that new alternatives will hit the market by the end of the decade.

Trials of male versions of the pill and gels are progressing rapidly.

Progesterone effectively shuts down sperm production, while testosterone restores the declining levels of this hormone. The progesterone instructs the body to produce enough sperm. As a result, the pituitary gland in the brain releases less luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These hormones stimulate sperm production. Over the course of three to four months, a man’s sperm count drops to less than a million sperm per milliliter — at which point it may become a couple’s only method of contraception

Such developments encountered more obstacles than for women, who had been offered contraceptives since the 1960s.

This is because men have stopped tasting it because of side effects – including those that are present in almost all contraceptives for women.

And while women have pledged support for male contraceptives, they admitted they wouldn’t trust men to take it in previous studies.

A new study, led by a researcher at the University of California, contradicts previous findings that men view birth control as something women should be responsible for.

More than 2,000 men in the US and Canada were polled about whether or not they would be willing to use a new contraceptive.

This included hormonal options, such as a male equivalent of the combined pill – which works by preventing women from ovulating.

Male specimens on trial, which should be taken 30 minutes before sex, prevent men’s sperm from swimming to the egg and maturing to the stage where it can fertilize it.

More than half of men were willing to use a hormonal contraceptive (54 percent), the poll found.

And 65 percent were open to using a nonhormonal one.

All the men involved in the study, published in Contraception, were between the ages of 18 and 50 and had at least one female partner.

The researchers compared these findings to attitudes about gender roles and masculinity, so respondents had to indicate whether they agreed with different statements.

More than a third of the participants strongly agreed that men should be tough and ashamed if they can’t get an erection.

In terms of gender roles, more than 10 percent of respondents believed it was a woman’s responsibility not to get pregnant.

The study authors said the attitudes toward masculinity and gender roles reflected in the survey may be a barrier to male contraceptive use in some men.