US

Here’s How Men And Women Feel About Male Birth Control

No featured image available

• Almost three-quarters of men and women think the onus lies on both parties to use birth control methods that prevent pregnancy, according to a SingleCare study.
• The study surveyed sexually active, straight individuals between ages 18 and 37.
• The study compares a daily hormonal pill, hormonal gel and non-hormonal injection as forms of male birth control.

Nearly three-quarters of men and women think it’s men’s responsibility to use birth control just as women do, according to a study on contraceptives.

Close to 75 percent of women and roughly 72 percent of men said both sexual partners are equally responsible for using birth control, according to a SingleCare study. The study was first published online Nov. 21 and updated Monday.

Study authors also gave survey respondents multiple options of birth control for men including a daily hormonal pill, topical hormone gel applied to the shoulders, and a non-hormonal injection.

Forty percent of male survey respondents said they would take a daily hormone pill, while 18.2 percent said they would use the topical gel. Nearly 33 percent said they would opt for the injection. About 40 percent of male respondents said they would take nothing.

SingleCare surveyed 998 sexually active, straight individuals between ages 18 and 37 to gather its results regarding male birth control preferences. In the survey, 773 respondents were in a relationship and 215 were single.

Women responded similarly when asked which forms of birth control they would want their male partner to use.

“I feel like more options for men would change the dynamic, giving men a little more control and perhaps some additional responsibility in preventing pregnancy,” a 27-year-old male survey respondent from New York said.

Women were more supportive of having a male partner use a birth control pill as protection against pregnancy than any other contraceptive form. Single women were especially supportive of the daily hormonal pill for men.

Men in relationships expressed stronger support for the topical gel than women in relationships.

Just over 24 percent of women said they would stop using birth control if their male partner used a form of contraception. Roughly 61 percent of women said they would continue contraceptive use, and 14.8 percent of women said they would switch whatever form of birth control they were using if their male partner was on birth control.

Over 30 percent of women preferred using two forms of birth control over just one.

“I would like the idea if they don’t cause side effects. Female hormonal birth control causes a lot of side effects, so I don’t trust male hormonal birth control yet,” said a 33-year-old female survey participant from New Mexico. “No one should be forced to go through unpleasant health effects if alternatives are available.”

Twenty men dropped out of a December 2016 study on the male hormonal birth control shot after experiencing adverse effects, reported CNN. There were also complaints of “injection site pain, muscle pain, increased libido and acne,” but it was unclear if those symptoms were directly related to the shots.

The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

More than 31 percent of male respondents told SingleCare they would feel more in control of their reproductive health if they were on some form of birth control, according to the study.

“I would be happy to have full control over my own reproduction abilities, but I would be annoyed if I had to visit a doctor’s office often to get shots or prescriptions,” a 34-year-old male Floridian said.

“We’d love to see male birth control covered by insurance in the same way that female birth control options are covered,” Colliton told TheDCNF. “Reproductive health is important for family planning and preventing unwanted pregnancies so everyone should have affordable access to these methods.”

Almost 80 percent of Americans consider birth control to be a part of basic health care, according to a “Power to Decide” study.

Follow Grace on Twitter.