A Male Version Of The Contraceptive Pill Is On Its Way. Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Right now, the main forms of contraception available for lads are condoms and vasectomy. But, according to reports, there’s about to be a brand new form of male contraception available as early as 2016, and it’s set to be a total game-changer, not just for couples, but for single gals and guys, too.

Naturally, we had a tonne of questions about this new type of birth control, like how does it work, is it effective, and does this mean we can stop taking the pill?

Here’s what we know so far…

• Vasalgel, the unpleasant sounding name of your fella’s potential new method of contraception, is currently only in the trial stages, though experts are suggesting it could be hitting the market in less than 12 months.
• Unlike the female contraceptive pill, this male-only method of birth control involves an injection. Just above your man’s scrotum. Ouch. The treatment sees a doctor inject the synthetic gel into a sperm-transporting tube just outside each testicle.
• The gel acts as a filter, preventing sperm from passing through, meaning his little swimmers can’t go on to fertilise one of your eggs.
• The effects are expected to last around a decade, but are completely reversible; a doc can simply inject sodium bicarbonate into the same spot to dissolve the gel. 
• Right now, scientists are testing its effectiveness on baboons and are set to begin prepping the product for use on adult males in the coming months.

Does this mean you can forget about you pill, coil or IUD? The jury’s out, but one thing’s for sure; we’ll have to rely on our regular form of birth control until at least 2016.

For more info on how Vasalgel works, take a look at this FAQ from The Parsemus Foundation.

By Jennifer Conway.

• contraception
• Dating
• Relationships
• Sex