Health and medical information

What is male hormonal contraception?

Male hormonal contraception is a method of contraception containing hormones that a man will be able to take to stop his body from producing sperm. The man will still have semen, that is, the fluid that he ejaculates, but there will not be any sperm (or only very small numbers of sperm) in it. If the man has no sperm, or very small numbers of sperm in his semen, and he has sex with a woman she is very unlikely to get pregnant.

How does male hormonal contraception work?

We have known for some years that giving a man the hormone progestogen stops his body from producing both sperm and the male hormone testosterone. The progestogen can be given either as a daily pill or as an injection that lasts three months. But men need normal levels of testosterone to keep them healthy and to give them male characteristics like a deep voice and facial hair. So while the man is taking progestogen, he is also given an implant containing enough testosterone to keep levels of this hormone normal. The implant is inserted under the skin of his abdomen. It slowly releases the testosterone into his system over a period of about four months. After that he will need a new implant if he wants to keep on using male hormonal contraception.

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