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The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

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Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#81

Post by mahyarm »

carbocation wrote: post #18
Resident_Geek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how this title trivializes birth control. Good birth control comes from controlling birth. I don't believe any other method can claim 10+ years of effectiveness, with practically no side effects and high reversibility.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) fit exactly that bill. But one of my points is that one form of birth control, only for men or only for women, shouldn't wear the title "best."

IUDs have side effects. Copper ones can make periods unbearable for some women. Hormonal ones come with the same risks as hormonal birth control. You also have to open the woman's cervix which is a painful procedure, especially for women who haven't given birth before.

IUDs can also make the cervix more sensitive to pain in general. IUDs also can slip out.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#82

Post by Lazare »

dfc wrote: post #45
ianferrel wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't most non-condom birth control primarily intended for couples? All the other types prevent pregnancy only. Condoms prevent disease as well.

Hormone based birth control for women has ancillary health benefits outside of family planning.

Of course, it also lowers sex drive[1], while causing weight gain, cancer[3], and heart problems[4].

For historical reasons IUDs are uncommon in the US. This is unfortunate. They aren't perfect, but they are relatively cheap, extremely reliable, and remarkably safe. Depending on the type, they also have few or no side effects. Worth considering...

[1]: This one arguably isn't a health benefit, but in many ways it's huge. With a few exceptions, humans are sexual beings, and frequency of sexual encounters correlates highly to a range of positive health outcomes, happiness, avoidance of depression, and strong long-lasting relationships.

[2]: This one confuses people, because it also prevents cancer. Best evidence is that it has a fairly strong protective effect on ovarian cancer, but causes breast and cervical cancer. The net effect on total cancer rates is still unknown; it's certainly not a clear cut benefit though, and it may be a clear net negative. (As always, these sort of epidemiology numbers are a real headache to parse. Comparing a big effect on a rare event to a small effect on a common event is very tricky. Still, anything that boosts breast cancer rates is kind of scary.)

[3]: This one is clearcut. Hormone based birth control causes a range of heart issues, from heart attacks via clots, to cardiovascular diease. We're still trying to figure out how big this factor is, but it's already clear that if you have any risk factors (ie, you're overweight, or have a family history of heart disease) you should NOT be on combined oral contraceptives, and any hormone based birth control is very iffy.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#83

Post by dfc »

msbarnett wrote: post #71
dfc wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the clarification and taking the time to respond. I did not mean to imply that men should not have a say in the matter. I think I might have placed too much emphasis and an overly broad definition of "best." My point was that given the biological constraints females ultimately are the most impacted by pregnancy. As a male I definitely value improvements for male birth control. However from a societal po…

With no reasoning given it's not a particularly valuable post in terms of contribution to the conversation, and it forces people to speculate about why you're declaring it to be "the best". There are any number of unflattering possibilities, which probably accounts for no small measure of the downvotes.

I think you are confused about the post I was referring to:

"Um, "best" neccesarily implies a "one or the other" proposition."

How can best be interpreted to mean anything other than a one or the other proposition.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#84

Post by Eliezer »

natasham25 wrote: post #54

I've asked my guy friends whether they would get this procedure, and none of them will. Guys expect women to mess with their bodies, but are not willing to make the sacrifice themselves when it comes down to it, even though this is more safe and harmless than pumping your body with hormones every day.

I got a vasectomy, even though I was sad about that, when my primary was reacting poorly to birth control. I wish that this had existed six years ago or that I had known about it. You have the wrong guy friends.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#85

Post by xibernetik »

esrauch wrote: post #72
natasham25 wrote: post #54

I've asked my guy friends whether they would get this procedure, and none of them will. Guys expect women to mess with their bodies, but are not willing to make the sacrifice themselves when it comes down to it, even though this is more safe and harmless than pumping your body with hormones every day.

I would rather pump my body full of hormones than have invasive surgery. You wouldn't?

As far as invasive surgeries (and birth control) goes, it's really not that invasive if it can be performed in 15 minutes without general anesthetic by a regular doctor. Even IUDs require more time than that.

Would you still be okay with the hormones if they caused you to gain 15 lbs of fat, lose your libido and render your SO unattractive to you? It's not as simple as swallowing a pill every morning and getting on with your life -- hormonal treatments have very real and sometimes significant side effects.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#86

Post by dfc »

Lazare wrote: post #82
dfc wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hormone based birth control for women has ancillary health benefits outside of family planning.

Of course, it also lowers sex drive[1], while causing weight gain, cancer[3], and heart problems[4]. For historical reasons IUDs are uncommon in the US. This is unfortunate. They aren't perfect, but they are relatively cheap, extremely reliable, and remarkably safe. Depending on the type, they also have few or no side effects. Worth considering... [1]: This one arguably isn't a health benefit, but in many ways it's h…

This is news to me. I have never heard/read anything that casts hormonal birth control in such a negative light. Do you have any pointers to more information? It has always been my understanding that hormone based birth control was a huge win for women's health...

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#87

Post by enduser »

Lazare wrote: post #82
dfc wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hormone based birth control for women has ancillary health benefits outside of family planning.

Of course, it also lowers sex drive[1], while causing weight gain, cancer[3], and heart problems[4]. For historical reasons IUDs are uncommon in the US. This is unfortunate. They aren't perfect, but they are relatively cheap, extremely reliable, and remarkably safe. Depending on the type, they also have few or no side effects. Worth considering... [1]: This one arguably isn't a health benefit, but in many ways it's h…

I have known several women with non-hormonal IUDs, and they all have reported the side-effect of mild-to-extreme aggravation of menstrual cramping. When the body is trying to clear out, it just doesn't like having a foreign agent that won't budge.

No silver bullet.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#88

Post by kisielk »

salsakran wrote: post #70
kisielk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why some guys have so many reservations about this, it sounds like a simple and reversible procedure with a quick recovery. I'd get it if it were available in Canada.

Uhm, it involves cutting open your scrotum. The idea that people will casually do this is ... hilarious.

What's so special about the scrotum versus another part of your body? People regularly punch holes through their ears and other parts of their skin, and even get their children to do the same. A lot of parents even agree to or request that skin from the end of their newborn's penis is cut off.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#89

Post by mkmkmmmmm »

xibernetik wrote: post #80
salsakran wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm, it involves cutting open your scrotum. The idea that people will casually do this is ... hilarious.

And current birth control methods for women include injections of artificial hormones, dilating their cervix and putting a piece of plastic or metal part their vagina and into their body, and surgery to open the stomach and clamp certain organs shut. Whether or not it's hilarious, those practices are accepted as normal. Birth control that involves body modifications is anything but casual, but to draw the line of it…

The line is at surgery, don't act like anyone is saying otherwise.

Re: The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men

#90

Post by oodalolly »

silentscope wrote: post #33

I do see a market with this, but it's got a lot of problems you'd need to navigate. Nothing a smart team couldn't figure out. Most of the time, men trust women when they say they're on birth control. Women get pregnant--a big deal. It's less likely (but not unheard of) that a woman wants to get pregnant and then lies about birth control. Men, on the other hand, would love to not use a condom. And men don't get pregna…

You hit the nail on the head, here. Even if you're in a committed relationship, there's still a need, as a woman, to protect yourselves at all costs from pregnancy if you aren't looking to have a child. That's why many women in relationships will use secondary birth control. (Condoms + the pill, IUD + spermacide, etc.)

Female birth control puts the power of reproduction back in the hands of the woman, which is a comfort for most women. Relying on your partner to be the one safeguarding your body is a tough choice, but is a wonderful choice for, as you said, couples.

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