No more unwanted pregnancies. And to ease the pressure on women to use birth control pills, Kenya is among seven countries and nine cities in which a new gel male contraceptive will be tested. The contraceptive which men will be expected to apply on the upper parts of their arms everyday was deemed key in bringing a balance in bedroom affairs by making men equally responsible in family planning matters.
In a report by Komonews.com, the contraceptive will be a self delivery method deemed to replace use of condoms though it does not guarantee any protection against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). University of Washington’s School of Medicine, Seattle has already began enrolling couples for clinical trials of the contraceptive dubbed revolutionary.
Stephanie Page a medicine professor at the university said, on application the gel would be absorbed through the skin to inhibit men from impregnating their sexual partners. ““The really pioneering thing here is there have been other studies of male hormonal contraceptive products but this is the first self-delivered method. One would be expected to pump the gel once and then spread it on upper sides of the arm for absorption through skin,” Page said.
According to the scholars from the institution, the gel comprised segesterone acetate and testosterone designed to reduce men’s sperm production without reducing his sexual drive or enjoyment.
“Its effects are reversible once its use is stopped. This is reason why many men won’t mind using it basing on previous studies where they stated they would prefer reversible birth control methods ,” said William Bremner. According Page, currently the responsibility of birth control depended on women more, a trend which needed to be reliably overturned. It was estimated that 85 million pregnancies, about 40% of all pregnancies across the world were unplanned.
This contraceptive will compliment condom use, withdrawal during sex and vasectomy for men. Over 400 couples are anticipated to enroll in the first test of the gel known as Nestorone or NES/T. The trial will be first launched in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Kansas City, Kan, before the test is conducted in Chile, England, Italy, Kenya, Scotland, and Sweden.