Male contraceptives, also known as male birth control, are methods of preventing pregnancy by interrupting the function of sperm.[1] The main forms of male contraception available today are condoms, vasectomy, and withdrawal, which together represented 20% of global contraceptive use in 2019.[2][3][4][5] New forms of male contraception are in clinical and preclinical stages of research and development, but as of 2024, none have reached regulatory approval for widespread use.[6][7][8][9]
These new methods include topical creams, daily pills, injections, long-acting implants, and external devices, and these products have both hormonal and non-hormonal mechanisms of action.[6][10][11][12][13][14][15] Some of these new contraceptives could even be unisex, or usable by any person, because they could theoretically incapacitate mature sperm in the sperm-producing person's body before ejaculation, or incapacitate sperm in the egg-producing body after insemination.[16][17] For this reason, although this article will often use the term "male contraceptive" and describe users as "men", these contraceptives are more accurately described as "sperm-targeting", since it's possible that not all users will have male sex or gender identity.
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