Are there any male contraceptive pills?
Mar 20, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Introduction
Hormonal male contraceptives typically work by regulating hormone levels in the body to suppress sperm production. For example, testosterone undecanoate soft capsules, using androgens alone or in combination with progestogens, exert a negative feedback effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, reducing the secretion of gonadotropins and subsequently inhibiting spermatogenesis in the testes, thereby decreasing both sperm count and quality to achieve contraception.
Generally speaking, male contraceptives do exist. The detailed explanation is as follows:
Male contraceptives mainly include hormonal and non-hormonal types. Hormonal male contraceptives typically work by regulating hormone levels in the body to suppress sperm production. For example, testosterone undecanoate soft capsules use androgens alone or in combination with androgens and progestins to inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis through negative feedback, thereby reducing the secretion of gonadotropins. This subsequently suppresses testicular spermatogenesis, decreasing both the quantity and quality of sperm to achieve contraception. Non-hormonal male contraceptives, such as compound gossypol acetate tablets, act on the spermatogenic cells in the testes, interfering with the metabolic processes of sperm and affecting sperm maturation and motility.
In daily life, it is important to avoid exposure to harmful substances that may affect reproductive function, such as certain chemicals and radioactive materials. These substances may interfere with normal sperm production and development, reducing the effectiveness of male contraceptives and potentially affecting reproductive health.
