World Contraception Day on September 26 offers an opportunity to look closely at a part of family planning that receives very little attention: contraception for men. The key question here is why the range of methods available to men and women remains so different.
Women today have options including oral pills, injectables, implants, intrauterine devices and permanent sterilisation, though access and affordability to safe and reliable contraception in our country continues to remain a major challenge. For men, the practical choices are still largely limited to condoms for reversible contraception and vasectomy for permanent contraception. Male and female reproduction are governed by the same broad hormonal axis, yet the biology, anatomy and mechanics of preventing conception create very different problems. Understanding those differences helps explain why a male equivalent of the pill has remained elusive.