Canada Journal – News of the World Articles and videos to bring you the biggest Canadian news stories from across the country every day
A new male birth control shot has proven effective in a new study, though side effects, including acne and mood swings, cut the study short. But according to researchers, the jab was proven 96 percent effective.
Unfortunately, the study was halted back in 2012 because 20 of the 320 men stopped getting the injection due to its side effects. Six stopped solely because of changes in mood. Six more discontinued for one of the following reasons: Acne, palpitations, hypertension, erectile dysfunction and pain or panic at first injection. Finally, eight more men stopped for more than one reported side effect, which included a number of mood-related changes.
HOLD THE PHONE. Does any of this sound familiar, ladies who have taken the pill, the shot or practically any other form of hormonal birth control? Mood swings, depression, acne, changes to the libido. This sound like exactly what women have been enduring for decades for the sake of pregnancy prevention.
Don’t get me wrong. Female hormonal birth control allows women to take charge of their own fertility. It’s awesome, actually. But it doesn’t come without very real risks. As Elisabeth Lloyd, a faculty scholar at the Kinsey Institute who is unaffiliated with the study, told CNN:
“Twenty percent or 30 percent of the women who take oral birth control pills experience depression and have to take medication for it. So the difference just struck me. They terminated this study once it showed 3 percent depression for the men.”
It does seem odd that men need to have birth control with fewer side effects before it can be available, when women are basically forced to suck it up. Can we get some better options, too?
Agencies/Canadajournal
