What happens if men take the contraceptive pill

If you accidentally take one or even a few pills, nothing is likely to happen. But if you keep taking contraceptives, it can cause some changes to your body over time. Long-term use of estrogen-based contraception can cause the breast tissue to develop. It can affect your sex drive and fertility. This means that issues around reproductive health, like abortion and contraception, need to consider the needs of trans men as well as nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people. You might also take contraceptives to manage hormone-related symptoms, or to avoid menstruating altogether.

Hormonal birth control and testosterone can be used together. As with cisgender women, every form of birth control can have its own set of side effects and risks. For example, some people experience extreme cramps with an IUD while others have no cramps at all. Many transgender men use progesterone-only birth control and avoid estrogen-based birth control, believing the estrogen would interfere with the testosterone or reduce its masculinizing effect.

Just like cisgender women may use the pill to reduce hormonal acne, regulate periods, or reduce mood swings, trans men might use it for the same reasons. For some, menstruation can trigger gender dysphoria. While testosterone can affect the menstrual cycle, many people still bleed from time to time while using testosterone. Phase III trials are the last clinical trials carried out before a medicine is given a marketing licence.

An important disadvantage of using synthetic testosterone is that sperm production is suppressed at different rates in men of different ethnic origins. These differences may be due to genetic, dietary or environmental factors, but the exact reasons are unknown.

Understanding the reasons may lead to new ways of providing effective contraception for all men of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Many of the non-hormonal methods of contraception currently being studied involve the vas deferens. The vas deferens is the tube that sperm pass through on their way to the penis. This tube is cut during a vasectomy. One promising avenue of research is a technique called reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance RISUG.

During this technique, a non-toxic synthetic chemical is injected into the vas deferens. The chemical reacts and blocks the vas deferens. It also kills sperm when they come into contact with it. The chemical is effective almost immediately after it is injected. The chemical stays in place until a man decides that he wants to have children. It can then be washed out using another injection which dissolves and flushes it out of the vas deferens.

A variation of this technique is the intra-vas device IVD. According to an article by Dr. If you accidentally take hormonal birth control once or twice, no worries. But if you take BC pills consistently, the estrogen intake can mess with your sex drive, lower your fertility, and even cause breast tissue growth. Human gender and sexuality are beautifully complex. Remember, even though testosterone hormone therapy lowers your odds of pregnancy, it could still happen. Though many trans men are on birth control to avoid pregnancy, some men take the pill to manage hormone imbalances or to stop getting periods.

Talk to your doctor to figure out the best combination for you. Condoms for a quick fix and vasectomies for… forever. Trans men, you have a variety of birth control options depending on what works best for your body:.

Every body reacts differently, so it might take time to figure out what works best for you. Just like cisgender women, trans men can get PMS , period breakouts, and irregular flows. Birth control pills can help alleviate these issues. For some trans men, getting a monthly period triggers serious gender dysphoria. Even those on hormone therapy bleed from time to time.

If this bothers you, consider using birth control to stop your flow. The question here may be about what would happen if a man took birth control pills, but a more important question might be why a man would take birth control pills in the first place. Let's answer the what, and then take a brief look at the why. But first, a bit of standard advice: Before taking any medication , consult a physician who can recommend the best course of treatment for you and your symptoms or condition.

Birth control pills contain two hormones , estrogen and progestin, that women's bodies produce naturally. When taken in the form of birth control pills, these hormones will regulate a woman's menstrual cycle and keep an egg from implanting in her uterus, thus keeping her from becoming pregnant. These hormones are also made in smaller amounts in men's bodies. Estrogen is used in sperm development, and progestin makes testosterone [source: Planned Parenthood ].

If a man took just one or two birth control pills, nothing would happen. There is not enough of either hormone to throw a man's body out of balance with just a couple of pills.

However, if a man took birth control pills on a regular basis over an extended period of time, his breasts might grow larger, his testicles might shrink, and his sex drive and amount of facial hair might decrease. Higher levels of estrogen also increase the risk of an enlarged prostate and prostate cancer. On the upside, birth control pills may help protect against heart attacks, but that possibility is too iffy to be a good reason for a man to start taking them [source: Maine ].