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A guest post from Jaylan Weaver. Our current reproductive health landscape places contraceptive responsibility almost entirely on women and people with uteruses. Women are expected to carry the full weight of preventing pregnancy often through methods that are costly, invasive, or have side effects. This results in an inequitable system that reinforces long standing gender and social disparities.This imbalance creates cascading challenges throughout the reproductive health system, including increased reliance on emergency contraception when other methods fail or are inaccessible.
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Zoe Shipley was one of MCI's MPH practicum students over Summer 2025, where she worked on stakeholder mapping and policy planning. Here she talks about her experience and interest in male contraception.
 This blog series highlights pertinent publications that were featured in MCI's monthly newsletter editions in the third quarter of 2025. The purpose of this blog is to report interesting or relevant work from MCI Fellows, Grantees, staff members, and other community authors in the field of male contraception.
For decades, reproductive health innovation globally has overwhelmingly focused on female biology, while male contraceptive options have remained limited to condoms and vasectomy. This imbalance isn’t because researchers lack targets to develop, and it isn’t because people don’t want it…it’s primarily because male contraceptive development has been chronically underfunded. Now, the field of contraceptive development and reproductive health is in a challenging new phase–with the already modest amount of funding available subjected to even wider cuts. This raises the question: how can recent advancements in male contraception contribute to reproductive autonomy for both men and women?
 Jiachen (far right) What's your educational/professional background and experience?
I come from a background that’s pretty different from what you might expect in the field of male contraception. I was born and raised in China and spent two years studying at a university there before transferring to the University of British Columbia in Canada. I pursued a degree in Natural Resource Conservation, which has resulted in two undergraduate degrees, both centred on the forest and environment. I graduated this May, and while my academic background might seem unrelated to reproductive health, it has deeply influenced how I see the world. In conservation studies, we often talk about the importance of balance between nature and human needs, between long-term sustainability and immediate pressures. I think that same mindset applies to reproductive health. Contraception, at its core, is about balancing autonomy, responsibility, and health for everyone. That’s a perspective I bring with me from my conservation work into my passion for reproductive justice.  This blog series highlights pertinent publications that were featured in MCI's monthly newsletter editions in the second quarter of 2025. The purpose of this blog is to report interesting or relevant work from MCI Fellows, Grantees, staff members, and other community authors in the field of male contraception.
A guest blog post from Olivia Sumerfield, MCI YAB member and student researcher  Being a college student means exploring how the world works, and the exact holes of where it doesn’t. As a developmental biology student at UC Berkeley, I couldn’t help but see the biological holes that are integrated into our society– particularly in reproduction. For such a densely populated planet, humans have lots of issues with reproduction. Some people can’t get pregnant and others can’t STOP getting pregnant. As a female student, perhaps the largest hole I noticed was the discourse surrounding these issues– Why was it always about women? Where were the male contraceptives? Why are women blamed for both infertility and pregnancy? So this was the hole in our society’s fabric that I fastened myself to.
 (Source: Ferenc Husvéth) Capacitation, generally speaking, is the change sperm undergo in the female reproductive tract that enables them to penetrate and fertilize an egg.
This step is a biochemical event; the sperm moves normally and looks mature prior to capacitation. It is important to note that once the sperm reaches the egg, it does not mean that it is capable of fertilizing it immediately. In order to fertilize the egg, the sperm must undergo the process of capacitation in the reproductive tract where a number of enzymes and signaling molecules are involved. This process can take around 10 hours, which means that the fertilization time is approximately 24 hours.  Vasectomy and condoms are the only current options for male contraception. The most popular form of long-acting male contraception is a vasectomy. Unfortunately, vasectomies are not considered truly reversible. Reversal of a vasectomy is often expensive, and requires a long surgery by a specialized provider.
 The prostate is part of the male reproductive system. A walnut-sized gland located between the male bladder and the penis, the prostate sits just in front of the rectum. The urethra runs from the bladder to the penis, through the center of the prostate.
 Unintended pregnancies remain a persistent global health challenge, highlighting the critical need for more diverse contraceptive options for men. Currently, available choices are limited, with condoms and vasectomy serving as the primary options. Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI) plays a vital role in addressing this need by funding research and advocating for safe, effective, and reversible contraceptive solutions for sperm-producing individuals. Our grantmaking strategy is evolving to optimize our impact in the field, as reflected in our 2025 Request for Applications (RFA).
 I first became interested in birth control after I got a pulmonary embolism from my daily oral contraceptive in the fall of my freshman year. After that experience, I was intrigued by the effects of birth control and the various contraceptive mechanisms that were currently being researched, which was when I came across the Male Contraceptive Initiative. Having taken Mandarin since sixth grade, this project immediately appealed to me. I am currently pursuing a degree in Computational Biology and Comparative Literature with English and Chinese at Brown University, so this project was the intersection of my academic and personal interests: biology, Mandarin translation, and birth control.
 This blog series highlights pertinent publications that were featured in MCI's monthly newsletter editions in the first quarter of 2025. The purpose of this blog is to report interesting or relevant work from MCI Fellows, Grantees, staff members, and other community authors in the field of male contraception.
 The human reproductive system is a complex set of intertwining factors, many of which are required for sustained fertility. By interrupting even a single one of these required processes, we can find new ways to create exciting non-hormonal contraceptives for men. One process is the creation of sperm, or spermatogenesis.
 (Image Source: Public Domain) We acknowledge that a person's sex and gender are two different things, as discussed here. Sex is defined as, "either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male, especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures."
In this article, we will be referring to "male" and "female" in reference to the scientific classification of a reproductive system and not a person's gender identity.  (Image courtesy of Wumingbai) Ejaculation is the discharge of semen from the male reproductive tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception.
 (Image courtesy of Corode) A condom is a barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI), and there are versions for both male and female users. A barrier device, or barrier method, is something that helps prevent pregnancy by blocking sperm from reaching and subsequently fertilizing the egg.
 When it comes to contraception and family planning, women and people with uteruses have historically shouldered most of the burden. From pills to IUDs, the majority of contraceptive methods have been designed with women in mind. However, there is a growing need for more male contraceptive options that are safe, effective, and easy to use.
 Public health initiatives have long relied on vaccination campaigns to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, saving countless lives and improving global health. As the field of male contraception continues to evolve, there are valuable lessons to be learned from the success of vaccination campaigns—lessons that can be applied to the development, distribution, and acceptance of new male contraceptive methods.
 This blog series highlights pertinent publications that were featured in MCI's monthly newsletter editions in the fourth quarter of 2024. The purpose of this blog is to report interesting or relevant work from MCI Fellows, Grantees, staff members, and other community authors in the field of male contraception.
 MCI recently had the privilege of collaborating with World Vasectomy Day organization at a summit in Lusaka, Zambia. This event brought together a diverse group of medical students and healthcare providers, all united by a common goal: to emphasize the crucial role of men in family planning.
 This blog series highlights pertinent publications that were featured in MCI's monthly newsletter editions in the third quarter of 2024. The purpose of this blog is to report interesting or relevant work from MCI Fellows, Grantees, staff members, and other community authors in the field of male contraception.
 MCI's Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is a group of young people (16-28) providing their perspectives to our work and advocating for male contraception. It is a group of passionate young leaders involved in advising MCI’s staff on advocacy and research efforts, and peer educators and advocates for male contraception. In this blog post, several YAB members shared their thoughts on the importance of male contraception.
 As men progress through their reproductive journey, it's important to consider how their reproductive health needs change with age. Personas are fictional characters that are useful for understanding the thoughts, interests, and needs of a specific target audience. MCI is using personas to contextualize the lived experiences of potential users, beneficiaries, and intermediaries with regard to male contraception. In doing so, we hope to gain a greater understanding of how novel male contraceptive products can serve the evolving needs of sperm producers.
 Upon entering the second half of their reproductive journey, sperm producers are faced with having to make a concrete decision with regard to their family planning goals. Everyone’s reproductive health needs change over time, however, the evolving needs of sperm producers have not been contextualized to the same degree as egg producers. MCI has begun using personas in their ideation activities, in order to understand how men’s reproductive interests, change with age. Personas are fictional representations of potential male contraceptive users, beneficiaries, and intermediaries. Personas are creative tools that are incorporated into user-centered design exercises and allow organizations to identify user preferences and guide new product designs.
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