New developments in contraceptive technology

Abstract

The demand for fertility control is expected to increase in the next two to three decades as the number of couples in the reproductive age groups in developing countries alone is expected to grow to nearly 1 billion. The crucial issues in the future will therefore be aimed at optimizing the use of currently available methods and making them safe, effective and acceptable, with minor alterations in composition or delivery system. In addition, there should be new developments in contraceptive technology. In this paper, an update will be given of the work presently underway on improving existing methods of fertility control and also on the research being undertaken on possible new contraceptive methods. It is extremely difficult to predict with certainty the future direction of contraceptive technology. Workers and 'seers' in the field of contraceptive research predict no completely novel breakthrough in this century at least. Yet there is hope for some novel breakthrough in contraceptive technology from the work which is being done at present by independent researchers. Perhaps, these may bear fruit in the twenty-first century.