You will never guess what the CDC just revealed about single American men in the US. Recall that this federal agency monitors and prevents disease outbreaks, from autism to zika, and also maintains nationwide health statistics. They do good work and, like me, are keenly interested in men’s health. I applaud them.
So what are sexually active young American men up to these days? Taking control of contraception, that’s what! Check out the latest stats (2011 to 2015):
- Almost 60% of unmarried men used male contraception with intercourse. This has increased from almost 50% a decade ago. Nice!
- The flat out #1 choice for men is condoms, used 30 times more often than vasectomy(1.4% of men). Makes sense that men are worried about more than just unwanted pregnancies when lighting things up.
- Surprisingly, pulling out (withdrawal) is “in” again with a 2-fold increase in use from a decade ago (now 19% of men). Hey whatever works–withdrawal isn’t as bad as it’s cracked up to be.
- It is good to know that 95% of unmarried men ages 15-19 having sex use some form of contraception. And the vast majority (87%) chose condoms. Nice to know that teenagers, who have the highest risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, realize that barriers are best.
- Interestingly, never married, single, sexually active men have a very high rate of using male contraceptives (75%). Probably scared out of their lives.
So what’s the real news here? Congratulations, men! Good for you for doing your part in pregnancy prevention. And for making more responsible and wiser sexual health choices as you meander into adulthood. And hats off to you for using more contraception than you ever have before. See, you really can teach an old dog new tricks.
This post first appeared on The Turek Clinics.
