Copper is my only weakness!
So maybe sperm has a few other weaknesses but the idea that copper kills sperm does have a certain super hero vibe to it, doesn’t it? Anyway, since I’m pursuing a minor in sexuality and gender studies I like to stay updated on things like birth control and women’s health care. I’ve known about IUDs for a long time but now that they have been deemed safer and a healthy option for people who have not yet had children they have risen in popularity so I decided to focus on copper IUDs for a blog post.
How effective are they? Super. The UN published a report that read described a Chilean study, “Fertilized eggs were found in eight of 36 women using no contraceptives, while only one fertilized egg was recovered among 22 users of inert IUDs that contain no copper and none in 43 users of copper IUDs” (IUDs). Family Planning NSW explains, “The copper IUD is at least 99% effective. This means that on average, if 100 women use a copper IUD for one year, one woman could become pregnant while using the IUD” (Copper).
So they’re effective but how do they work? Um… we’re not totally sure. Of course we know that it works by being inserted into the cervix so that any sperm that makes its way up there is killed by the copper and thus prevented from moving into the fallopian tubes to potentially fertilize an egg. That’s pretty basic but as for why or how the copper kills sperm? It’s not clear. I have looked through numerous studies and where all of them were able to describe what the copper does to the sperm – my favorite explanation goes out to the UN, “Many studies have shown copper to act as a spermicide. In a study of the Copper T 200, scientists observed that the sperm heads were detached from the tails in a majority of sperm cells” (IUDs) – none of them explained how the copper created this affect.
As we have learned in class, science is pretty good at observing but it is not always possible to explain.
Sources:
“Copper IUD.” Family Planning NSW. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2015. <http://www.fpnsw.org.au/682847_8.html>.
“IUDs Block Fertilization.” UN News Center. UN, 1996. Web. 04 Dec. 2015. <http://www.un.org/popin/popis/journals/network/network162/blck162.html>.
Its always pretty interesting to see such a remarkable discovery that also has little to no explanation on the mechanics of the tool or disease. It just goes to show how little we do know about in this even though we have accomplished so much.
I’m amazed at the fact that this procedure can so quickly removed and with out little to no time you could start planning for kids. You would think that there would be some lasting affect to something so effective.
Thats so clever! It really does seem like copper is a sperm’s kryptonite. And I agree, IUDs are a great alternative birth control method. In fact many ob/gyns choose IUDs over other forms of birth control.