While rejecting the myths regarding the so called "infertility pill", a group of medical professionals today said there were no easily available drugs in western medical practice, which can significantly affect fertility, if they were administered once or for a short period, to an individual.

Consultant Physician Dr. Upul Dissanayake in a statement said there had been no documented instances of the use of such drugs aimed at reducing fertility in the population, anywhere in the world.

He said the fertility in males and females was influenced by many factors where medicinal drugs were only one factor which can potentially affect fertility.

“Male fertility depends upon the presence of adequate numbers of active spermatozoa. When either the number of spermatozoa are reduced, or their function and mobility are impaired, the ability to impregnate a woman is reduced and this results in sub-fertility and in extreme situations, infertility. Similar factors may affect the fertility of a woman,” he said.

He said the pharmaceutical industry has been searching for a medicinal drug which can cause temporary infertility so that it can be used as a male contraceptive agent, however such a medicine has not been developed as yet.

He said some medicines used for other purposes may reduce the sperm count in men, or affect fertility in women as a side effect of their use.

“Such a reduction in fertility by these drugs can be reversed in most instances. All such drugs can only be obtained with a valid prescription from a registered doctor. Furthermore, a single dose or a few doses of these medications are not adequate to cause significant changes in sperm counts or sperm function,” he said.