Vasectomy - the new condom in your wallet
Categories: Just for dads, Love & sex, Pregnancy & birth
While it's not standard operating procedure, it's not uncommon for an older gentleman who is done having kids to get a vasectomy. When it comes to having sex, I imagine it is a much more convenient and efficient method of birth control than using a condom. These days, however, it's not just granddads who are taking advantage of that convenience.According to this article, younger men are opting to take control of the contraception situation themselves -- and permanently. Or at least semi-permanently, since vasectomies are, in theory, reversible. When the vasectomy is done at an early age and the reversal much later, however, the likelihood of restoring fertility is much lower than when the initial cut is made later and the reversal done sooner thereafter.
So why would a guy take such a chance with his potential fatherhood? Well, actually, it's because they don't want to take a chance on fatherhood. After half a dozen near-misses with an unwanted pregnancy, Tim Vass got snipped. Afterwards, he says, the sex was much better -- "It's like eating junk food and knowing you're not going to get fat."
Personally, I'm not in favor of any surgery, no matter how minor, that's not absolutely necessary. Of course, I've got the most reliable form of contraception -- kids. Still, even though I'm done having kids, I think I would rather use a condom than get snipped. But if I were young, and single, and had any chance of getting lucky, I could see how a vasectomy would be a tempting alternative to carrying a bunch of condoms around with me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nicola 7-26-2008 @ 9:44PM
Makes absolutely no sense to me. A young single guy NEEDS to wear a condom. HIV anybody??? Herpes, Gonorrhea, etc.? A married man, or a man in a committed relationship (ie not playing the field) would be the ideal candidate. My husband has his vasectomy as soon as possible after the birth of our son. We knew that we didn't want any more kids and we knew that we enjoyed unprotected sex. The day that we threw away the rest of that Sams box of condoms was a happy day in deed. But for a guy who's playing around, a vasectomy is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Unless he enjoys playing the STD game as well as playing the field...
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Amy 7-26-2008 @ 10:59PM
Nicola is absolutely right. 1/4 of Americans are carrying herpes.
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/g/genital_herpes/prevalence.htm
And that's just one of the dozens of different STDs and STIs that are out there. Anyone who is not in a long-term monogamous is playing with fire if they aren't using condoms.
I'm safely in a monogamous relationship, and our method of choice is the Mirena IUD. LOVE IT. I was concerned about possible consequences of vasectomy for my husband. The IUD's only side effect is that I don't get periods. Boo hoo. And one $30 co-pay bought me 5 years of birth control, versus having to pay a $30 co-pay and see a doctor once a year for a pill refill, plus $10 a month for the pill (total cost over 5 years - $750). It was a brief insertion, and no more painful than a regular pap smear (in spite of the horror stories I read online). If a woman has given birth and is in a monogamous relationship, I highly recommend it.
Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com
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caitlin 7-27-2008 @ 9:46AM
Some people know from a relatively early age that they don't want children or only want a very small family. Having a kid is a huge responsibility and not one that you can just decide you no longer want one day.
Condoms break and the pill fails sometimes. If you're childfree, it makes perfect sense to get snipped. And it's not like guys have anything between condoms and abstinence when it comes to non-permanent birth control. I know a few guys in their 20s who have vasectomies and it's because they're childfree - not promiscuous. Being a parent is really hard some days - I couldn't imagine getting through the bad days if I had no interest in being a parent and only had it foisted upon me because birth control failed.
It may be a decision that they regret down the road, but better to regret that than to regret being the father of a child you didn't want. Children do eventually pick up on that. If 23 was old enough for me to be congratulated on getting pregnant and taking on the lifelong responsibility of having a child, it's old enough for someone to choose sterilization.
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