It's not always the woman’s job – men can take responsibility too.
Birth control and family planning often land on the woman's to-do list but there are many reasons why men should be play a bigger role in this too.
Not least, a vasectomy (male sterilisation) is considered 99% effective, it's permanent, and it's a simpler and safer alternative to female sterilisation.
There are many misconceptions about the procedure, says Gqebhera-based urologist Dr Lonwabo Gqoli, but all of those can be cured with a conversation to explain what's it's all about. He tells Drum more.
The first things guys are probably going to worry about is that it will affect their sex drive. But this is not the case – they will still have erections and be able to ejaculate.
“Okay, I think an important place to start is to say semen is not all sperm," Dr Gqoli says. "What can be seen with the naked eye when a man ejaculates is made up of three fluids – sperm from the testicles, seminal vesicle fluid from accessory glands behind the bladder, and prostatic fluid from the prostate.
“Of all those fluids, it is the sperm that actually makes babies once it fertilises an egg, not everything you can see. And in terms of volume contribution, the sperm only accounts for 2-4% of what you see upon ejaculation,” he says.
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Dr Gqoli says a vasectomy is a one-day procedure that doesn't require men to sleep in hospital. It's usually done under local anaesthetic, where you're awake but don't feel any pain, and takes about 15 minutes
“Some men go to work in the afternoon after having done it in the morning. Others go the following day. The recovery can take generally up to five days and then a man can have sex again.
"It is a form of contraceptive but is obviously permanent and not as complicated as the procedure that women do,” he says.
As someone who had a vasectomy I can honestly say I made the right decision for me, an I would recommend it to every guy, in fact I bring it up every chance I get, should you have any questions feel free to ask me ????, well inform you of my experience.
— Vasectomy Advocate (@KatlegoBogosi) May 23, 2021
Although men can have sex again after the five-day recovery period, they must continue to use other contraceptives for three months, Dr Gqoli says.
“After three months, there is a post vasectomy semen analysis that has to be done. This is very important. We check if the semen has any sperm in it and if it doesn’t, then the man is free to have sex without protection. But that does not protect against anything but pregnancies, so there still can be STDs."
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In places like the States, there's been a lot of litigation against doctors because of pregnancies after a vasectomy.
"They say the doctors must then raise the kids, so when I do a vasectomy, I make sure,” Dr Gqoli laughs.
Once given the all-clear after three months, the procedure is considered a success.
He says vasectomies are for people who are absolutely sure they do not want to have children, or more children.
“It is reversible, but it is complex," he explains.
Most medical aids cover the costs in full and it is also available in state hospitals.
