Choosing a Birth Control Method.

Association of Reproduction Health Professionals

Abstinence/outercourse

Broken Ring Vasectomy

Vasectomy is permanent birth control for men. The tubes in the scrotum that carry sperm to the penis can be either tied or sealed so no sperm are in the semen. Sperm are the reproductive cells in men, and semen is the fluid that carries sperm. Pregnancy can happen if a sperm joins with a woman's egg.

Vasectomy does not affect sexual desire or sexual performance. A vasectomy does not affect your ability to have and keep an erection or to ejaculate (or release sperm from the penis). The only difference is that the semen that is ejaculated no longer carries sperm. Your sperm will look just like it always did, and there will be about as much of it as before.

Vasectomy is not effective immediately; sperm remain in the system beyond the blocked tubes. You must use other birth control until the sperm are used up. This usually takes from 15 to 20 ejaculations, or orgasms.

Vasectomies are permanent. You should consider possible changes in your life, such as divorce, remarriage, or death of children, in which case you may want to have children or more children.

Vasectomy is not intended to protect you from sexually transmitted diseases-called STDs for short-which are diseases, infections, or illnesses that can spread from one person to another through sexual contact. Some examples of STDs are chlamydia, herpes, HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

Pros:

You do not have to do anything right before, during, or after sex.

Cons:

Some men do not want to have an invasive surgical procedure.
A few men will experience complications or side effects of the procedure, including swelling, bruising, or infection.

Effectiveness:

Once a man is sterilized, there is nothing he needs to do to prevent pregnancy in the future after the first 15 to 20 ejaculations. There is no chance for the method to be used incorrectly, so the rates provided are the same.

Perfect use: If 100 men have a vasectomy, maybe 1 man and probably no one out of that group of 100 will cause a woman to become pregnant in one year.
Typical use: If 100 men have a vasectomy, maybe 1 man and probably no one out of that group of 100 will cause a woman to become pregnant in one year.

Available vasectomy options:

In conventional vasectomy, after the scrotum has been numbed with a local anesthetic, the doctor makes one or two small cuts in the skin and lifts out each tube in turn, cutting and blocking them so the sperm cannot reach the semen. Then the doctor stitches the cuts closed.

In a no-scalpel vasectomy, the doctor feels for the tubes under the skin and holds them in place with a small clamp. Instead of making two incisions, the doctor makes one tiny puncture with a special instrument. The same instrument is used to gently stretch the opening so the tubes can be reached. The tubes are then blocked using the same methods as conventional vasectomy. No stitches are needed.