What happened in 2023? Long shunned by men, who preferred condoms or let their partners take care of the couple’s contraception, vasectomy saw a resurgence of interest last year.
This definitive contraceptive method, which consists in blocking sperm by ligation of the channels that allow them to migrate from the testicles, was popular in 2023 by 31,000 men, reports the Epi-Phare survey conducted by the health insurance and the National Agency for the safety of medicines (ANSM) ) published on 12 February. This is fifteen times more than in 2010.
But vasectomy, authorized in France since 2001, still remains very marginal in France, especially compared to other European countries, such as England and the Netherlands. According to the Epi-Phare study, however, this trend in the use of vasectomy is expected to increase in the coming years. Why are men, once so reluctant to take the plunge, now opting for this irreversible contraceptive method?
Read also: 14 men talk about male contraception
A carefully considered approach
For Thomas, 36, who underwent a vasectomy in 2019, it was above all a question of no longer letting his partner take care of the “contraceptive load”as the authors Clémentine Gallot and Caroline Michel theorized The sexual charge (edited by Primo, 2020). Now the father of four children aged 10 1/2 to almost 5, this school teacher says:
“During our last pregnancy, we recognized that this would be our last child. The question of long-term contraception arose. My wife was 33, so we were thinking about 20 or 25 years of contraception. She refused to go back on the pill and hormones and I agreed. She had mentioned the possibility of a copper IUD, but the risk of having to endure heavier periods for all these years displeased her. »
It was he who suggested the idea of undergoing a vasectomization, to spare his partner from having to insert a spiral. But above all for him a concrete way of working for greater equality in her relationship:
“She had endured the pregnancies, breastfeeding and therefore the nights much more than me, the weakened perineum, the weight gain… It seemed normal to me to do my part. She liked the idea. We talked about it a lot. For her it was up to me to make the decision, as it was my body, but she supported me fully. »
Olivier, 48 years old and the father of two teenagers, followed a similar path. After two pregnancies, it seemed normal for him to shoulder his share of the mental burden of contraceptives, especially since hormonal contraceptives generated too many side effects for his wife, and“an equivalent operation in women” (tubal ligation, ed.) it is “heavier” in terms of postoperative effects compared to vasectomy.
For Marc*, 36 years old, vasectomy was an option he had been considering for a long time:
“I had already thought about this possibility even before my partner’s pregnancy, even though I wasn’t in a relationship. I had it in my head that I would get a vasectomization when I was 40, or maybe after I had a child. »
Although he obviously consulted his partner, Marc then made the decision himself. “The mental journey wasn’t very long because the thoughts had already been in the pipeline for some time. »
However, finding the right information was a little trickier.
“I thought I would find information at Family Planning, but I was wrong. And the Facebook pages on the topic are completely parasitized by guys who want to undergo a vasectomization “to have safe sex”… I found very little interesting information there. Additionally, when I began my research, there was no well-written fiber book on the topic. »
It was also difficult to find the practitioner who would perform the operation.
“It took me a while to find where to go. To make a caricature, I did not want to come across a fundamentalist Catholic urologist, who would treat me with a paternalistic or guilty speech. I didn’t want to confuse myself with a doctor due to ethical and/or political considerations. So I took the time to inform myself also because in principle I wanted to move into public service (and not private medicine). In the end it was a doctor friend who advised me to go to the urology department of the University Hospital of Quimper. »
The road to surgery is long
For his part, Olivier had no trouble finding an experienced, non-judgmental urologist.
“He was a surgeon in his early forties, he was very open and confirmed the information I had found, which was that it would not change anything in my sexual life, except that I would no longer be able to procreate. He explained the operation to me in detail, the precautions to be taken in the following days, and he also offered to store my sperm in case I still wanted to have a child one day. »
Thomas explained his plan to his doctor after the birth of his fourth child. “He explained to me in broad terms what to expect. » But he made an observation that was surprising to say the least.
“He wanted to push me to think by telling me: ‘Imagine losing your wife and children in a car accident. You are only 31 years old. You would have time to meet someone and you would like to start a family again.’ »
For the three men we interviewed the procedure was the same. After the visit to the urologist, everyone was given a four-month legal reflection period, at the end of which the operation was then carried out.
“During these four months I never had any doubts, Tommaso tells us. On the contrary, I found these months very long, because once I had made the decision I wanted to move on to something else. »
Although in theory there is a reverse operation – vasovasectomy – its success rate is actually quite low. This is also why men who opt for this contraceptive method are offered sperm banking. ” in case “.
“For my part, I have not deposited sperm, because I believe that leaving this door open to potential future reproduction via in vitro fertilization means not being completely sure of ourselves in the process of voluntary and definitive sterilization. If there is any doubt, why undergo surgery? This is not a convenience operation! », insists Marc. The father, however, chose to donate the sperm to CECOS “before it is no longer possible”. “In Finistère there are very few donations every year, I was happy to be able to participate. »
Bearable postoperative pain
The operation – 70% covered by health insurance and the rest by health insurance – is carried out on an outpatient basis and is rather well tolerated, if we are to believe our three testimonies. Olivier reports that he hasn’t heard “no pain, but discomfort and a feeling of heaviness that persisted for a good week, decreasing day by day”.
“The friction with my thighs was quite annoying and I had the impression of walking like Nicolas Sarkozy for 4 or 5 days, confesses Marc. I was just afraid that the wires would break and I would have to go back to the hospital. »
As for sex life, it has slowly returned to normal for all three. “After five days, first gently, then in a normal way after three weeks, when the sutures have fallen out”, Olivier recalls. Marc had to wait for his complete recovery from the operation to resume relations with his partner, “after three weeks”.
However, you must wait three months after the operation and the completion of a spermogram to permanently stop using a condom or other means of contraception.
“It is the spermiogram that confirms the success of the operation and opens the way to a sexuality free from the stress of contraception”analyzes Olivier.
Vasectomy, a militant choice
But for Olivier, Marc and Thomas, choosing a vasectomy was not just a way to experience their sexuality without the fear of another pregnancy. It is also a militant choice, driven by the desire to actually participate in greater equality between women and men.
“My generation and those that follow seem to be evolving on the vasectomy issue, analyzes Thomas. The idea of sharing the burden of contraception is less and less shocking, although there are still those who think it should fall on women. »
Also explain by speaking “without taboos” of his vasectomy around him:
“I regularly explain and reassure men who ask the question, but don’t necessarily dare to take the plunge. I also happened to talk about it with women whose partners weren’t ready, who asked me to try to convince them. »
Olivier agrees:
“I believe that once we move away from the caricatured image of virility that implies the ability to reproduce, there are no longer any real brakes. Like tubal ligation in women, this is surgery on an area that has no health problems. But vasectomy is a much simpler and lighter operation to undergo than the operation on women. »
This is also why Marc doesn’t agree when we tell him it was ” brave “ to carry out a similar operation. “This bothers me quite a bit! Tubal ligation is much more revered as an operation, it is a much more taxing way of having to undergo the operation. And then daily contraception for women is, in my eyes, the most restrictive daily approach in terms of impact on the body. The consequences on the daily life of the vasectomized man are minimal compared to the impact of hormones, the pill, the spiral or even abortion… Compared to what thousands of women suffer, I find myself far from being courageous. »
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Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
