Vasectomy
The cutting and tying of the two sperm-carrying ducts that lead from the testes to the penis.
Advantages
• Almost 100 per cent effective.
• Sex drive is not affected in most men.
• Once done it needs no further thought.
• The man can be sure that he cannot father children he doesn’t want.
• There is no chance of his partner ‘making a mistake’.
Disadvantages
• It is permanent and virtually irreversible-a major disadvantage in a world of unstable marriages because the man might want children in a new relationship.
• In men who are psychosexually unstable, or when the relationship is not good, there is a danger of sexual problems afterwards.
Coitus interruptus (withdrawal, ‘being careful’)
With this method the man withdraws his penis just before he is about to ejaculate so that no sperms enter the vagina. The failure rate is undoubtedly very high. It is a good idea to keep some spermicidal foam handy in case of an accident.
Advantages
• It doesn’t cost anything.
• It has no medical side-effects.
Disadvantages
• It is very unsafe because many men find it difficult to withdraw when it comes to it, especially if they are ‘carried away’ with the sex act.
• It restricts positions of love-making to those in which the penis can be withdrawn instantaneously.
• If the woman is worried that the man will not withdraw in time she may not relax and so will not enjoy sex much.
• The man may need to withdraw his penis before his partner has had an orgasm because his is about to occur. This can leave the woman ‘high and dry’. Obviously she can be brought to orgasm in other ways but many couples find this unsatisfactory.
• It is not a good method for the inexperienced couple, mainly because the man probably has not learned to recognize when his ejaculation is imminent.
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