This article provides some information on a woman’s chances of getting pregnant, even after her husband has undergone vasectomy.
Vasectomy is one of the most popular methods of family planning among men. The main reason for this is that this method is said to be permanent and is one of the most effective way of preventing an unwanted pregnancy. It is a minor surgical procedure which does not take more than 30 minutes to be completed. During the procedure, the vas deferens which are two tube like structures that carry the sperms from the testicles to the seminal fluid, are cut and sealed. A vasectomy procedure makes a man sterile, i.e. he loses the ability to produce children in the future. Though this method is considered to be the best permanent contraception, there have been cases where men have impregnated their wives, even after this surgical procedure.
Conception After Vasectomy
Although it is considered to be the safest way of avoiding pregnancy risk, the possibility of the same does exist. This usually happens during the first few months after the procedure is done. Most surgeons advise the affected people to use other contraceptive methods during the first six months after the procedure is done. This is because, even though new sperms cannot enter the seminal fluid after the surgery, some sperms may already exist in it and can make a woman pregnant, if no other contraception is used. According to expert opinion, for the semen to become sperm free, the man has to have 25-30 ejaculations. However, this will be different from person to person and sometimes, some men require 60 ejaculations to become completely sterile after vasectomy.
Another cause for pregnancy post vasectomy is re-canalization. Sometimes, the vas deferens that has been cut during this process, grows back together. If the scar tissue, sperm, and blood cells are in the right locations, the vas deferens joins back naturally, which can lead to pregnancy. This complication can happen any time after the procedure is conducted and is considered to be a surgical error.
Chances of Pregnancy
Although the aforementioned information is true, the risk is very rare. It has been observed that the percentage of pregnancy actually occurring is less than even 1%. Most of the pregnancies occur during the first three to six months after the vasectomy surgery is done. In a study conducted on 540 women whose husbands underwent this surgery, six of them became pregnant. While three of them conceived during the first three months, the other three became pregnant after almost a year due to the failure of the procedure. This study shows that the pregnancy rate after vasectomy is still very low.
Vasectomy Reversal
Sometimes, couples feel the need to have more children after the husband has gone through this surgery. In this case, the men go through vasectomy reversal. Here, the vas deferens, i.e. the tubes that were severed during the surgery are reattached, so that the sperms are able to enter the seminal fluid, subsequently leading to pregnancy. However, the odds of pregnancy after the reversal are not more than 60%, and it may take almost a year for conception to take place. According to experts, more the gap between vasectomy and the reversal procedure of the same, the chances of getting pregnant also decreases considerably.
As getting pregnant after this surgery is actually possible, especially during the first few months, it is important to make use of some other type of contraceptive during this period. On the other hand, if one is unsure about whether he/she wants or does not want to have any more children, it would be a good idea to delay the decision of getting this surgical procedure done. This is because though there are no major complications of vasectomy reversal, it may cause some discomfort, if one choose to have a child in the future.
Disclaimer: This HerHaleness article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.
