Effectiveness, desire not to have children, sharing of the contraceptive mental burden with their female partners, “more and more French men are using this definitive contraception”. Still marginal a few years ago, vasectomy is gaining popularity every year.
A phenomenon highlighted by a study carried out jointly by Health Insurance and the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), as part of a work program dedicated to the sexual health of the French and their contraception.
Comparable to tubal ligation in women, the operation consists of blocking the sperm, via the section and occlusion of the vas deferens which transport them from the testicles. Along with the condom, vasectomy is the only method of contraception recognized by world health in France.
A less cumbersome and more accepted operation
For the authors of the study, the use of vasectomy in France reflects the evolution of men’s views on their contraception. The average age of men having a vasectomy was 44 years in 2010, it is now 41 years. A decline which can be explained in particular by the evolution of operating techniques. It now only requires a daytime visit to the hospital, when previously it was necessary to spend the night or more there, under general anesthesia.
Another significant aspect, compared to the high costs of other contraception borne by patients: it is reimbursed by Health Insurance. However, its democratization is not yet complete. The fault is the reflection period of four months after the first medical appointment, necessary for finalizing the procedure.
In the end, it’s just “ around 0.15% of men concerned – or, according to the study, adults under 70 – made this choice in 2022 », Specify the authors. While Brittany and Pays de la Loire where vasectomy is most popular, researchers observe “ significantly lower rates in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Hauts-de-France, Corsica and Île-de-France ».
Female sterilization falls but mental burden remains
In the United States or South Korea, countries where vasectomies are common, more than one in ten women rely on their partner’s operation to avoid having children. The French have long preferred female sterilization.
In 2021, for the first time in France, there were more male sterilizations than female sterilizations. A trend confirmed in 2022, when the number of sterilized women has been halved in ten years. According to the ANSM, this drop is explained in particular by the cessation of the marketing of Essure implants in 2017, criticized for their side effects.
Symbol of “double standards” in terms of contraception, the High Authority of Health always indicates on its site the “ withdrawal » (interruption of the sexual act before ejaculation), as a method of contraception. The promotion of this practice, far from being reliable, illustrates a stubborn reality: to avoid getting pregnant, contraception remains a woman’s business.
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