A quick snip and no more condoms or pill

By REBECCA WALSH

Four years ago Orewa man Tony Versey decided it was time for "the snip".

A quick visit to the local doctor's surgery and the job was done. Within a week, the father of four was back out windsurfing.

"We did it just after our last son was born. It was a joint decision. We hummed and ha'ed at three [children] as to whether to have four. At four we knew, no more."

The Baptist minister and electrician felt uneasy at first about having a vasectomy. He had heard gruesome stories about infections and admits there "was a time earlier on when you think things like it takes away your manhood". Those thoughts didn't last very long.

Mr Versey, 36, says the vasectomy eliminated the hassle of contraception, was relatively cheap and on a scale of one to 10, the pain was probably about a six.

"It just feels like a real sore pain in the bottom of your stomach. It wasn't excruciating."

He says his friends were all supportive of his decision. Many had already "had the op" or planned to.

His wife, Heidi, 33, says she had not considered a tubal ligation.

"I figured I had done my bit. It's a much simpler operation for him, much quicker and he was quite happy."

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of vasectomy in the world.

Dr Charlotte Paul, an associate professor at Otago University's department of preventive and social medicine, believes there are two main reasons for that - Kiwis' readiness to accept innovation "whether it be cellphones, computers or vasectomies", and less traditional sex roles.

Dr Margaret Sparrow of the Wellington Family Planning Association believes men are more comfortable talking to each other about the operation and she is now seeing men whose fathers have had the operation.

"A common thing we do find in the men who come to us is they have often been at childbirth. That's been quite an experience for them ... but they will say things like, 'I know what my wife has had to go through, this is something that I can contribute'. I think older generations of men didn't have that."

Many did not want their wife or partner to continue taking the pill.

A Victoria University study published last year found the primary reason men chose a vasectomy was because they wanted to "take their turn" for contraception.

Most of the 50 men questioned said they had completed their families. Many said their partner had been primarily responsible for contraception and a vasectomy was less traumatic than a tubal ligation.

Study author Evangeline Heiliger said: "Men have greater loyalty to their partners and children than they do to the opinion of male friends ... "

Herald feature: Health