News
Investigating the snip this men's health week
Celebrating International Men’s Health Week (9-15 June), Australia’s leading sexual and reproductive healthcare organisation urged all men who have completed their families or who are certain they don’t want any children to take the time to think seriously about a vasectomy.
“With a 99.5% success rate, vasectomy is a safe, simple, highly effective and permanent way to take the worry and hassle out of contraception for you and your partner,” Jill Michelson, Operations Manager of Marie Stopes International said.
Vasectomy is the only permanent method of contraception for men and is performed under local anaesthetic, blocking the vas deferens so that sperm produced in the testes cannot get into the semen.
The Australian Men's Attitudes to Contraception and Vasectomy study[1], conducted by Quantum Market Research, surveyed 1000 men and found that the procedure was popular with Australian men, with 29% of men aged 40-49 and 34% of men aged 50-59 having had a vasectomy.
The research, however, found that only 39% of men aged 18-29 had spoken to a GP on the issue of contraception and sexual health, and 24% of men wrongly believed that having a vasectomy is ‘really painful’.
“To address this, Marie Stopes International developed an Online Vasectomy Chat service, allowing men to anonymously get expert answers to any question they had about the procedure from the comfort of their home or office - allaying their fears and dispelling many of the myths out there,” Ms Michelson said.
“The immediacy of the online service also means that men no longer have the excuse of not having enough time to find out about the ‘snip’!”
“The truth is that having a vasectomy is a relatively pain free procedure, and won’t effect your sex life or performance.
“Many couples have actually found greater sexual freedom once they no longer have the worry of contraception or an unplanned pregnancy.
“By finding out answers to their questions about the procedure, men considering a vasectomy will see how relatively straightforward one really is.
“And what better week to get online and have a chat than International Men’s Health Week!”
The Online Vasectomy Chat Service can be accessed via www.vasectomyinfo.com.au and is available Monday - Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday from 9am - 2pm EST. To enquire about booking a vasectomy, phone Freecall 1800 003 707.
To celebrate International Men’s Health Week, vasectomy bookings made in June will receive a $30 discount. To qualify for the $30 discount, mention ‘International Men’s Health Week’ at the time of your booking.
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About Marie Stopes International: Marie Stopes International is a not-for-profit sexual and reproductive healthcare provider, with 9 centres in the ACT, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. The organisation offers a range of services, including abortion, vasectomy, sexually transmitted infection check-ups and contraception. Surplus proceeds from Australian activities support the work of Marie Stopes International Partnerships, which delivers sexual and reproductive health services to more than four million people in over 40 countries. For more information, visit www.mariestopes.com.au
For media enquiries contact Samantha Smith on 0421 097 150
[1] Australian Men’s Attitudes to Contraception and Vasectomy, Quantum Market Research (commissioned by Marie Stopes International), January 2006. Accessible via www.mariestopes.com.au
