A mom writes in asking for advice about family planning. She says she and her husband are in agreement that they do not want any more children. The issue? She wants him to get a vasectomy, and he would rather she get her tubes tied (tubal ligation). She wants to know if one method is more effective than the other, or if the risks of one procedure outweigh the risks of the other.
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A member of the community asks:
“Which is better: tubal ligation or vasectomy?
My husband and I are playing pass the buck. We know we don’t want more kids and he is trying to convince me to get my tubes tied while I think he should get the vasectomy. Is one more effective than the other or is one more risky a procedure?”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Mom Who Wants to Know What’s More Effective: Tubal Ligation or Vasectomy?
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Advice Summary
The community offered this mom in need a lot of great advice. Read some of their responses below.
“I think since you CARRIED your child for 9 months and gave birth that HE should step up to the plate & get a vasectomy. You’ve already gone through enough.”
“You did your job. Vasectomies are way easier on the body than tubal litigation. So you have to carry the babies, birth the babies, heal from having babies for many months? He can quit being a jerk and sit on some peas for a few days.”
“He has zero reason to pass this responsibility onto you. You had the babies, he can suck it up and get a small invasive surgery. Who is his mother? I need to have a convo with her.”
“Anytime someone has a surgery in which anesthesia is used there is a risk (tubal). A vasectomy is an in-office procedure offering little to no risk. Other factors to consider are, the recovery is faster, the cost is cheaper and if in the future you change your mind and wish to have another child the chances of reversal are greater and again the cost cheaper…
… They are both highly effective (of course you have to have confirmation if no swimmers from the doctor before you can stop birth control, which takes some time) and both pose a small chance of regrowth. However, again if the male vasectomy fails… you end up pregnant if a tubal fails your chances of ending up with a tubal pregnancy, which are never viable and can sometimes be life-threatening if not caught early enough, are much larger. The moral of this story is… he gets the snip snip!”
“If you’ve birthed a few kids, the least he could do is get snipped!!!!”
“Vasectomy is less invasive and less possible complications. My OB said with tubal there is a chance of having phantom or unexplainable pains for the rest of your life that are said to be worst than period cramps. I’d also check with insurance since it may cost more to do tubal then vasectomy.”
“They can do a test to see if a vasectomy worked. There is no test to see if a tubal actually worked. A vasectomy is a simple office visit and a tubal ligation is an actual procedure that you have to be put under for.”
“My husband got a vasectomy for most of the reasons listed here. I offered to get my tubes tied, clipped, and burned lol but he refused because it’s harder on a woman to get fixed and I gave birth twice so he felt it was the least he could do.”
“Vasectomies are less invasive. Idk about vasectomies but getting tubes tied causes a range of issues in at least 10% of women who get them done. You did the hard work of carrying and delivering the kids. It’s his turn.”
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