It took Patrick Nzuki, 35, sometime last year to overcome a reality that faced him—his wife, who was on family planning contraceptive pills—was pregnant with their fourth child.
“I was devastated after tests showed that my wife had an unintended pregnancy despite being on pills,” he said.
“During the pregnancy, my wife had developed complications as she suffered from painful vericose veins after she had switched from an injectable method which had earlier led her body to swell leading to bloating as well as experiencing abdominal pain and heavy menstruation,”.
Speaking during a recent interview held in Kitengela town, Mr Nzuki reminisces: “Despite the difficulties, my wife gave birth through a caesarian section to a healthy baby girl at Nairobi’s Marie Stopes clinic in Eastleigh on December 4th last year.”
“At this juncture, we both agreed we did not want any more children and after counseling sessions by the health workers, I decided to undergo a vasectomy at Embakasi health facility,”.
Experts have identified vasectomy as a contraceptive method suitable for men who are sure they don’t want any more children and is a popular method of family planning chosen by millions of men worldwide.
It is safe, effective and offers a permanent solution to contraceptive needs.
The simple procedure involves closing the tubes that carry sperm from the man’s testicles through a small cut which is made in the scrotum and takes about 15 minutes—making it one of the most effective methods of contraception that exists—with a failure rate of approximately one man in 2,000.
Earlier, Mr Nzuki recalled: “After my wife delivered our fourth child, I prayed hard and vowed to take up the mantle to ensure she would not become pregnant again since marriage is a partnership…
“After counseling, I underwent a vasectomy which was successful, but I failed to heed the advice I had been given by the medics to take some pain killer medications after I developed an infection. However, the infection later cleared and now I am as fit as a fiddle,”.
Mr Nzuki suggests that there is need to start a vasectomy support group in Kenya to sensitise as many men as possible on benefits of the permanent contraception method which is suitable for those who do not want any more children.
“As a (vasectomy) beneficiary, I would like to reassure men that the simple procedure is safe and effective…Personally, we are now enjoying sexual intimacy better than before with my wife as there is no lingering fear of pregnancy.
“As most (married) men engage in multiple sexual relationships, vasectomy ensures that they are no chances of pregnancies occurring with other partners,”.
A registered clinical officer (Reproductive health), Ms Patience Ruwa says vasectomy is currently experiencing a “tremendous uptake” among men at Nairobi’s Embakasi health facility where men travel from as far away places such as Kisumu and Narok towns for the procedure.
Ms Ruwa—who is based at Nairobi’s Mukuru health facility—attributes the increase in the uptake for vasectomy due to the ongoing media sensitisation campaign being spearhead by Marie Stopes staffers.
“Between June to December 2023, for example, 138 vasectomy procedures were undertaken in Embakasi, Kahawa West and Mathare North health facilities in Nairobi.
“I would therefore like to encourage as many men as possible to consider embracing this simple and effective family planning procedure,”.
At the same time, Ms Ruwa dispels common misconceptions about vasectomy assuring that it does not affect libido or sexual performance.
“The procedure is quick, typically taking less than 30 minutes, and is performed under local anaesthesia…
“Vasectomy is one of the most effective forms of birth control, with a success rate of over 90 per cent,”.
According to results from a study by the Ministry of Health and IntraHealth in 2018, scaling up vasectomy services could help the country build on decades of family planning progress and help achieve its modern contraceptive prevalence rate to 66 per cent by 2030.
Ms Ruwa is among several public health workers who have undergone through on-job-training on provision of quality family planning and sexual reproductive health services to women, men and young girls provided by experts drawn from Marie Stopes Kenya.
In the partnership between Marie Stopes and several public health facilities—women, men and young girls—are now able to access accurate information and safe, effective and acceptable contraception method of their choice as vasectomy and Bilateral tubal ligation as well as post-abortion care (PAC) services to those in dire need of emergency care.
According to experts, PAC is a package of life saving interventions that combines maternal healthcare including emergency treatment for complications of induced or spontaneous abortion with voluntary contraception counseling and service delivery.
