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Interviewer: Six reasons women love men that get a vasectomy. Dr. Alex Pastuszak is a urologist and reproductive expert at University of Utah Health, and he's counseled thousands of patients through this decision. And today we're going to find out the top six reasons that women love men that get a vasectomy. Let's just start with number one.

Dr. Pastuszak: Reason number one, they don't have to think about birth control anymore. I mean, it's one thing less on your to-do list. Instead of having to go get your birth control every month, either from the pharmacy or from your doctor, you've got your guy who's already taken care of it. Once a vasectomy is done and the lab results come back and there's no more sperm, you're good to go.

Interviewer: All right. Yeah, that's awesome, because so often the woman is responsible for birth control, and, you know, even with other long-term options, in three years you've got to go back or whatever. So it's one and done as they say.

Dr. Pastuszak: One and done.

Interviewer: Okay. Six reasons women love men that get a vasectomy, number two.

Dr. Pastuszak: All right. So a vasectomy is really reliable. I mean, just think about the financial and emotional burden that an unplanned pregnancy can have on someone's life. A vasectomy is more than 99 percent effective. It's really only secondary to abstinence, which most couples, once they're in a partner relationship, don't really want to have. You can test to see that it's been effective, and it's going to prevent you from having a pregnancy down the road.

Interviewer: So that reliability, yeah, I mean a financial hardship or a really tough decision could come if you've decided, you know, we're done having children, and then you have to deal with that. So a vasectomy, very reliable. I like that. What about number three on the top six reasons women love men that get vasectomies?

Dr. Pastuszak: Another great reason is that there are no side effects for the woman, and quite honestly there are almost no side effects for the men either. Remember, the risks of side effects are really about in the 1–2 percent range. So other forms of birth control can have significant side effects for women.

Just think about all the hormonal manipulation that all of these birth control options, except tubal ligation, have. And this can leave women feeling awful, gaining weight, and just in general not wanting to continue with that birth control. Why not just one and done it and get that vasectomy?

Interviewer: All right. Six reasons women love men that get a vasectomy, number four.

Dr. Pastuszak: All right. So this kind of following on what I just said about tubal ligation, you don't need a tubal ligation as the female partner if your male partner has gotten a vasectomy. Why is that important? Because vasectomy is just as effective, safer, and cheaper. So why would a woman need to put herself through a more invasive, riskier, and more expensive procedure when a guy can just go ahead and get his done?

Interviewer: All right. And number five on the top six reasons women love men that get a vasectomy?

Dr. Pastuszak: It's a one-time cost. That's it. And it's usually extraordinarily well covered by insurance. Insurance companies don't want people to have babies. They want them to not have babies. So they'll cover this the vast majority of the time. So pay for it once, and that's it, no more ongoing expenses.

Interviewer: All right. And number six and the final reason that women love men that get vasectomies?

Dr. Pastuszak: It makes a man sexier, Scott.

Interviewer: How's that?

Dr. Pastuszak: What is sexier than a man taking responsibility for the family's birth control? I mean, think about it. Women do so much. A woman, in today's day and age, is still very often both a career person as well somebody who takes care of the kids, raises the kids, and runs the household. A guy can step up and do his part. In no way, any evidence that a vasectomy is going to affect a man's masculinity.

You know, there's

• no impact on testosterone,
• no impact on sexual function,
• no impact on an ejaculatory function,
• no impact on cancer risk,
• etc., etc.

There is absolutely zero reason why a man shouldn't get a vasectomy and be rewarded by being that guy who steps up.

Interviewer: How should a woman bring this topic up in a way that a man might be more open to it if he initially is not? Like if there's a woman listening, that's like, "I don't know if my husband is going to buy into this," and she's already laid out it's going to make you sexier, is there anything else that you would recommend?

Dr. Pastuszak: So I would find that a very compelling reason, but . . .

Interviewer: Yeah, I would think so. I think we should be done really, but, you know, maybe there's that one stubborn guy out there, because, you know, we do exist.

Dr. Pastuszak: You know, it may be a process. You know, but ultimately knowledge is power. I think the facts speak for themselves, and, you know, quite honestly, like getting a man in front of somebody who can actually tell him what the experience is going to be like, either somebody who's had a vasectomy or a urologist who does these day in and day out, is a start.

Interviewer: Got you. What's the next step after you get that buy-in from your man?

Dr. Pastuszak: Go see your urologist. Go see somebody who can give you the facts.

Dr. Gellner: Teens and STDs, or STIs as they're now called, sexually transmitted infections, are they really something we need to worry about? More than you think.

Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering the Healthy Kid Zone with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Scope.

Dr. Gellner: While adults tried to stress to teens the importance of abstinence, it's no surprise that in the throes of hormones teens do have sex, often unprotected, and that can lead to STIs. STIs are infections that pass from one person to another during sexual contact, whether it be intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. Some of the more common STIs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, HPV, or human papillomavirus, trichomoniasis.

Others include lice, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis. The good news is that all of these have ways of being prevented. The easiest way to prevent some like hepatitis and HPV is to make sure your child is vaccinated against those diseases. Consistently using barrier protection, such as condoms, also helps prevent STIs.

The good news is that some STIs, like chlamydia, can be cured with antibiotics. The bad news is that viral STIs, like herpes, HPV and HIV, can be treated with medications to help with symptoms, but never cured. Quite often, teenagers and adults may not even realize that they have an STI. Many of these don't have symptoms until the infection has gotten out of control. And so the diseases can spread to many sexual partners.

STIs can have significant consequences, including affecting whether a woman can get pregnant or not, trigger premature birth, or even spread from a pregnant mother to her baby and cause birth defects or even death to the baby. And guys, they can become infertile.

Teens are often self-conscious about talking about anything that has to do with their privates. But symptoms of STI shouldn't be ignored. The most common symptoms are pain with urination and unusual discharge. But any blisters or painless bumps in the private area need to be checked out as well. STIs are often pretty easy to diagnose. Normally, all that is required is an exam and a urine test. For some STIs, like HIV or hepatitis, blood tests are needed. Depending on what the diagnosis is determines what treatment would be given.

So how can you educate your teen about preventing STIs? First and foremost, the most important thing is to have open communication about sex. Knowing what your family's values are and reassurance that your teen is able to talk to you about any concerns goes a long way. If your teen is sexually active, make sure they know about contraception options. And if they have any symptoms, be sure to make an appointment with your child's provider as soon as possible. We talk to teens all the time about these kinds of things, and we can easily help you navigate this tricky part of growing up.

Announcer: Have a question about a medical procedure? Want to learn more about a health condition? With over 2,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there's a pretty good chance you'll find what you want to know. Check it out at thescoperadio.com.