Stephen Belfield, a graphic designer from Chiswick in west London, had a vasectomy in 1995. He lives with his wife, Anita, 45, and their two children Luke, 17 and Jessica, 14
“After Jessica was born, I felt that with a boy and a girl, our family was complete. Shortly after her birth, I discussed having a vasectomy with Anita. She wanted time to think it over, so it wasn’t until 18 months later that I went ahead with it. By then, we were both 100% sure we didn’t want more children.
“We decided we would concentrate on giving our two beautiful children the best life we possibly could. For us there were other things to consider, such as the size of our home, and the fact that we both feel strongly that the world is becoming over-populated.
“I thought vasectomy was a sensible choice of contraception for us. It's a fast operation, which doesn’t really hurt, and it has been tried and tested by thousands of men.
“If I didn’t have a vasectomy, the contraceptive choices available didn't really appeal. Either Anita took care of it by going on the Pill or having a coil fitted, or we would have to use condoms, which ruined spontaneity. If Anita was the one to be sterilised, it would have meant a major operation, which isn’t always successful.
"I was a bit uneasy just before the operation, but only with regard to how much it would hurt. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t really hurt at all because of the local anaesthetic. All I felt was some tugging. I did have some bruising afterwards, but within a few days it was gone.
"I never worried that the operation would affect my sex drive, as I did lots of reading on the topic beforehand. I also got advice from the doctor at Marie Stopes, the clinic where it was carried out.
"If anything, I would say having 'the snip' has benefited my sex life, as we have absolutely no worries about pregnancy now. The 10 minutes of minor discomfort I had while my vasectomy was being carried out was well worth it. Like most men, I’ve had no side effects or complications since the operation.”
