Xtra News Community 2
March 29, 2024, 10:09:33 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Welcome to Xtra News Community 2 — please also join our XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP.
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links BITEBACK! XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP Staff List Login Register  

It's a snip to beat hard times

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: It's a snip to beat hard times  (Read 55 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Newtown-Fella
Guest
« on: May 15, 2009, 09:00:31 am »

As most of us tighten our belts to weather the recession, more Kiwi blokes are putting their most intimate assets on the chopping block.

Doctors agree Kiwi men are among the most likely in the world to undergo a vasectomy - and the numbers are  increasing as the economy struggles.

More than half of men aged over 40 are believed to have had the procedure.

The Health Ministry was told of 1052 male sterilisations last year, compared with 915 in 2007. But officials believe those figures are incomplete.

Vasectomy specialist Dirk Venter at the Henderson Medical Centre in Auckland said there was a definite link between financial concerns and a rising demand for ''the snip''.

In the last two months, Venter has performed nearly double his normal number of vasectomy procedures.

''It used to take a lot more convincing to get the men to undergo the procedure. But we are getting a lot of people who have just had a new baby come straight in for a vasectomy.

''Even people who don't have children are requesting it, but I have declined to do so under that setting.''

Wellington specialist Simon Snook said numbers passing through his clinic doors had doubled in the past twelve months.

Patients often cited financial concerns as a reason for the procedure.

''There are some people who, given a decent financial nest egg, say they might have more children.''

In 2004, Masterton couple Scott and Melissa Bensemann unsuccessfully sued the doctor who performed Mr Bensemann's vasectomy for $200,000, including the estimated cost of raising their fourth child  born after the failed procedure.

The couple were both 24 at the time, with three children, and lived on a low income.

But there was another reason why more men were arriving at his clinic, Dr Snook said.

''I think New Zealand women are particularly strong and get to the point where they say, 'Right, it's your turn now'.''

Because the procedure is so quick  it takes about half an hour  and does not require surgery, significant under-reporting of numbers is likely to go unnoticed.

When it comes to permanent birth control, vasectomies are the least invasive option.

Costing about $380, many clinics now practise ''no scalpel'' techniques, with local anaesthetic only.

For the brave, there are even non-anesthetic options using acupuncture or hypnosis to control pain.

Tubal ligation procedures for women cost several thousand dollars, require general anaesthetic and are much more invasive.

Southern Cross health insurance offers vasectomies and tubal ligations as a loyalty benefit on many of its plans, after either one or two years continuous membership  however they do not cover the reversal.

With the recession showing no signs of easing and the job market becoming increasingly grim  unemployment now stands at a six year high of five per cent  it is understandable that some men may want to put a halt on having more children.

But if a man later decides to reverse the procedure at a cost of about $6000 to $8000 the chances of doing so successfully are only about 50 per cent.

VASECTOMIES TO HELP CUT THE FAMILY BUDGET

The $380 cost of a vasectomy looks increasingly appealing against the cost of raising a child. No estimates exist in New Zealand for the cost of bringing up a child, but figures have been kept  in Britain for the past decade.

* A typical British family can expect to fork out an average of 186,032 pounds from the birth of their tyke till the age of 21, according to insurance and investment group Liverpool Victoria.

* In Kiwi dollars, that's an eye watering $479,516  $22,000 a year, $439 a week, or $62 a day.

* Education and childcare are the biggest costs.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/2412825/Its-a-snip-to-beat-hard-times

Report Spam   Logged

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Open XNC2 Smileys
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum


Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy
Page created in 0.05 seconds with 15 queries.