What is the Chance of Getting Pregnant After a Vasectomy

A vasectomy is one of the most common and effective birth control methods. However, despite its high success rate, there’s still the slightest chance of getting pregnant after a vasectomy.

Let’s take a closer look at how pregnancy is still possible even after undergoing this procedure.

What Happens During a Vasectomy?

Understanding your odds of getting pregnant begins with your knowledge of vasectomy and how the male reproductive system works.

As you know, a male provides the sperm that fertilizes the egg, resulting in pregnancy. For more information about this process, you can read our article: how are babies made?

Millions of these reproductive cells are produced in the testicles. These will then travel to the epididymis, where they develop.

Afterward, they’ll move into thick-walled tubes called the vas deferens and mix with semen from the seminal vesicle.

This combination is then ejaculated through the urethra upon sexual stimulation. However, a person who underwent a successful vasectomy will ejaculate only semen.

That’s because this medical procedure cuts the vas deferens and seals it off to prevent sperm entry. As a result, pregnancy is no longer possible.

How Long After a Vasectomy Can You Get Pregnant?

Despite the effectiveness of a vasectomy, there’s still the risk of pregnancy. That’s mostly because of residual sperm in the vas deferens.

Sperm can last in the tubes for weeks or months after the procedure.

One post-vasectomy study even suggests that it takes at least 20 ejaculations to remove these stored sperm.

That means you can get pregnant during this period.

For this reason, doctors recommend using alternative contraception methods within 3 months after vasectomy.

To err on the side of caution, you can also go for a semen analysis before having unprotected sex. This test will confirm the absence of sperm in your seminal fluid.

What Is the Chance of Getting Pregnant After a Vasectomy?

The odds of getting pregnant after a vasectomy is slim. For example, a study showed that there’s one pregnancy out of a thousand vasectomies.

However, that’s not always due to stored semen in the vas deferens. Some cases result from surgical errors, which increase your chances of getting pregnant after a vasectomy.

For instance, the doctor may mistakenly cut a different body part.

Another possibility is cutting the same tube twice, instead of once on each side.

In rare cases, the presence of multiple vas deferens due to abnormalities may be the culprit.

Moreover, pregnancy can be caused by recanalization. This is characterized by the growth of new cells in the area where the vas deferens were cut.

As a result, a connection is again established. Hence, the sperm can reach the semen.

Vasectomy Reversal

Some individuals who undergo vasectomy change their minds later on and want to undo the process. According to Johns Hopkins, that’s around 6%.

Reasons vary from wanting children to adding more. It may as well be due to chronic scrotal pain after the surgery.

Fortunately, vasectomy reversal is achievable.

However, this is a more complicated process. It’ll require a skilled surgeon equipped with microsurgical techniques.

On top of that, vasectomy reversal needs state-of-the-art equipment and an exceptional support team for the doctor.

That being said, your choice of professionals or hospital will largely affect the success of this procedure.

Moreover, the surgeon can perform any one of two methods or a combination. That’ll depend on the condition of the relevant body parts during the actual operation.

Additionally, vassal fluid testing will be conducted to check for blockages.

Vasovasostomy

Vasovasostomy is a microsurgery that reattaches the cut ends of the vas deferens. That said, it requires a high-powered microscope that can magnify the tubes up to 25 times.

Take note that this is performed if there are no complications in the epididymis. So, the sperm can easily move from there to the vas deferens, then to the ejaculatory duct.

What’s the success rate for this procedure?

There’s an 85% chance of sperm presence in your semen after vasovasostomy. Consequently, that yields a 53% probability of pregnancy.

Vasoepididymostomy

Vasoepididymostomy is one of the most challenging microsurgical procedures to treat infertility.

It’s performed when there’s a blockage in the epididymis. That means the sperm can’t travel on its regular route.

As such, the surgeon will need to bypass the blockage. Instead of reconnecting cut areas, the top ends are directly connected to the epididymis.

Success rates for this procedure can be as high as 92% for sperm return and 56% for pregnancy.

Factors that Affect the Chance of Pregnancy After Vasectomy Reversal

Like all procedures, there’s no guarantee that vasectomy reversal will ensure pregnancy. Several factors can affect your chances besides your surgeon’s ability, including:

1.   Time After the Procedure

If you want to undo a vasectomy, do it as soon as possible for the best results.

According to a study, 10 years or less after the procedure gives you a 95% chance of sperm return, but pregnancy rates vary from 30–70%.

Consequently, undergoing vasectomy reversal 10 years after lowers your odds of getting pregnant.

2.   Age

Age is another factor to consider if you want to get pregnant. That’s because less semen and sperm are produced by the body as you get older.

You’ll also experience weaker ejaculations. In turn, this affects the motility of the sperm and its ability to reach and fertilize the egg.

3.   Partner

Your chances of getting pregnant also rely heavily on your partner.

Remember, fertility in women is also affected by age. That’s because eggs are produced in lesser quantities over time.

Overall health is another consideration.

How to Get Pregnant After Vasectomy Without Reversal?

Pregnancy is possible even without a vasectomy reversal.

You can do this through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Yet, this is an expensive and oftentimes tedious procedure.

That said, IVF is performed in the laboratory by allowing fertilization of mature eggs by the sperm. The resulting embryo will then be transferred to the woman’s uterus.

For individuals who have undergone vasectomy, sperm is usually retrieved from the undamaged portion of the vas deferens.

Conclusion

The chance of getting pregnant after a vasectomy is slim but not impossible.

You can get pregnant if you have unprotected sex within the first 3 months after the procedure. Additionally, surgical errors can render the vasectomy ineffective.

In some cases, cell regrowth may cause recanalization. As a result, the sperm gains access to its normal pathway and mixes with the semen.

If you enjoyed this article, why not read our similar article: how soon can you get pregnant after an abortion??