A family in Kakamega County's Shikoti hamlet was startled after a woman became pregnant despite her husband having undergone a vasectomy.
Medgclay and Beryl, 36 and 33 years old, had three children when they agreed that Medgclay would get a vasectomy in the middle of last year.
On July 12, 2022, he had the procedure performed at a hospital in Navakholo by local doctors with the assistance of a non-governmental group.
Medgclay says that he felt like they had always left family planning to women, so after they had three children, he thought he needed to take responsibility and go through the procedure himself.
His wife claims he was sceptical of the decision and was afraid it would hurt their sexual life, but it improved.
Did you read this?
He said that he had been told they would be safe for twenty ejaculations after the procedure, which is three months or so, so they knew they were safe until October.
However, Beryl skipped her periods in November, which the pair dismissed as an incidence of irregular menstruation. They found out they were expecting their fourth child in December.
"It was such a stressful time for us because my wife had undergone two caesarean sections prior to that," he recalls.
"We were told that this happens when there are some sperms left in the ducts or when the entire procedure fails," adds Medgclay, a health practitioner. Twelve months later, the couple is expecting their fourth child in June of this year, with no idea what happened to the exercise they thought would help them organize their family, particularly during a challenging economic period.
According to Dora Amakobe, a doctor who has performed successful male sterilization treatments, the process may fail if the patient does not follow the doctor's complete instructions, which include avoiding having unprotected sex for more than three months.
"Because the vas deferens is so long, you could cut a portion of it, but semen has lined up to the urethra, so if you engage in sex almost immediately after the procedure, there is a chance of causing a pregnancy, so we advise our clients to use protection for about 21 ejaculations," Amakobe explains. Beryl claims there have never been any trust concerns between her and her spouse.
"Because we trust one other and are believers,
