Why There's Always a Spike in Vasectomies at This Time Every Year

Two words: March Madness.

Forget the slightly longer days and warmer weather on the horizon. March is first and foremost about March Madness, the sporting phenomena which grips the nation from the middle of March through the first week of April. Basically, college basketball is on TV all day, every day, which means it’s an excuse to kick back, grab some snacks and post up on the couch. And it’s also the perfect time for men to have a vasectomy (no, really!).

Doctors see a 30 percent increase in vasectomies during the first round of March Madness, according to a previous study from Athenahealth Network. The Friday prior to the tournament is specifically a hot commodity for men to get the procedure. Urologists performed more than 41 percent more vasectomies on the Friday of the first week of the 2016 March Madness than on a typical Friday.

It makes sense. The procedure requires a recovery period between 24 and 48 hours where men are encouraged to have low physical activity. In other words, sitting on the couch and doing nothing all day but watch basketball is not only acceptable, but encouraged.

Some doctors play into the trend and use it as a silly marketable moment to promote the procedure. Buffalo Wild Wings hopped on the bandwagon this year, posting about its Jewel Stool, a barstool it joked about having a cooling apparatus that allows basketball fans who get snipped to have some relief down below. The stool is all in good fun and not actually real, but just goes to show you how popular the procedure is this time of the year.

If you and your partner are definitely done completing your family, March Madness seems like the perfect time to plan the snip. And while you’re at it, go the extra step and throw a vasectomy party to really make it official.