January 16, 2015

My interview with Dr. Holly Ray regarding permanent birth control for women

Permanent birth control is a personal decision each woman must make, and needs to take into consideration what would be right for her and her family.

Education and options are essential for women when making a choice about something like this.

I was looking for more information about permanent birth control options after reading the results in a survey taken by Bayer that included 1,000 women in the US.

Here are some of the survey highlights:

• The women were ages 25-45

• All of the women in the survey were in committed relationships

• The women were done having their children

• 44% were concerned about getting pregnant again

• 66% would consider a permanent method that did not involve surgery

I was delighted to be given an opportunity to speak with Dr. Holly Ray, DO, FACOG who has a general obstetrics and gynecology practice, including preventative care, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Dr. Ray was the perfect person to answer questions regarding permanent birth control from a professional and personal perspective.
Dr. Holly Ray Practicing Board Certified OB/GYN - in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Dr. Holly Ray
Practicing Board Certified OB/GYN – in Oshkosh, Wisconsin]

Here is my interview with Dr. Holly Ray:

1.Vicki: Dr. Ray, regarding permanent birth control who should consider having this done?

Dr. Ray: Well that is the million dollar question. It’s only for women who are done having their children, have completed their childbearing, decided they the right number of kids in their family, and are ready to make that decision! They’re ready to make a choice that an unintended pregnancy doesn’t occur! You know, that’s different times for different women! Whether they come to that conclusion, if and when they come to that conclusion …..That’s the time they should consider to talking to their doctor about it.

2.Vicki: Ok, that makes a lot of sense! What is the name of this procedure, and how does it work?

Dr. Ray: It’s Essure and it’s pretty neat! It’s a device that causes your body to seal off the tubes and make a barrier against pregnancy occurring. It’s an office procedure… We take a little camera and go up into the uterus and place these little soft inserts. Over a period of time there’s a barrier that forms around these inserts. That is what blocks the tube off. It keeps the sperm from traveling down the tube and meeting up with the egg inside the uterus. It’s really slick!

3.Vicki: Wow! It seems like it’s minimally-invasive, as well. Dr. Ray, what are the benefits of a procedure like Essure?

4. Dr. Ray: Essure is done in the office. Patients come in like an office appointment, and the procedure is done in 10 minutes, literally, sometimes less. It’s done right the office under no incisions and under local anesthesia. The patient is watching, on the screen, while we do it. Most of them are too curious not to watch… Then they go home within 45 minutes and go back to normal activities in a day or two. Really, there’s a minimal down time for recovery. It’s non-hormonal, and actually over 99% effective in preventing pregnancy.

5. Vicki: If that’s the case, once you have the Essure procedure, are you able to go off the birth control pill?

6. Dr. Ray: Yes! Once you’ve gone through the procedure, we stress that you have to do something for 3 months while that’s “setting up shop” in the tubes and forming that barrier. Some form of alternate birth control is given, just so we know the patient will not get pregnant in those 3 months. They come back in 3 months and a physician will do a dye test or confirmation test that shows that the inserts are in the right place and the tubes have been sealed off. Once that’s done they don’t need to do anything else.

7. Vicki: It’s unbelievable what wonderful new techniques are available! Dr. Ray, is the Essure procedure reversible?

8. Dr. Ray: No.. I try to stress that when I’m talking to patients, that if there is ANY doubt in their mind they should NOT have the procedure because it is not reversible! Once you do it it is permanent.

9. Vicki: Essure seems like such a nice procedure, that I would think anyone who would choose to have it would be very happy with the ease of the whole experience.

10. Dr. Ray: Yes… As I talk to patients about it, I get pretty good feedback on the whole ease of it and how they would do it again. They are very happy with Essure.

11. Vicki: Dr. Ray, You have actually had the Essure procedure yourself. It must be wonderful for your patients to know that they can talk to their doctor about a procedure that she has experienced. As a result, do you find that your patients find Essure more of a “doable” option for them because of your personal experience?

12. Dr. Ray: Yes, I think they do. I certainly share that with most of them. You’re right, it’s empowering to know you have that control over your fertility. You know I’m in women’s health. That is the whole purpose of my life to be able to give these women that option. I think that’s the greatest thing we can do…to at least be able to give them the option to be able to control that (fertility).

Vicki: Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Ray. I wish you ongoing success with your Oshkosh, Wisconsin OB/GYN and preventive care practice. This was such an informative an enjoyable interview.

(Quoted and Paraphrased information in this article regarding the Bayer Survey was obtained from a PR-Fact Sheet. Gratitude to Dr. Holly Ray for taking the time for this interview.)

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