A Rare Job For A Woman Doctor
Dr. Baljit Kaur

Dr. Baljit Kaur is credited with large number of sterilizations

Tall and elegant in traditional salwar kameez, hair gracefully covered with a chiffon dupatta, Dr Baljit Kaur looks a picture of femininity but the minute she steps into the operation theatre, scrubs up and dons the surgeon's robes for NSV (no scalpel vasectomy) procedure she is a transformed human dynamo. With great ease and dexterity she looks for the best spot on the scrotum for the vas, then snips and ties and within minutes the operation is over and she is on to the next client. In a country where women bear the brunt of family planning responsibilities through tubectomy, women specializing in NSV are a rare breed. Dr Kaur has shown that with tenacity and a good, clean procedure, it is possible to buck the trend. A national and state trainer of trainers on NSV, she has done over one lakh NSV procedures. In her home town, Amritsar, 45 per cent of the sterilizations are of men and to a large extent the credit goes to her. She is also the national and state level trainer for tubectomy, IUD and emergency contraception but quite clearly her passion is NSV because, she maintains, it is the safest, quickest, cheapest and most painless procedure. NSV is a brand name, she announces. It requires no stitch, no cut, no dressing and minimal rest. It is the best permanent method. However, if the need arises it can be reversed and sperm flow restored.

Invited by the NGO Janani in Patna, she demonstrated her NSV technique and talked to 50 doctors and operation theatre assistants. In the early days, she recalled men were not told to use condoms after the procedure for three months. The result was that if by chance the woman got pregnant, not only was she looked on with suspicion but she advised women for miles around her not to allow their husbands to go in for vasectomy. When men expressed fears of losing their strength after vasectomy, she would refer to the bulls castrated to extract more work from them.

The many fence-sitting men, awaiting a good terminal method of contraception, need a push and guidance on where to go for a good NSV procedure. A successful procedure is invariably talked about by satisfied clients and they bring in more clients. If a mobile is given as incentive, more men will come for NSV, she assures. Though sexual activity can be resumed within 24 hours of the procedure, men should decide when they are comfortable returning to sexual activity. However, Dr Kaur advises condom use for three months post-NSV.

Dr Baljit Kaur stands apart from other NSV specialists in her advocacy and communication skills. In Punjab she has been able to buttonhole politicians and bureaucrats to advocate for NSV. She takes them to the clinic and demonstrates the simple, low cost procedure. Punjab's Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla is a great supporter and when people come to her for jobs or other help because of poverty, she sends them to Dr Kaur so that their fertility is first addressed.

In Punjab there are 36 NSV trainers. Her guru is Dr RCM Kaza, the national master trainer for NSV and she has been to China for a refresher course. Currently she is also doing random control trails for the ICMR on three different methods of blocking the lumen in the vas.

Is there something in the psyche of rural men that they do not go in for NSV? Last year less than five percent of the sterilizations in the country were of men. “When I started work in Punjab, I was told that the men of Punjab are male chauvinists and will never agree to NSV.” Today, 21 percent of the sterilizations in the State are of men!

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