Many women decide that they do not want to have any children or that they are finished having children at a certain point. This is when they usually make the decision to pursue female sterilization, otherwise known as having their tubes tied. While most people believe that this is a permanent fix, did you know that a tubal ligation is not necessarily a 100% guarantee that a woman will not get pregnant?

More than 15 million women in the United States in the age group of 15 to 44 are considered to be surgically sterile (this includes women whose partner has a vasectomy too). 26% of this same age group have had tubal ligation. This is usually a highly effective method of preventing pregnancy. It is also very convenient and eliminates the need for the woman to use additional contraceptive methods. Most doctors would tell you that the effect of having your tubes tied is permanent.

The failure rate of tubal ligation is less than 1% within the first year following the surgery. However, it might surprise you to know that 10 years after having female sterilization performed, there is still an overall pregnancy rate of 1.8%. Your chances of getting pregnant are actually greater 10 years after the surgery than in the first year. For women who are 33 years old or younger, they are more than three times likely to get pregnant than women above that age. This is called unintended pregnancy and can occur after getting your tubes tied.

Getting pregnant after a tubal ligation is cause for concern. The reason why it is a concern that a woman gets pregnant after having her tubes tied is because the chance of it being a tubal, or ectopic, pregnancy can be as high as 50%. Obviously, this can put the mother's life in danger. The best way to handle this is using a drug to remove the embryo from where it is in the fallopian tubes (the usual spot for an ectopic pregnancy though not the only one).

If the pregnancy cannot be removed in this manner or the woman was too late in getting to her doctor, then surgery will be needed and she will lose the fallopian tube where the embryo is stuck/implanted. The best thing to do if you start having symptoms of being pregnant after having your tubes tied is to get to your doctor as quickly as you can.

While there can be arguments on both sides when it comes to female sterilization, there is some evidence that getting your tubes tied may help protect against getting ovarian cancer. Researchers do not know why there is such a protective effect after female sterilization.

Beyond the risks of getting pregnant and that pregnancy being ectopic, there are risks as with any surgery such as infection and bleeding. You would be better informed to also learn about the possibility of post tubal ligation syndrome and the potential for guilt and remorse following the surgery as well.

It is important that a woman really think through her options before getting her tubes tied. If she has any inclination to ever get pregnant again, the simplest method is to wait before getting female sterilization and use some other type of birth control.

What Are the Risks of Female Sterilization (or Having Your Tubes ...

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