Sterilization

Essure was an in-office, non-surgical form of sterilization. A health care provider placed a small metal wire into the vagina, through the cervix, and into the fallopian tube. Since these tiny wires are inserted through the vagina and cervix, no incision is needed. After placement, scar tissue grows around the wire and blocks off the fallopian tube, preventing any eggs from being fertilized after they are released from the ovaries.

Essure stopped being sold in 2018. Find out more here.

It’s normal to be sore and tired for days or even weeks after sterilization surgery. However, if you’re concerned, or if you don’t start to regain your strength soon, you should check in with your doctor just in case.

Sterilization is extremely effective at preventing pregnancy, and is intended to be permanent. Nevertheless, about 5 of every 1,000 people who use sterilization become pregnant within a year after the procedure and that small risk remains until menopause. So, if you think you might be pregnant, you should take a pregnancy test.

It’s totally okay to use birth control privately, but some methods are much easier to keep private from a partner than others. To keep your method private, think about how your partner might discover it. Some methods, like condoms, internal condoms, and the pull-out method, are hard to hide from a sexual partner (they are actually more effective with your partner’s help). For the pill, patch, and ring, someone could find your birth control or the packaging, but once you swallow the pill, no one knows you are using it. The IUD is also very discrete, but some partners may be able to feel the strings during sex. Overall, the shot is the most private method once you get it, but it could change your period, so someone might notice. If you are looking for a permanent solution, sterilization surgery is also undetectable, but getting surgery can be hard to hide (and there may be age restrictions and waiting periods depending on your insurance).

If you are certain that you never want to have (more) children, then a sterilization procedure might be right for you. You’ll need to talk to a health care provider to determine what type of sterilization procedure is right for you.

Currently, the only birth control options for people who produce sperm are condoms, sterilization, and the pull-out method. There have been some promising leads for other options, but they’re all still in development.

Not every method of birth control is safe to use right after giving birth, but many of them are. Breastfeeding consistently can be its own form of birth control, or there are a bunch of other methods you can use, including super-effective methods like the IUD and the implant that you can start right away.

In short, yes.

While pregnancy’s not likely—and not recommended—after ablation, it can happen, so if you have had an endometrial ablation (a.k.a. uterine ablation), you should use birth control until after menopause. While it may be possible to get pregnant after this procedure, pregnancy after endometrial ablation can be complicated, so you shouldn’t get the procedure unless you’re sure you don’t want (more) kids.

“If you have fallopian tubes, sterilization is done by closing off or removing them so eggs and sperm can’t meet. It’s usually done as a laparoscopic surgery where they make small incisions in your abdomen to use surgical tools for the procedure. When it’s done this way, you may be sore for a few days afterwards. The incisions are small, but you still may take a couple weeks to heal completely.

If you have a vasectomy, it’s common to be sore for a few days, but most people are fully recovered within a week. That being said, vasectomies are not effective immediately, so you’ll need to use another method of birth control to prevent pregnancy until you can confirm it’s effective.”

Sterilization for people with fallopian tubes, is permanent birth control, also called tubal ligation or getting your tubes tied. It’s a surgical procedure where a doctor puts a clip, band, or ring on the fallopian tubes, or removes a section of them. (In other words, it doesn’t usually involve tying!) This type of procedure prevents eggs from being fertilized after they are released from the ovaries. Surgical sterilization is permanent (that means not reversible) and effective immediately.

Sterilization for people with a uterus and fallopian tubes is pretty safe, but it does require a surgery, but a vasectomy (sterilization for people with a penis and vas deferens) is even lower risk and can be done right in the provider’s office, so you and your partner might want to look into that first.