According to the latest contraception report released by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), 62% of US women ages 15 to 44 use some form of contraception. Unsurprisingly, it is the pill which holds the first place of the methods of contraception, with an average of 11% of the women who took it between 2011 and 2013. But what surprised the American authorities, it is that the second mode of contraception chosen (by 15 , 5% of women) is sterilization, i.e. tubal ligation. An irreversible operation.
Not 100% effective before age 35
According to the CDC report, it is especially among women over 35 that this method of contraception is popular since one in three women aged 35 to 44 opts for sterilization. On the other hand, but this is hardly surprising, only 1% of young women aged 15 to 24 choose this method of contraception. Doctors do not hesitate to point out that before the age of 35, tubal ligation is less effective than reversible contraception. Indeed, there may be ligation failures due to spontaneous recanalization (when the circulation of oocytes in the tubes becomes possible again).
“The choice of sterilization after 35 years is hardly surprising,” said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of the United States. “The vast majority of women have had the number of children they wanted around the age of 30. This means that they will still be fertile for another 20 years, while not wanting to fall. pregnant”.
In France, how is it going
In France, since 2001, the law has allowed anyone of full age who requests it to undergo contraceptive surgery (vasectomy for men or tubal ligation for women). But the operation is only carried out after a reflection period of 4 months after a first medical consultation.
The “tubal ligation” requires hospitalization for 24 to 48 hours and general anesthesia. It can be done by the abdominal route, by laparoscopy or by the vaginal route.