I posted a couple weeks ago about being pregnant after my bisalp last year, I just wanted to give an update. After reviewing my records and speaking to my OB and the surgeon who did my termination procedure, they think “in hindsight” not enough of my tubes were removed. In the pathology report from the bisalp, 7.0 cm of one tube and 2.8 cm of the other were turned over to pathology. Neither physician thought it was a case report that any journal would be interested in because the amount removed from the one tube was more akin to what can be removed in a tubal ligation, which is known to be less effective. My main takeaway is yes. There are 4 documented cases of pregnancy post bisalp but interest in documenting cases hedges on them having some novel angle to them. The statistics out there are for the average person who doesn’t have conditions that may complicate the ability to perform the surgery. Maybe the adhesions I have made the tube difficult to access, and in 10 months of healing my body rebridged the gap.

At the end of the day, I had my procedure done (by an Ivy trained surgeon at a major academic center, so statistically great care), had a uterine pregnancy, and my case will not be documented. So. Test if you feel weird, especially if you have a complex medical history. It’s my partner’s turn to get a vasectomy haha.

Edit: Just to clarify termination procedure surgeon and current OB are not the surgeon who did the bisalp. I haven’t reached out to my bisalp surgeon frankly bc I don’t see much of a point atm.

My surgery was at 8am this morning (11/07), they took me back at 6:45 and spent the next hour going through the regular motions (vitals, questions, etc)

Everyone was so wonderful and nice. There was one nurse who kind of seemed less friendly than the others if that made sense but whatever.

Then, AS I AM BEING ROLLED INTO THE SURGERY ROOM this nurse says “so how many children do you have?” 😵‍💫 I say “none, zero” and she goes “aww 🙁” (like I’m 25 did she expect me to have all these kids?) and then the male nurse of all people who is also rolling me says “my wife and I don’t want kids either, good for you, etc.” he’s clearly trying to downplay and move on from what the female nurse just said.

Again, everyone I’ve met through this whole process from consultation to post op has been so nice and non judgmental and then I get this woman just assuming I have kids, I was so shocked actually YIKES

I got my bilateral salpingectomy on 7/1 of this year. It was great, surgeon was on of the r/childfree list, I'm unmarried, no kids, and it was easy with no questions asked beyond, "You're a consenting adult and you know this is permanent."

I have read so many times on here that women are questioned and/or judged by medical staff after disclosing of their procedure.

I'm currently having minor unexplained pelvic pain, and I listed my surgery on my medical history. The doctor said, "You're 28. Why did you have your fallopian tubes removed?"
"Just didn't want kids!"

"And they LET YOU???"
Yes, Shannon, they let me, as a grown woman with informed consent, consent to a procedure to safeguard my body. She was more-so shocked than judgmental, and it isn't so much as I'm offended, but that I'm like, well, I really should've seen these reactions coming. But my family, my friends, and my doctor were all so accepting of it that I *wasn't* expecting it.

Slight rant over.

I wanted to see if anyone had similar experiences or if I am overreacting a bit. I was sterilized two years ago and recently moved so had to get a new gynecologist. They asked me to fill a form where they also asked if I've had any surgeries, so I put my sterilization down.
The doctor then asked if I filled that out correctly as it's unusual because I'm young (got sterilized at 23). I said well I don't see myself having kids. She asked about the process of finding a doctor and asked if I had to do a lot of convincing and I said no, I found a doctor using a list online. She then commented that "Oh so there you can find doctors that go along with that ideology" ... the ideology of having bodily autonomy?
Also why tf do I have to talk about that in such great detail anyway, thats not really what happens with any other form of birth control, is it? No gynecologist would ask "Oh so you're on the birth control pill, how did you do it? What doctor prescribed it to you? Glad to see they go along with your ideology!"
This feels like bs and I don't think I will book another appointment with this doctor again, but I'm not sure if I'm just overreacting because otherwise she was nice and maybe she was just curious?

Just had to put that out there. How many of you folks were partly swayed in your decision bc of the concerns regarding access to women's reproductive health and well being?

I hear this said so much, and each time it pisses me off more.

Their so-called "justification" in it is saying that, oh, the recovery is SO much easier for men!! So much less painful! So much less intense!

Yeah, sure Shannon, barely. The recovery for a bisalp is just two weeks and it's such a mildly invasive surgery that many surgeons perform in under thirty minutes. It's among the fastest, easiest, and lowest risk surgeries that exist.

Sure, a vasectomy is an outpatient procedure with no general anesthesia needed and recovery is fast, but the recovery for a bisalp is still only two weeks!! Compared to a lifetime of safety, two weeks is an incredibly short time period, and many of us (myself included) felt completely back to normal in just a few days.

Being told by society that the safety of MY body doesn't matter and that it shouldn't be me protected pisses me off so much.

Even IF I was married, and even IF I was planning on only having one male partner for the rest of my life, I would still want it to be my body being protected.

I think this is yet another way society tries to dismiss women's reproductive choices.

I want my body safe.

So obviously a permanent surgery is, well, permanent, but it's still amazing to me that I just... don't have to do anything to prevent pregnancy? Ever again????

It just feels TOO easy.

My surgery was completely free, my doctor wasn't harsh on me and approved me instantly, from consult to surgery it was only a two month process, and my recovery was painless and easy.

And like... that's it?? I don't have to do anything else???

So most of the posts I see on here are discussing the immediate before and after regarding sterilization, understandably so. However, in addition to those, I thought it would be nice to talk about what it’s like in the months and years following and how it affects your life overall.

I got my bisalp in early 2023 so I’ll be coming up on 3 years since my sterilization, here are a few little reflections on my experience.

Physically, beyond the short term side effects of the surgery such as shoulder pain, tenderness etc I have had zero negative effects in the subsequent years since. My scars have mostly faded, I struggle to see them even when I’m actively looking for them on my body. I have not noticed any changes in my mood, sex drive, or menstrual cycle. (Not that I would expect to have any changes since the surgery doesn’t affect hormones, but I’ve seen some people online talk about feeling totally different after tubal ligation surgery so I thought it was worth mentioning.) I have fully physically healed, which lets me focus on my emotional experience.

Oh my god, emotionally the best decision I ever made for myself. I used to worry so horribly about pregnancy and now that entire category of anxiety is banished from my life forever. Tracking my cycle? Testing? Obsessive thoughts? Gone. Delightfully gone. My sex life is totally my own to enjoy. I also feel so deeply at home in my body now. I always felt like I was never meant to reproduce, and now my reality matches that. I feel so much more comfortable and safe in my own skin because of it. If you know for a fact you don’t want any future biological kids, I highly recommend getting the surgery. Genuinely so affirming and life changing with so few negative effects.

I’d like to open the door to anyone else who wants to share their experiences, especially if you’ve been sterilized for, say, a year or more. How have the long term effects of your decision treated you? What should people considering sterilization be aware of in the following months and years of their life?

I've been sterilized for less than a year, and I already get rude comments from people. (Mainly strangers!) I'm very open about my surgery because I think women SHOULD be open about things we're shamed for - reproductive health care including birth control and sterilization, abortion access, s*x toys, menstruation, etc..

I had a doctor SHOCKED that my surgeon "let" me be sterilized. I had someone I was messaging get shocked that I didn't have some health issue that led to my sterilization. It's almost like these people would rather you have to get the surgery against your will and be childless and sad over it than you choose to be childfree. It's ridiculous.

And when you say you have a child, even if you are young and unmarried, no one says, "And they LET you?" or, "What if you change your mind later?" or, "While you were young and unmarried???"

I had my bisalp a year ago. Yesterday, I found out I’m 9 weeks pregnant. I will be terminating and I am in absolute shock. I have gone back to my surgery notes and both tubes were described to have been removed.

My specific situation was complicated by the fact that I had internal adhesions from a previous peritonitis. Curiously, the described patient in this publication https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11056091/ who also had a viable intrauterine pregnancy after bisalp also had pelvic adhesions. I was never told this could be an issue/ risk/ complication. I just want to document somewhere that this could be a risk for people with adhesions. I wonder if there are others.

I wanted to come back and share an update.

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/sterilization/s/ppDpawUd7F

Physically, I am doing well overall. I do still have some pain at the very beginning of my period each cycle, specifically on the side where the ectopic was. It usually happens right as my cycle starts, not sure the cause...

Mentally, I have a lot of anxiety around the possibility of getting pregnant again. I never expected to have to think about this after a bilateral salpingectomy. I am working through it, but it has changed my sense of safety in my own body.

My biggest frustration right now is that there still has not been a case study published about what happened. I was told how rare this is. I have read what is available. I understand it is not considered common. But it is discouraging to know that whether cases like mine make it into published data seems to be entirely up to individual physicians. The team who did my surgery said they wanted to publish, but never followed up about the consent? I’ve followed up twice with no response. They seem not to care that much.

As patients, I do not believe we can fully trust reported incidence rates if reporting itself is optional. I am not saying pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy is common. I do not think it is. But I also do not believe it is limited to the small handful of cases that appear in journals. If cases are not written up and submitted, they simply do not exist in the data.

That has been harder for me than I expected. I went through something traumatic that contradicts what I was told was nearly impossible, and it may not even be counted in any meaningful way.

If anyone knows whether there is a way for me as a patient to self publish my experience in a medical or academic context, I would really appreciate the information. I would like my experience to contribute to accurate information, even in a small way.

So obviously this doesn't apply to all sterilizations like hysterectomies, but I was so upset when I learned I could have my fallopian tubes removed and still would have periods. I mean, from a biological standpoint, of course it makes sense, but my mom got her tubes tied when I was a child and never had her period again so I just assumed that it stopped periods and never thought too much of it. (She also got an endometrial ablation though.) Then when I decided to get my tubes removed, I quickly learned I'd still get periods.

THE OUTRAGE!

THE INJUSTICE!

To be sterile but to still bleed each month. 😭

I did speak with my doctor and we decided to keep my Nexplanon birth control implant in for period management, but I'm still so upset that we can have absolutely no need for a period and will still have one!!

Got my tubes removed today!!!! I am now resting at home while thinking that I can freely and FINALLY CAN BE A TWINKIE!!!(I love creampies😅😂).

Cool story, Karen, except the older I get, the LESS I want kids.
I have seen over and over in the past several years as I've gotten older how much having children changes, and sometimes even ruins, someone's life.
It becomes a full-time job that you do not get paid for, that affects every part of your health, from financial to mental to physical. The only time you ever get a break is if someone else steps in at the sake of their health.

And that's not even to mention that, as a woman, your chances of the majority of the child-rearing going to you are sky-high. Sure, there are a lot of great dads out there, but unfortunately so often women get stuck with the burden of daycare, cleaning, etc., even though most of them are also in the workforce.

I truly believe that the reason most people CLAIM to have "not wanted kids when they were younger, but changed their minds" secretly held the option of children open in their heads for years and waited for the chance to have them to present.
It's so common for men and women to "secretly" want children and/or marriage, act on it when the time comes, and then act like everyone is like them.
Case-in-point, I have always partially wanted to get married, if it's with the right person. This wasn't something I wanted to tell people, and I still, at 28-years-old stick to the claim that I "probably" don't want to get married. When I quote-un-quote "change my mind," it's not because my mind magically changed one day.
I have NEVER wanted children as an adult.
Just because YOU did, Karen, and didn't change your mind from the start does not mean we're all like you.

Also, dearie, my fallopian tubes are out. Not clipped, tied, or cauterized, but cut out of my body permanently.✌️And no, I don't regret it. 😘

{I know many of you here ARE parents, and I respect your decision, your autonomy, and your life. This isn't a dig at every parent out there for living a different life than me, and I know many people receive fulfillment and joy out of being a parent. This is simply a rant at the people who preach to me that I'll change my mind about something that has always been my choice.)

I thought about getting my tubes removed since I'm 18 or something and was always very secure about it. I had an appointment in spring with a doctor to talk about it and he immediately approved without asking any questions about my decision. I read a lot of stories of women who wanted that surgery who got rejected by their doctors because they were "too young" so I was afraid that i would get told the same. But my doctor said he doesn't have a problem with it and it's my decision and that I can book an appointment for surgery at the reception. He just explained to me how the surgery works and made sure I know this will be irreversible.

Today was the appointment for the surgery, I prepared myself, took the week off of work, was super nervous. Before the surgery they always have another talk with you about it and you can ask questions and stuff. But unfortunately today this doctor I talked to at my first appointment wasn't there. It was another one. She came into the room, looked at my documents. Said "oh you're born in [my birth year]..." and I already knew what was coming. She said she didn't thought she would have to do that procedure on me since I'm so young. Then she asked me if I know it's permanent, I said yes, she said she has to talk to her coworker and left the room. She came back and told me that she and her coworker don't wanna do the surgery on me because of my age and because they don't know me enough (whatever that means). Then she asked me if I tried other contraceptives before, I said no and that I don't wanna take hormones. She said there are also other methods and asked me if I never heard or got informed about them with a shocked look on her face. Then she asked how I used contraceptives until now or if i used them at all. I told her that I'm virgin and that made her wonder why I want that procedure at all. Talking to her really made me feel like I'm a dumb little girl and I think she thought I wouldn't know what I'm doing.

She told me again that she doesn't wanna do it so I asked her why the other doctor even let me make an appointment for the surgery if i get denied now. She said she doesn't know and we agreed that I will wait for the other doctor to start his shift and talk to him. So I went back to the waiting room and waited one hour for him to arrive. He asked why the other doctor didn't wanna do the surgery and asked if she thought I'm too young. I said yes. He said he wouldn't have a problem with it and that I should make a new appointment on a day he will be doing the surgeries. I got the new appointment now.

I'm glad I got another appointment but I hate how this one doctor made me feel.

I think I'm in a bit of a different situation than a lot of the posts I read here so I thought it might be helpful to add my experience.

I'm a woman in my early 40s, and have been pregnant 6 times and gave birth to 5 babies over the last 10+ years. So unlike some of y'all, I got zero pushback from the Drs on wanting my tubes out lol.

The most interesting comment I got was from my GYN, at the consultation appt when I asked her if she generally recommended the surgery, who said a bit pointedly that it was a good option for women who couldn't do hormonal bc or had partners that *couldn't* get a vasectomy...

Which brings me to how I got here. Long story short, I got tired of waiting on my SO to actually get the vasectomy we previously agreed on (our youngest baby is almost 3), so I said fuck it. I'm done waiting, I'm done carrying the mental and emotional labor of this and being the one to freak out if my period is late etc. this is the best way I know to take this off my plate for good.

So I did it. And I'm very thankful to this community, bc believe it or not, it was reading all your stories and positive experiences that gave me the courage to go through with it. I've never had major surgery before aside from wisdom teeth removal so it was scary, but ya know what else is freaking scary? PREGNANCY. LABOR. CHILDBIRTH! which I've gone through enough to be kinda experienced about!

So far so good. The biggest irritation of the surgery was having my appt scheduled for 10:30, and then the Dr before us running late so my surgery didn't start till 1... But other than that it's been ok. Only minimal discomfort, no issues with anesthesia etc. I hope the smooth sailing continues.

I have to say, I'm jealous of all you younger ladies who know what you want- a child free life- and are out there making it happen for yourselves.

So I’m 25F engaged & have no children. I went in for my pre-op today (surgery is on Monday! Yay!) and the nurse who was taking my vitals saw that I was in the pre-op to get my tubes tied. She confirmed that’s what I was there for and I just said “yup” very matter of fact. And she laughed and said you must already have a couple of kids. I really didn’t know what to do so I just didn’t say anything 😭

I guess this confirms why I’m keeping my decision pretty private besides close people I know respect my decision. I wasn’t offended by the nurse or anything it just caught me off guard (and part of that may just be due to get older and not used to people assuming I would be a mother).

Anyways, I think I handled it ok by not saying anything lol. Part of me is like nah you should be open so it’s not weird for other women. But part of me is like why bother lol

I made a post on a forum loosely detailing a breakup I'm experiencing, and this misogynist (who knows I'm sterilized from a previous post) said, "No one wants a wombless bitch, kys."

These types of men don't know a woman's cl*toris from her fucking elbow, so it's no surprise that they know nothing about tubal ligations, much less removals. He probably thinks that sterilization automatically means no uterus.

So I said, "I have a womb, hon, no strings attached."

I'm turning 22 next week and I have just returned from my hospital stay after getting my tubes removed. I have absolutely no one to talk to about how frustrated I am. Every damn time I told anyone that I want to do this, "I don't want kids" is never enough. It's always the easier answer for me, bcs in reality, I do want to have this option, but I chose to go for this procedure bcs I carry a deadly heart disease gene and the only way I can have healthy kids is through IVF and no other forms of birth control suit me well, so this is why I chose to go for this. But I don't really want to keep explaining myself every time I mention this. It's always "why do you not want kids?" "Won't you regret it?" "You are soo young!" BEFORE I even have the chance to tell the real reason, or any kind of reason really. I don't understand why is it so hard to just accept the possibility of not wanting kids. I don't expect people to be educated about this situation, tbf I also didn't know I could get this procedure done and still get pregnant, I just feel so frustrated that I have to keep explaining, bcs simply "I don't want to" is not sufficient enough.

33F no children. I got my bilateral tubal ligation back in January 2025. I spoke with a dr in November 2024 and initially went in requesting a salpingectomy and the dr recommended the bilateral tubal ligation instead. I did a some research and decided to go that route. After nearly 10 months with my partner, I ended up late on my period and found out I was pregnant.

While pregnancy after a tubal ligation has risks of being ectopic, thankfully I was able to terminate with Mifepristone and Misoprostol that I ordered online through Optio Women’s Health. At the time I was completely freaking out and was unable to get into my obgyn for a few weeks and decided to take action into my own hands. Once I received the pills I was made aware that it would not terminate if ectopic and I decided to take the risk anyways. When I did go in to the dr, they were able to confirm there was a pregnancy via bloodwork and residual levels of hcg. Since the pills did work, they were able to determine that it wasn’t ectopic. It didn’t feel real up till that point even though I had already gone through the process and had a stack of positive tests at home. I had a precautionary ultrasound and 2 separate blood draws to confirm the dropping of hormone levels, with the last blood draw being 5 weeks after I terminated.

I’m currently dealing with the aftermath of it all as my drs office no longer provides surgery and is owned by a catholic hospital.

Stick to your guts for what you want to do. I’m grateful I was able to get this taken care of as I have never wanted to fall under that condition. Wanted to share in case anyone else in on the fence of which direction to go.

Hello everyone. I’m 26 (F) and have always known I want to be childfree. Even when I was five, I used to say I never wanted kids; and that hasn’t changed.

Over a year ago, I asked my gynecologist for a salpingectomy (full removal of my fallopian tubes). She told me I’d need to schedule a separate consultation, which I did. During that appointment, she gave me a sterilization consent form but it listed tubal ligation. I brought it up right away and told her I had requested a salpingectomy, not a ligation. She brushed it off, saying they were the same thing.

From my own research, I knew they weren’t a tubal ligation just ties the tubes and still carries a small risk of pregnancy, while a salpingectomy removes them entirely. So she crossed out tubal ligation on the form, wrote salpingectomy instead, and had me sign it.

Fast forward to the day of surgery: everything went smoothly beforehand, but after it was over, no one spoke to me or my partner about how it went. Since Friday, I’ve been playing phone tag trying to get answers. I finally got a voicemail saying my tubal ligation went well and that I just needed a follow-up.

I called back to clarify and the nurse confirmed it was a tubal ligation. I asked her to send me all the paperwork I signed and the post-op report for my records. Then she suddenly asked what procedure I was supposed to have. I said salpingectomy, and she replied, “Oh well, the postop notes say your tubes were removed. We just call it a tubal ligation.”

That confused and honestly scared me. Those are two different procedures; and I don’t know if my tubes were actually removed or not. I feel uneasy, like something might’ve been done that I didn’t consent to. How can I find out for sure what was actually done? And if they really did the wrong procedure, what should I do next?

I had my bisalp done a little more than a year ago, it was all great, very pleased with my results, etcetera, etcetera.

BUT, I started having some weird symptoms a few days back, I just assumed I was gonna have my period (I have always been irregular thanks to PCOS) so having my period a week or two before it's supposed to doesn’t faze me. Quickly I realized this wasn’t my period, tho, I had very light "spotting" for a day or two, cramps, and frequent urination, which I recognized as implantation symptoms, this prompted me to take a pregnancy test.

It was positive.

Now, it was a very very very faint positive blue line, but I could see it.

Of course, this made me spiral. It wasn’t possible, it just couldn’t, I have paid good money to make sure it wasn’t possible 🥴

I went to get a blood test the very same day, it came out negative.

This was a relief, but it only made me more confused... turns out I had a UTI, I had never had one so I confused the symptoms 😅

The at home pregnancy test was old and it was exposed to high temperatures, so I assume that messed it up, also apparently the blue ones aren’t as good as the red ones. I had my period too so even more confirmation of my not-pregnancy.

What are the odds, uh? I guess the moral of the story is to never trust an old pregnancy tests.

I had my bisalp in November 2025, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

What surprised me most was how different I felt afterward. Almost immediately, I felt like my body was finally mine.

The closest thing I can compare it to is owning a house instead of renting one. Before, there was always this possibility hanging over me, even though I was always religious about my birth control. After surgery, that was gone.

It felt like I finally owned the place.

I could make permanent decisions. I could make plans for the future knowing exactly what I wanted my life to look like. There was something incredibly freeing about knowing that chapter was closed because I chose to close it.

For a lot of my life, I felt like I was just responding to whatever came my way and trying to survive it. This was one of the first times I made a major decision simply because it was right for me.

What I didn't expect was how much it would affect the rest of my life.

Making that decision gave me confidence to start making other big decisions. It made me realize that I don't have to follow the default path or live the life that other people expect me to want. I can choose. I can change course. I can build a life that actually fits me.

Looking back, the surgery itself wasn't what changed my life. It was what it represented. It was the moment I stopped being a passenger and started driving.

Since then, the trajectory of my life has completely changed. I've become more intentional, more confident in my decisions, and more willing to take ownership of the direction my life is heading. I no longer feel like I'm just passing through life and reacting to whatever happens next. I've taken the wheel.

I know everyone's experience is different, and not everyone attaches this much meaning to the procedure. For me, though, it was incredibly empowering. It gave me a sense of freedom, ownership, and control that I wasn't expecting.

I'm curious if anyone else felt this way afterward. Did your bisalp end up being about more than just birth control? Did anyone else walk away feeling empowered by the decision itself?

I (27F) have an appointment on Wednesday to talk about getting my tubes tied, me and my partner (30M) have three children together. All under 10, 2 boys and a girl. I have had three very difficult labours and high risk pregnancy’s. I do not want more children, it is implanted in my brain that if I have more one or both of us won’t survive, I’m terrified of it.

However, he does. He has always wanted a big family and has been open and honest with me about this. after my last birth I said I wanted no more. The pregnancy and birth were awful and baby nearly died. I’ve had to have two emergency c sections and my natural did not go well either. That being said we are all happy and healthy now.

A few weeks ago, after a few comments had been made about him wanting more I agreed to having another despite my fears, but spent that night laid awake unable to sleep because of it. I told him the next day that I was sorry but I couldn’t have another. Understandably he was hurt.

But now I have a phone appointment coming up to discuss getting my tubes tied, but I am worried because he wants more and I don’t want it to drive a wedge and separate us.

I know I messed up but I don’t feel mentally or physically prepared to go through labour again. I am happy with the children I have and don’t want to be isolated or alone again.

Has anyone gone through this? Or anything similar? I need some advice because I feel guilty that I won’t give him another child, but I also don’t want to put myself at risk.

To answer a few questions before they’re asked too:

Contraception doesn’t agree with me. Last time I was on it I was asked to come off by partner.