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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: Feelings of regret seem to occur frequently after sterilization, but are mostly short-lived. Women in a test group who asked for reversal did so, on the average, after 3.8 years. This is a major operation and should be discussed thoroughly and, if possible, avoided, to keep requests from increasing. 118 patients who asked for reversal were compared with 116 control patients matched by sterilization date. The reversal group was sterilized at a much younger age, and over 8 times as many had other gynecological procedures at the same time as the control group. The reversal group altered their marital status after sterilization at a higher rate than the control group; both groups had the same number of children at the time of sterilization. Out of the control group, only 1 patient out of 88 reported guilt feelings to the family doctor after a child died. 1/5 of the reversal patients were operated on at the time of other gynecological or obstetrical surgery: 12 abortions, 6 prolapse operations, 4 cesarean sections, and 2 operations due to extrauterine pregnancy. These occurred in only 3 women in the control group. This combination of sterilization and gynecological problems should be avoided, with patients following their doctors' advice. However, patients should have more time to think things over and should not be pressured into sterilization, especially since sterilization can be performed in a clinic under local anesthesia. Reversal should not be encouraged.
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