About Us | Privacy | Site Map
Font Size
A
A
A


Tubal Sterilization

Tubal Sterilization Overview

Tubal sterilization is surgery to block a woman's fallopian tubes. Tubal sterilization is a permanent form of birth control. After this procedure, eggs cannot move from the ovary through the tubes (a woman has two fallopian tubes), and eventually to the uterus. Also, sperm cannot reach the egg in the fallopian tube after it is released by the ovary. Thus, pregnancy is prevented.

This procedure is also called tubal ligation or you are said to have your "tubes tied." More formally, it is known as bilateral tubal ligation (BTL).

Currently, about 700,000 of these procedures are performed each year in the United States. Half are performed right after a woman gives birth. The rest are elective procedures performed as a one-day operation in an outpatient clinic. Eleven million US women aged 15-44 years rely on sterilization as a means of birth control to prevent pregnancy. More than 190 million couples worldwide use surgical sterilization as a safe and reliable method of permanent birth control.

Prior to the 1960s, female sterilization in the United States was generally performed only for medical problems or when a woman was considered "too old" to have children or at risk. The changing cultural climate in the 1960s resulted in safe, minimally invasive female sterilization procedures.



Next: During the Procedure »

Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend

Bladder Control Problems?
Have a Life Less Interrupted

Norvartis P&G
Norvartis P&G
Important Safety Information | Prescribing Information
Close

ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:

  • · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
  • · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
  • · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENABLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENABLEX affects you.


Privacy Policy

Women's Health

Find out what women really need.

Are You Depressed? Take the Quiz


Tubal Sterilization

Birth Control »

Birth Control Introduction

The practice of birth control or preventing pregnancy is as old as human existence. For centuries, humans have relied upon their imagination to avoid pregnancy.  

  • Egyptian ancient writings dating back to 1850 BC refer to techniques using a device placed in a woman’s vagina made of crocodile dung and fermented dough, which most likely created a hostile environment for sperm. Other items placed in the vagina included plugs of gum, honey, and acacia.

  • During the early second century in Rome, a highly acidic concoction of fruits, nuts, and wool was placed on the cervix as a type of spermicidal barrier.

Today, the voluntary control of fertility is of paramount importance to modern society. From a global perspective, countries currently face the crisis of rapid growth of the human population that has begun to threaten human survival. A...

Read the Birth Control article »



Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Tubal Sterilization »

Prior to the 1960s, female sterilization in the United States was generally performed only for medical indications (when additional pregnancies would be hazardous to the mother).

Read More on eMedicine »

Featured Topics

Medical Dictionary


or A-Z List