ABSTRACT
Female sterilisation is a safe and effective form of permanent birth control. In the United States (US), it is still the second most commonly used form of contraception overall and is the most frequently used method among married women and among women over 30 years of age. Although several European countries have noted a sharp decline in the number of women electing tubal sterilisation in recent years, such trends have not been as obvious in the US. While female sterilisation remains popular, there are considerable system-level barriers to getting the procedure for certain segments of the population as well as emerging concerns about appropriate utilisation of this contraceptive method in light of newer, reversible options and the knowledge that regret after permanent contraception is high. Given the complexity of this decision-making process, it is critical that providers ensure at the very least that women are aware of the potential disadvantages of tubal occlusion and are knowledgeable of other highly effective contraceptive methods that are available but vastly underutilised in the US, namely, vasectomy, intrauterine contraceptives, and implants.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sources of funding: Dr Borrero is funded by grant #05 KL2 RR024154-05 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and it does not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.