Pregnancy After Tubal Ligation: What You Need to Know

Question
I have had my tubes tied for 3 1/2 yrs, but lately I have felt tired stomach a little firm. My periods are fine, but yet I had 4 months of them with my first prenancy. Is it possible to get prenant after so long of them being tied?Thank you!

Answer
Dear Anya,

Tubal ligations are considered a permanent method of birth control. There are failures, though they are rare. The actual failure rate is about 0.5-1%. This typically occurs because the tubes have evolved in such a way as to try to heal themselves, and sometimes a tract develops that allows egg and sperm to meet. It happens slightly more frequently in younger women. So, occasionally a woman still gets pregnant, despite having had her tubes tied properly, whether the tubes are cut, burned, clipped, banded, or tied.

However, like I said it is very rare. I would not jump immediately to that conclusion based solely on the symptoms of being tired and having a little firmness in your stomach. Those are rather vague symptoms. If you continue to suspect you are pregnant, get other pregnancy symptoms, or miss your period, then I would go ahead and test for pregnancy. Otherwise, 99% of the time you can rely on your tubal.

I hope this information has helped you and answered your questions. Please write again with any additional questions. I wish you well.

Brenda