Not sure where this goes..... Sterilised during CS?.......

[Zephyrcat]

My consultant gave me this option this afternoon and and said I had to decide by my 37 week appt when I get booked in for my CS.

It sounds like a good idea. Dp isn't keen on getting a vasectomy and as i'll be in theatre anyhow it seems the simple option.

BUT I don't know anything about the procedure etc. He also said that I have to be 200% sure because once I decide I can't go back - for example if something,God forbid, was to go wrong whilst delivering this baby, I couldn't say mid op that I didn't then want to be sterilised. It would be too late.

Has anyone had it done? How did it go? Did it make any difference to your recovery from the cs?

My consulant also gave me the option when pregnant with dd2, with it having to be a C/S and then sterilisation, we didn't go with it in the end, 1. because I was only 22 (but have all my babies early, and having 2 children with CP) and 2.we also thought that if anything happened to dd2, then thats it. I knew she would be born early so that was an added risk if anything was going to wrong IYKWIM.

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think there are threads about this in the archive. IIRC, it isn't such a great idea because your tubes etc are swollen because you are pg, and it might be better to wait till they are back to their normal size.

i had this done after ds was delivered by section . i was fine post op, and was out of hospital within 4 days.

there is a slightly higher failure rate. and you have 2 be sure that you want it 100%

my sis had this during her 3rd CS

And was ok

The option was never presented to me before my twins were born and in a way I'm glad. During labour, after 1st twin was born naturally I had a placental abruption and emergency c/s for which I was knocked out. Came round and then didn't see 2nd twin for 12 hours due to him being in special care and me being on ward with twin1 and wheelchair bound!

2nd twin got the all clear at 6 weeks and I was sterilised when they were 13 weeks old but I had to stop breastfeeding in order to do this as it was considered such major surgery and I'd be away from them for a whole day and then taking a couple of weeks to recover.

Be VERY VERY sure that you want to be sterilised.

In my case, my dh left me when the twins were 1 and now, 8 years on I have a new partner who'd dearly love children. Circumstances at the time I could never have foreseen. I lived with regret and bitterness for years that dh didn't have a vasectomy, it would have been so much simpler!

I haven't had it done but would echo the consultant's view to consider it really really carefully. A vasectomy can be reversed (and neither the vasectomy or reversal are that bad - according to my DH - and they are not major surgery either!!)
I'm not going to probe into your age/circumstances/No of children etc because thats nothing to do with the issue - which is so very personal and improtant but can I just tell you my story to give you food for thought.

My DH had a vasectomy when he was with his previous wife (she nearly died in childbirth & was advised sterilisation but has gone on to have 2 more children after remarrying!) I wanted to be sterilised after splitting up with my previous husband (he meant so much to me that I couldn't bear to think of having children with anyone else).
When DH & I got together we weren't planning on any children but decided to see what fate would bring after 7 years together - 2 months after his (10 year old vasectomy) reversal I got pg. I am so pleased I didn't get sterilised because you never know what how your life (and attitude towards it) is going to change.

That said (and apologies for the waffle) if there is a medical reason why you should be sterilised then that would throw things into an entirely different light.
Good luck with your decision making.

Totally forgot to put my stats down!! I'm 28. DP and I have been together for 6 years and have dd who is 3.11 and ds who is 17 months. After ds I had pretty much decided that was it after a horrid pregnancy, but there was always a niggling feeling that I might one day want a 3rd. It has come an awful lot sooner than expected and to be honest I'm still coming to terms with being pg again so soon and not sure how I'm going to cope with them all!! I know now that this is definately the last one for us - dp agrees. I've spoken to him about getting a vasectomy but I get the impression he's not keen. I'd rather he did it as it is a much simpler op and also reversible - but then I don't want to force him into it if he really doesn't want it.

I'm only 20 weeks pg at the mo so have got a while to decide and still to talk to dp about it but would like to gather as much info/stories as poss to help decide!!

28 is really young to do something that final IMHO. It's one thing if your life would be endangered by another pg, but who knows how you might feel in 10 years time?

Speaking from my own experience and now knowing your circumstances I'd push him for a vasectomy... we women take on too much ourselves without knowing what's around the corner.

A vasectomy is SO much simpler and reversable.

IMHO it's a weak man who's adamant "no more kids" but won't take the responsibility for it, but will happily put his loved one through major surgery due to his cowardice...

Also reading between the lines, you said you had a "niggling feeling" you'd want another. What if something went wrong this time and you were still left with two children, a body that couldn't have children AND the same niggling feeling?

Yes, hadn't thought about it that way Rainbow - I suppose because I'm pg now and can take it for granted that it's easy to say that I'm happy with the two we've got - you're right, what if something did go wrong and the feeling came back. Hmmm.

It's such a big thing! Until now I hadn't even considered being sterilised but seeing it in black and white puts it into perspective a bit more for definate.

As Carolinamoon said, in 10 years time you never know what life will be like for you. I met my 2nd dh at 37 and was so overwhelmed with regret that we couldn't conceive naturally, I hated that(although justified at the time) I'd made that decision a few years before under completely different circumstances.

I was 37 and totaly sure that I never, ever wanted to be pregnant again, with anyone, at all, ever!!.

I would also caution against thinking that male sterilisation can be easily reversed. Failure rates for reveral are high and get higher the longer time an man has been sterilised.

I was recently offered this and not very pleased as pg difficult and I was quite stressed. I am going mirena route - easy to fit, makes periods easy, no fuss for 5 years and can get pregnant day it's removed if keen!
DD will be 4 months when it's fitted - no op for dh or me & finger's crossed no hassle. Why opt for surgical route when there is a reversible no op option available (also other things like inserts etc - still give you the control over your own body).
agree with person who said beware of thimgs changing - keep that just in case option open.......

Sterilisation at C/S carries a higher failure rate because the tubes are thicker due to the hormones of pregnancy. There is always a risk that something might happen to the baby arounsd about the time of delivery or early months. Sterilisation decisions are often encouraged to be left till after the first year because the risk of cotdeath is less.

On saying that, I was sterilised when DD was 3 months old. I was breastfeeding and there was no need to stop.

The mirena is as effective as sterilisation so that could give you the necessary effective contraception till you make sure you know this is your last baby.

Mears, my tubes were not clipped, but removed (I saw them in a jar.....very odd but strangly interesting!) Is this uncommon ?(i was done when ds was delivered by section)

What they do is remove a section of each tube after tying it in two places and cutting it. The piece of tube is then sent to the lab just to make sure that it is a fallopian tube.

Since they never contacted me, I assume they got it right then!

Have they ever 'clipped' them?

I have never seen them 'clipped' at C/S. Probably because they are so much bigger. They are clipped when it is done by laparoscope like I had. At C/S there is no need to do that because the surgeon can get his hands on them!

Ah, the penny drops in my rather addled brain!

I asked my consultant about this as dh and I do not want to have any more children after this next one. She said that sterilisation during a caesarian is only 80% effective and there is no way of testing whether it has worked (apart from you know it has failed if you get pregnant again!). She recommended DH goes for a vasectomy as it is a straighforward and almost painless procedure as it is 100% effective and can be tested. Hope that helps.

I have never seen statistics that show a failure rate that high. That would make it less effective than almost any other form of contraception. I was councelled that having it done at the time of c section doubled the failure rate, but the baseline faliure rate isn't 10%

And male sterilisation isn't 100% effecticve either!

No form of contraception is 100%

how could it fail if you had a section of each fallopian tube removed? Or is it that you'd still be at risk of an ectopic pg and that is counted in the stats?