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No. In terms of safety, there are no age and parity medical restrictions for a woman to undergo sterilization, but age and parity must be considered during the counseling process to minimize the potential for regret.
While the client's wishes should be paramount, she should understand that young age and possibly low parity are risk factors for regret.
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Age at time of sterilization has been found to be a risk factor for regret in both women and men. Wilcox et al., in a prospective study based on 7,590 U.S. women followed-up for five years, found that women less than 30 years of age at sterilization were two to three times more likely to report regret than those sterilized between 30 and 35 years of age. This effect was independent of number of living children or marital status at the time of sterilization. Young age has also been found to be a major factor in other U.S. studies and in studies of women in Canada and Puerto Rico.
- Wilcox LS, Chu SY, Eaker ED, Zeger SL, Peterson HB. Risk factors for regret after tubal sterilization: 5 years of follow-up in a prospective study. Fertility and Sterility 1991;55:927-33.
- Henshaw SK, Singh S. Sterilization regret among U.S. couples. Family Planning Perspectives 1986;18:238-40.
- Marcil-Gratton N. Sterilization regret among women in metropolitan Montreal. Family Planning Perspectives 1988;20:222-7.
- Boring CC, Rochat RW, Becerra J. Sterilization regret among Puerto Rican women. Fertility and Sterility 1988;49:973-81.
Parity has often been discussed as a risk factor for regret in women. Several major studies have not found parity to be a significant predictor of regret. However, some experts suspect that parity may still be an important predictor of regret in some cultures.
- Pitaktepsombati P, Janowitz B. Sterilization acceptance and regret in Thailand. Contraception 1991;44:623-37.
- Leader A, Galan N, George R, Taylor P. A comparison of definable traits in women requesting reversal of sterilization and women satisfied with sterilization. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1983;145:198-202.
- Wilcox LS, Chu SY, Eaker ED, Zeger SL, Peterson HB. Risk factors for regret after tubal sterilization: 5 years of follow-up in a prospective study. Fertility and Sterility 1991;55:927-33.
- Boring CC, Rochat RW, Becerra J. Sterilization regret among Puerto Rican women. Fertility and Sterility 1988;49:973-81.
- Henshaw SK, Singh S. Sterilization regret among U.S. couples. Family Planning Perspectives 1986;18:238-40.
- Marcil-Gratton N. Sterilization regret among women in metropolitan Montreal. Family Planning Perspectives 1988;20:222-7.
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