Poststerilization regret: findings from the United States Collaborative Review of Sterilization.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the cumulative probability of regret after tubal sterilization, and to identify risk factors for regret that are identifiable before sterilization.


METHODS
We used a prospective, multicenter cohort study to evaluate the cumulative probability of regret within 14 years after tubal sterilization. Participants included 11,232 women aged 18-44 years who had tubal sterilizations between 1978 and 1987. Actuarial life tables and Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify those groups at greatest risk of experiencing regret.


RESULTS
The cumulative probability of expressing regret during a follow-up interview within 14 years after tubal sterilization was 20.3% for women aged 30 or younger at the time of sterilization and 5.9% for women over age 30 at sterilization (adjusted relative risk [RR] 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6, 2.3). For the former group, the cumulative probability of regret was similar for women sterilized during the postpartum period (after cesarean, 20.3%, 95% CI 14.5, 26.0; after vaginal delivery, 23.7%, 95% CI 17.6, 29.8) and for women sterilized within 1 year after the birth of their youngest child (22.3%, 95% CI 16.4, 28.2). For women aged 30 or younger at sterilization, the cumulative probability of regret decreased as time since the birth of the youngest child increased (2-3 years, 16.2%, 95% CI 11.4, 21.0; 4-7 years, 11.3%, 95% CI 7.8, 14.8; 8 or more years, 8.3%, 95% CI 5.1, 11.4) and was lowest among women who had no previous births (6.3%, 95% CI 3.1, 9.4).


CONCLUSIONS
Although most women expressed no regret after tubal sterilization, women 30 years of age and younger at the time of sterilization had an increased probability of expressing regret during follow-up interviews within 14 years after the procedure.
Hillis
S D
SD
Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. seho@cdc.gov
Marchbanks
P A
PA
Tylor
L R
LR
Peterson
H B
HB
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors