How old do you have to be to get tubal ligation?"tying the tubes."?

Question

I'm 22 years old female with one son and I know for sure that I no longer want or will have children

Answer 1

It depends on the doctor, your circumstances, your health, your other options, etc. We counsel young women, even those who have had a child or two, to use another form of birth control. For someone with your feelings about about another child, I would recommend the implants (Norplant). Six slender plastic rods are inserted just under the skin inside the upper arm. It's done in a doctor's office and the procedure takes about 20 minutes from prep to complete. There's no discomfort as the arm in numbed (like when you have a tooth filled) and only about a drop of blood. A single butterfly bandage is used to close the VERY small incision. These implants are the next best thing to permanent sterilization. They are almost immediately effective (like within 24 hours) and almost immediately reversible (like within 24 hours) The advantages?? You don't have to think about birth control again for 5 YEARS!! Also, it is non-estrogen, so it doesn't have some of the same health concerns other hormone methods (the pill, patch, shot, etc) do. Talk to your doctor about some of your other alternatives--there are much better ones for someone your age. Good Luck!

Answer 2

I was in the same situation as you. My doctor would not perform the surgery on someone in their 20s, for the reasons that everyone has already mentioned. Are you married? If you are and your husband goes in with you to talk to your doctor, then he may be more likely to perform the surgery.
If you cannot find a doctor to perform a tubal ligation now, there are other long term options available. You can have an IUD inserted. Depending on which one you get they last between 5-7 years. There is some pain associated with having it inserted, and some women have cramping for days after, but the recovery time is far less of having surgery. The only requirement is that you already have a child. Talk to your doctor about which kind would be best for you.

Answer 3

It will be hard to find a doctor who will do a tubal on a 22 year old. So many women change their minds later on. So many times a woman has been in a bad relationship, but later finds someone she is REALLY happy with and then wants to have another child. I know you don't feel that way now, but there are many other methods of birth control. If you feel the same way by the time you are 30, you can get it done.

Answer 4

Some doctors will not do a Tubal Ligation at your age, so you may have to shop around. A lot of times that the doctors will take in account if there are any health problems that may warrant you not having more children.

With me, I was a "high risk" pregnancy. So shop around.

Answer 5

I was 26 when I had mine done, almost 10 years ago. It was a terrible surgery, and I had the laser procedure. I couldn't even get up without pain for well over a week. Be prepared to take some time off work, it's not like a vasectomy where the man is playing golf the next day.

Answer 6

I had my tubes tied when I was 23 years old and have one child. I don't see a problem with you having the procedure done especially if you do not want to have further children. Mine was due to heart problems, but I also knew that I didn't want anymore children also. Good Luck with the surgery.

Answer 7

In my state of Mn I had mine done when I was 22 yrs old. You better think hard about this cuz you are young and may regret it down the road. I wish I had never done it. The operation may be different now mine was done 17 yrs ago and I hurt bad for over a week.

Answer 8

I know you think you don't want more children at 22 but you can not be 100% sure at that age. I thought I was done at that age too....but when I got in my 30's I wanted more. Get an IUD until you get older.

Answer 9

Ooh, good luck getting one with just one child at your age, hon. Life is unpredictable, and the doctors know that making permanent changes when you are that young is usually a mistake. They might bend if you are a smoker on the pill...hard to say. If I was you, I would definately wait. You may think you will be with the same person forever, but you might not be. Life changes...think about it.

Answer 10

There are a lot of ethics involved with this and a lot of times it's up to the doctor's discretion. Some won't do it at all for young, healthy women. There's no set legal age; it's all up to the doctor.