| **National Center    for     Health Statistics            Division of Data     Services            6525 Belcrest Road     Hyattsville, MD     20782-2003     (301)458-4636      **

 
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**Surgical    Sterilization in the United States: Prevalence and Characteristics, 1965-95**
This report presents    national data on the prevalence of surgical sterilization from 1965 to 1995 among women    15-44 years of age. Data are shown by type of sterilizing operation and demographic    characteristics of the women. Data presented in this report are based on national samples    of women 15-44 years of age: the 1965 National Fertility Study and the 1973, 1982, 1988,    and 1995 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth. 

**Data    Highlights:**    Between the 1965 and 1988 surveys, the prevalence of surgical sterilization rose    dramatically among married women 15-44 years of age in the United States, from 16 to 42    percent. In 1995 the prevalence remained about the same at 41 percent. In the 1965    and 1973 surveys, tubal ligation and vasectomy were equally common among currently married    and ever-married women aged 15-44 years (and their partners). Since the 1982 survey, tubal    ligation has become more prevalent than vasectomy, occurring one-and-a-half to two times    as often.  Throughout the    survey years, age, parity, religious affiliation, and education continued to be strongly    associated with overall surgical sterilization rates. Marital status, race/ethnicity, and    socioeconomic factors such as education and income, were also strongly associated with    particular types of sterilizing operations. Among    ever-married women aged 15-44 years in 1995, 41 percent were surgically sterile (15.3    million women), 26 percent reported having a tubal ligation, 7 percent had a hysterectomy,    and 12 percent were currently living with a husband or partner who had a vasectomy.

**Keywords:**    surgical sterilization, population characteristics

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This page last reviewed August 02, 2000

**U.S.    DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES****Centers    for Disease Control and Prevention**    National Center for Health Statistics    Division of Data Services     Hyattsville, MD    20782-2003    (301) 458-4636
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