If you and your partner have decided that you do not want any more children, you may be thinking about a permanent form of birth control called sterilization. In a woman, the most common type of sterilization is called tubal ligation. In a tubal ligation, the fallopian tubes the tubes that carry the egg from the ovary to the uterus are blocked in one of a variety of ways, which prevents the egg from going into the uterus each month. Therefore, when sperm enter the uterus through sexual intercourse, no egg is present to be fertilized.
Tubal ligation is very successful.
In fact, less than one percent of women who have had the operation become pregnant. In many cases, a tubal ligation is done following the birth of a child. It may be done under local or general anesthesia. With local anesthesia, the patient stays awake during the surgery, but does not feel any pain. Under general anesthesia, the patient goes to sleep and has no memory of the surgery.