A woman talks about her struggle to be neutered at age 24

Knowing she never wanted children, a woman recounted her struggle to be sterilized when she was 24, explaining that she was afraid her doctor would change her mind or that her future husband would want children.

Sydney Mealey, 27, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had tried various birth control methods, including the pill, but was looking for a permanent solution when she raised the issue of tubal ligation with her gynecologist three years ago.

Tubal ligation or “tubal ligation” is a surgical procedure for female sterilization in which the fallopian tubes are cut, tied, fixed, bandaged, or sealed with an electrical current.

“I always got rejections from my doctor, so I knew it wouldn’t be an option,” Mealey said today, explaining that she was advised to wait until she grows up.

In 2019, she underwent a bilateral laparoscopic salpingectomy, a surgery that removes both fallopian tubes and permanently prevents pregnancy.

†[My doctor] always “Well, what if I change my mind?” it was like. Or “If your husband wants children?” Or something like that,” he said. “Also, ‘You’re still too young. Come back and talk to me when you’re 30.'”

She refused to give up, researched female sterilization online, and stumbled upon the “child-free” forum on Reddit with a list of information she would need to share with a doctor if she wanted approval for the procedure. .

It therefore focused on individual doctors and the different sterilization methods offered. He also sought to determine whether they would be willing to have the procedure performed on someone in their 20s and without children.

Mealey had a briefcase about herself when she met a doctor she found in Cleveland, Ohio, about a two-hour drive from her home.

Laparoscopic bilateral salpingectomy required surgery to remove both fallopian tubes, which permanently hindered the pregnancy. Unlike some forms of tubal ligation, it is not reversible.

Mealey was ready to defend her case after hearing horror stories from people where doctors said they needed permission from their boyfriends or husbands to have the procedure.

“I thought the doctor wanted to take the file and read everything,” the midwife remembered, but the midwife kept her word.

“You seem really insistent on this, and judging by your story and what you’ve introduced me to, it’s something you know very well and agree with, and I’ll do this procedure for you,” he said.

Mealey was certainly taken aback by her response because she was “expecting a hard and quick no” because of her age.

“I was absolutely shocked, but still ecstatic and happy,” she told Today. “I felt heard and seen”.

Mealey had the support of many people in her life when she had surgery in 2019. But some romantic relationships ended when their partners found out they didn’t want children, she said.

After being turned down by her own doctor, she is grateful to be able to find a midwife who listens to her and is willing to carry out the procedure, but she knows it’s not for everyone.

Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, gynecologist and author of Let’s Talk About There, told Today the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (ACOG) has made it clear that people shouldn’t be denied tubal ligation just because they’re young and have no sons. to be.

Regarding the procedure, according to the ACOG 2020 Guidelines: “Respect for the reproductive autonomy of a single woman should be the main concern guiding the sterilization structure and policy”.

Unlike maintenance methods of birth control, such as condoms or the pill, sterilization is considered the most reliable way to ensure women do not become pregnant.

Lincoln explained that involuntary pregnancy and regret are among the risks of tubal ligation, but both are rare.

According to the International Encyclopedia of Public Health, the five-year failure rate for female sterilization is 1.3 percent†

“I think where you pull out the whole tube is probably close to zero, but we can never tell” [anything] zero,” Lincoln said.