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Permanent Birth Control: Deciding to Tie Your Tubes or Get a Vasectomy

When you’re a single parent, you might decide more kids aren’t an option. But should you make that a permanent decision?

Wendy Miller
7 min readSep 26, 2020
Image Source: PublicDomainPictures — 14 via Pixabay

I was 24 and six months pregnant when I filed for divorce. The decision to tie my tubes had already mostly been made because I felt like my marriage was on pretty shaky ground and I was pretty sure I didn’t want more kids if it ended.

The decision to divorce was mine, and it cemented my decision to get my tubes tied. My OBGYN was fully supportive and we planned to do the surgery immediately following the birth of my second child.

I’m now 41, with one child about to turn 19 and the other just turned 16. Over the years, I’ve had a few moments where I wondered if I’d made the right choice. Ultimately, I always conclude that I did but for some people, it’s not that simple.

Before making a decision, it’s important to consider as many angles as you can. Permanent birth control is meant to be permanent and attempts to change it aren’t always successful so you need to be sure before you move forward.

What if a future partner wants more kids?

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Wendy Miller
Wendy Miller

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