Is this procedure:
The Essure procedure is the first and only FDA approved female sterilization procedure to have zero pregnancies in the clinical trials. The Essure procedure is permanent and is NOT reversible. Therefore, you should be sure you do not want children in the future.
The Essure procedure is different than the traditional method of a surgical tubal ligation. With Essure there is no cutting into the body. Instead, an Essure trained doctor inserts spring-like coils, called micro-inserts, through the body’s natural pathways (vagina, cervix, and uterus) and into your fallopian tubes.
The procedure can be performed in your doctor’s office without general anesthesia .
During the first 3 months following the procedure, your body and the micro-inserts work together to form a tissue barrier that prevents sperm from reaching the egg. During this period, you will need to use another form of birth control.
After 3 months, your doctor will perform an Essure Confirmation Test, a special type of x-ray to confirm that your tubes are completely blocked and you can rely on the Essure micro-inserts for birth control.
Unlike birth control pills, patches, rings, and some forms of IUDs, Essure does not contain hormones to interfere with your natural menstrual cycle. Your periods should more or less continue in their natural state.
June 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Well, I know birth control is a pain in the you-know-what. Nonetheless, any doctor or shink would no doubt advise you to at least wait out your 20s before making an irreversible decision.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I was taking bets on who would be the first to say that Harriet =) So this is for all the other people who have the same thought on their minds:
Although the process is irreversible, my eggs will still be intact. If Dean and I want a child bad enough, and don’t want to adopt (our first choice if we want a kid anyway) then they can harvest some of my eggs and we can make a test tube baby. I could still carry the fetus and deliver like normal. We would just not be able to conceive the “old fashion” way.
Hormone based contraceptives really messed up my body and I will never go back on them, and non-hormone based contraceptives have many faults. All it would take now would be a busted condom for the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy. And the thought of something growing inside me disgusts me. No offense to anyone out there that is a mother, this [the something growing inside me bit] is a personal thing with me and me alone. And it comes from years of school drilling into me that [as a teen] getting pregnant was wrong. Why does that matter now you might ask? My mental image of myself is me when I was 16.
I will be 27 years old this year, and I know to most of my readers, that makes me a “baby” =) But I am only 3 years shy of 30 and ALL of you had your kids by then. Yet, Dean and I do not. And I am aware that these days, most women [that plan their birth] are waiting until 30 to do so.
When I was a child, I never daydreamed that my baby dolls were real. I enjoyed the fact that they were fake and understood that I could put them down when I wanted. When I was in jr. high, most girls my age talked about having daughters and what they would name them; I never joined in because I knew that I did not want children.
Maybe it was my mom telling me I was a mistake. Maybe it was her telling me that us kids ruined her life. Maybe it is because of the stress of us kids that induced the situation that killed her. Maybe it is knowing that there are millions of children who need a family; thousands of which are in Dallas alone. Maybe it was because I was honest with myself about my selfishness and knowing that I wanted to live my life, not put it on hold for 20 years for a child.
It could be any one of, or a combination of, that selection of reasons that I don’t want to be a mother. For years now, I have pandered to anyone that has asked me if me and Dean will have kids by saying, “As of now we never want kids, but in the future we might change our minds”. We left the glimmer of hope for those people who think me, Dean and our 5 cats are not a “real” family, but I am tired of the charades.
I don’t ever, ever, want to be a mother. And Dean never ever wants to be a father. We have spent hundreds of hours discussing it and we both, without influence from the other, decided the same thing.
We love our niece Holli to a fault. We love being an Aunt and uncle to our little angel. She fills both our hearts with love and joy. Holli is the only kiddo we need in our lives. And if someday if Molly decided to have another or if my brother Josh decides to start a family or if Val becomes a mommy, Dean will be there. If they only have 2 each, then that is 6 kids we can share our love with.
And that is enough to make me feel like I am a mom. It takes a village you know.
And we will be there for every one of them.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I’m sure you’re a lot more prepared to make that decision than many people at your same age because of your unique life experience. If indeed adoption is satisfactory in your minds should you decide to have a child after all, then great! But to my thinking, if you are actually factoring in the test-tube-baby option in your decision process, you’re not sure ENOUGH that you won’t change your mind about bearing a child. I also wonder if your view of pregnancy — which is clearly not a healthy one — is warping your judgment in a way that may not be permanent. I absolutely adored being pregnant — you can eat like a horse with impunity and you’re the center of attention. But I also found it fascinating and moving (literally) to be growing a little person. So I kind of hate to think of you making a decision like this based on a really skewed perspective of human reproduction.