Race, insurance status, and desire for tubal sterilization reversal

Objective

To examine the independent effects of race/ethnicity and insurance status on desire for tubal sterilization reversal.

Design

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected by the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

Setting

Interviews were conducted in person by a trained female interviewer in the participant's home.

Patient(s)

The NSFG is designed to represent women and men 15–44 years of age in the U.S. household population. The sample consisted of 934 women who had undergone tubal sterilization at any time before being interviewed.

Intervention(s)

None.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Desire for sterilization reversal.

Result(s)

Among women older than 30 years at time of surgery, black women were significantly more likely to desire sterilization reversal compared with white women (adjusted odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2, 5.8). In the total cohort and in the subset of women 30 years or younger, there were no significant racial/ethnic variations in desire for sterilization reversal.

Conclusion(s)

Among women over age 30 at the time of tubal sterilization, black women were much more likely to express desire for reversal than white women.

Key Words: Tubal sterilization, poststerilization regret, desire for reversal, race/ethnicity, insurance status