Female sterilisation can be more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.
Tubal occlusion (blocking the fallopian tubes) and removal of the tubes (salpingectomy) should be effective immediately. However, doctors strongly recommend that you continue to use contraception until your next period.
Hysteroscopic sterilisation (when implants are used to block the fallopian tubes) is usually effective after around three months. This will need to be confirmed with an imaging scan (see Female sterilisation - how it is performed). Research collected by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence found that the fallopian tubes were blocked after three months in 96% of sterilised women.
Other advantages of female sterilisation are that:
- there are rarely any long-term effects on your health
- it will not affect your sex drive
- it will not affect the spontaneity of sexual intercourse or interfere with intercourse (as other forms of contraception can)
- it will not affect your hormone levels
