Comparison of psychological and sexual consequences of tubal ligation and other contraceptive methods in women referring to Shahrekord health centers in 2005-2007, Iran

Tubal ligation (TL) is a popular, safe, reversible and effective method of birth control. However it has some side effects. In this study, psychological and sexual consequences of TL and other contraceptive methods in women who had referred to Shahrekord health centers in a period between 2005 and 2007 were compared. In this descriptive and analytical study a total of 384 women (174 in TL group and 210 in other contraceptive methods group) were selected by simple sampling method. Data were collected by interview and demographic questionnaires, GHQ-28 and sexual disorders questionnaires (DSM-IV) at the beginning of the study and six months later. Data were analyzed and evaluated by Mann Whitney U, McNemar, t-student and Chi-square (χ2) tests. Psychological disorder in TL group was 31.3% at the beginning of the study and increased to 39.7% at the end of the study (P<0.05). Sexual disorders in TL group was 18.4% and 28.7% at the beginning and end of the study respectively (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in psychological and sexual disorders for the second group. TL group shows higher psychological and sexual disorders compared to the other contraceptive method groups. We suggest that those women selecting TL method, be informed the negative effects of it.