Can you get pregnant with your tubes tied? Well, yes you can. Studies have shown that tubal ligation (tying of the fallopian tubes) is not a 100% guarantee of contraception. There's still at least a 1% chance of getting pregnant after your tubes are tied. This risk then increases to about 1.8% after 10 years. It has also been noted that most pregnancies occurring after ligation are ectopic in nature, meaning that the pregnancy occurs at the fallopian tube instead of the uterus.

Tubal Ligation: What Is It?

Tubal ligation is done to permanently block the fallopian tubes' passageway by "damaging" them. As a result, sperm cells are prevented from meeting an egg cell, thereby thwarting fertilization. This procedure can be done using clips, rings, ties, surgical cutting techniques, and coagulation. These "damaged" tubes close upon healing.. This is a recommended form of contraception for women who do not wish to have additional children

Pregnancy after Tubal Ligation: The Causes

1. If you are wondering, "Can you get pregnant with your tubes tied" then you should know that you can still get pregnant, because a small passageway may still be present while your tubes are still healing after the procedure. A small opening (fistula) may even remain after ligation, which is a common cause of unexpected pregnancy. It is therefore recommended that you refrain from unprotected sex for a few weeks after ligation to allow time for the tubes to heal.

2. The sperm can find its way towards this small passageway and find an egg to fertilize. The fertilized ovum will no longer be able to descend towards to the uterus because of the blockage, resulting in the high incidence of ectopic pregnancy among ligated women.

Unfortunately, the fertilized ovum will receive insufficient nutrition if kept within this area and there's no way for it to migrate to the uterus. However, in rare occasions the fertilized ovum still has a very small chance of finding its way down to the uterus for implantation.

You should take a pregnancy test if you suspect that you're pregnant or if you are experiencing symptoms of early pregnancy. Most ectopic pregnancies result in slightly lower human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels compared to normal pregnancies - hCG is a key physiological indicator of pregnancy.

In the event that you have an ectopic pregnancy with your tubes tied, you can have it removed surgically through laparoscopy. It is a less painful procedure than the standard operative techniques. Nevertheless, injections can help dissolve the fertilized ovum if ectopic pregnancy is detected at an early stage.

3. Another reason that you may still get pregnant after having your tubes tied is through recanalization, a phenomenon in which the burned tubes heal back. This usually happens when only minimal coagulation or burning was applied to the tubes.

Special Considerations

To those women who want to have a baby several years after tubal ligation, it is still possible through a process known as ligation reversal. So long as the tubes have not been permanently cut, they can still be reopened to facilitate the best chance of getting pregnant. However, there are some cases in which the reversal is not successful, especially if the tying was severely done. You must also be aware that tubal ligation does not protect against STDs and AIDS.