Tubal ligation is a method of sterilization among women who do not want to have kids. It is also known as getting the tubes “tied”. Tubal ligation is a surgical method in which a woman’s fallopian tubes are cut off or are blocked. After the successful completion of this surgery, the egg is prevented from entering the uterus, inside which it can fertilize. At times, even after this surgical process of tubal ligation, a woman can get pregnant due to some fallacies in the process.

Moreover, medical research says the post tubal ligation, some women are more prone to developing a condition of ectopic pregnancy in which the egg fertilizes inside the fallopian tubes itself. However, whether ectopic or not, the seven common signs of pregnancy among women after undergoing tubal ligation are:

Pregnancy After Tubal Ligation: Symptoms and Signs

Tender breasts

Due to the development of an egg and gradual fertilization of the same, the level of the pregnancy hormones, commonly known as hCG hormones, increases in your body. As a result, your entire reproductive system starts preparing to accommodate the ‘baby’. Therefore, your breasts gradually start to grow in size and become more sensitive.

Morning sickness

Along with the hormones regularly acting up on your breasts, nowadays you also feel nauseous in the mornings ‘without any reason’. If this is a situation that has been bothering you for more than a week now, it is high time you visit the doctor.

Repulsiveness towards certain foods

Just like women who are normally pregnant, you tend to feel a sense of disgust while even thinking of certain foods, let alone eat them. In the first few days, this situation can be lightly taken as a case of possible indigestion, heartburn, or some other digestive complication pertaining to those particular foods. However, if this persists, you must visit your gynaecologist as there is definitely something more to it.

Frequent food cravings

As much as you will hate some foods, similarly, you will crave some other foods most of the time. You might crave sweets, ice-cream, milk shakes, or some of your most favourite meal combos. These sudden and frequent cravings are an obvious sign of something deeper that requires your attention and medical intervention. Visit the gynaecologist as soon as possible as something is brewing in your abdomen!

Fatigue

Feeling excessively more tired than you used to feel last week? It might be due to stress resulting from a lay-long work atmosphere. But, the recurrence or continuation of this surely signals something else. Due to the changes in your body’s hormonal structure, you tend to feel more fatigued both physically and mentally. You might not yet know the reason, but it is time to visit the doctor without delay, for proper prognosis of your situation. Visit a general physician first, who till diagnose your condition and recommend visiting a gynaecologist if required.

Frequent urination

As the egg fertilises inside your body and gradually develops in size, it puts pressure on your bladder. Along with this, the concoction and flow of your hormones are changing, which results in an increased urge to urinate.

Missed period

The most central signifier of a pregnancy, in any situation, is a missed period after the completion of your menstrual cycle. If you are not bleeding and still experiencing one or more of the aforementioned factors, visit the doctor without any further delay.

Along with the above symptoms, another core factor that you should remember is that you will face sudden and rather regular abdominal cramps that will signify that something is happening inside your reproductive system. Keeping all the signs in mind, visit your doctor immediately as you feel that there might be a pregnancy occurring inside you. Do not shun the chances of conception due to the fact that you have undergone tubal ligation. The medical centre at the University if Pittsburgh has, following a research, stated these vital statistics with regard to the number of women who might be open to potential risk of getting pregnant even after this permanent sterilisation method.

• 5% among women who are under the age of 28
• 2% among women who are from 28 to 33 years old
• 1% among women who are above the age of 34

Hence, doctors themselves suggest that any symptom similar to that of a pregnancy, even after tubal ligation, must be attended to. It might lead to serious complications that can well be avoided if the condition is treated with immediate effect. This situation of pregnancy is most likely to be an ectopic one, which can be treated with a minor surgery and medicines.

If it is not ectopic, then also there are potential complications, due to which the doctor must perform a surgery and administer hormone-based as well as steroid-based injections to close the passage and rectify the condition. In every case of pregnancy after tubal ligation, time is the most crucial factor that determines the level of recuperation. There is no particular need to worry as it can be completely cured if detected early.