Archives of Mental Health (Jan 2011)
Psychosocial profile of women who have undergone sterilization: A cross sectional study
Abstract
Background Though sterilization is a popular method of contraception, there are some concerns about the psychological sequelae including regret after the procedure. Such regret may result in lifelong personal distress. Aims To study the psychological status in terms of depression & anxiety in women who have undergone female sterilization and to know whether these changes affect the quality of life. Methods This is a cross sectional questionnaire based study of women of reproductive age group. Various instruments assessing anxiety, depression and quality of life have been administered. The data is statistically analyzed. Results The mean anxiety and depression scores were low in these subjects. Similarly the quality of life was good in all domains. However the subjects experienced sexual problems like anxiety about sex (3.3%), decreased libido (10%) and decreased frequency of coitus (31%), whereas the menstrual symptoms were not affected significantly Conclusions The findings indicate that literacy rate, self motivation, knowledge of procedure and constant availability of medical services have impact on outcome of the procedure.
