If you've had your tubes tied, and you now want to have a child, you're not alone. According to Pregnancy Info, as many as 25 percent of women change their minds later in life about having more children. There's good news and bad news about conceiving after tubal ligation. The good news is that many women are able to become pregnant. The bad news is that these women face much lower success rates than women who have not had their tubes tied. There are currently two methods for getting pregnant with your tubes tied.
Step 1
Get your tubes untied. Tubal ligation is a surgery that can be reversed for some women. During this procedure, the fallopian tubes are reconnected, re-establishing the pathway from the ovaries to the uterus. This allows for two-way traffic. The egg can enter the uterus and the sperm can enter the fallopian tubes to reach the egg.
Step 2
Understand factors that contribute to reversal failure. If the remaining, healthy fallopian tubes are not long enough, they may be unable to be reconnected. Similarly, if the remaining tubes are scarred or otherwise damaged, the process may not work. Finally, scar tissue may completely or partially block egg and sperm from meeting. More procedures, like those that try to remove scar tissue, may be necessary.
Step 3
Consider in-vitro fertilization. If your tubal ligation reversal can't be completed, or if you don't want to undergo that surgery, you can attempt in-vitro. During this series of procedures, your eggs (or a donor's eggs) are harvested and fertilized with your partner's or donor's sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized embryos are then inserted into the uterus, bypassing the need for working fallopian tubes.
Step 4
Understand the downsides of in-vitro. The success rate for in-vitro fertilization is low, at only about 10 to 25 percent, according to Baby Med. The procedure is also expensive and often not covered by insurance. Still, many couples have found success with this procedure. Keep trying. Statistically, most couples don't experience success with in-vitro until their third or fourth try.
Warnings
Realize pregnancy may not occur with your first IVF cycle; like normal conception, pregnancy from IVF isn't a given every time you transfer embryos.
Learn about ovarian hyperstimulation, a serious complication of IVF that may mean you have to freeze all embryos and not do a transfer that month.