Counseling women who request sterilization: psychodynamic issues and interventions

With large numbers of women seeking sterilization each year, including over half a million in 1983 alone, the problem of regretted sterilization and efforts to prevent regret have become matters of concern to health care providers. This paper describes a sterilization counseling program designed to reduce the likelihood of regretted sterilization. Discussed are factors which help predict satisfaction or regret following sterilization. A psychodynamic approach to sterilization counseling informed by these factors is described. Case vignettes are included, as is a retrospective analysis of candidates counseled during one year of the program.