Sterilisation as a method of contraception: recent trends in Great Britain and their implications

Data on patterns and trends in sterilisation in Britain among women, men and couples are presented using life table approaches with data from a national survey, the General Household Survey. Among couples under age 50, sterilisation is the main method of contraception used, with slightly more women than men being sterilised, although this is reversed if only contraceptive sterilisation is considered. Trends in contraception have remained relatively constant in recent decades. Patterns of sterilisation differ following births of different orders. For example, the resort to sterilisation is much quicker after a third birth than after a second. The proportions of men and women who have been sterilised and then formed a subsequent partnership are very small, so the effect of sterilisation in preventing births in such unions is negligible.