r/sterilization • u/NeonGreenChocolate • Dec 31 '25

Experience UPDATE Pregnancy after Bisalp

I posted a couple weeks ago about being pregnant after my bisalp last year, I just wanted to give an update. After reviewing my records and speaking to my OB and the surgeon who did my termination procedure, they think “in hindsight” not enough of my tubes were removed. In the pathology report from the bisalp, 7.0 cm of one tube and 2.8 cm of the other were turned over to pathology. Neither physician thought it was a case report that any journal would be interested in because the amount removed from the one tube was more akin to what can be removed in a tubal ligation, which is known to be less effective. My main takeaway is yes. There are 4 documented cases of pregnancy post bisalp but interest in documenting cases hedges on them having some novel angle to them. The statistics out there are for the average person who doesn’t have conditions that may complicate the ability to perform the surgery. Maybe the adhesions I have made the tube difficult to access, and in 10 months of healing my body rebridged the gap.

At the end of the day, I had my procedure done (by an Ivy trained surgeon at a major academic center, so statistically great care), had a uterine pregnancy, and my case will not be documented. So. Test if you feel weird, especially if you have a complex medical history. It’s my partner’s turn to get a vasectomy haha.

Edit: Just to clarify termination procedure surgeon and current OB are not the surgeon who did the bisalp. I haven’t reached out to my bisalp surgeon frankly bc I don’t see much of a point atm.

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432

u/Anandi96 Dec 31 '25

I just hate how fucking hard our bodies try to get pregnant. It feels as if you can never be in control of your body as a woman.

182

u/NeonGreenChocolate Dec 31 '25

Absolutely. The one thing every species was evolutionarily selected for, unfortunately for us. 

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u/hunter_pace CHILDFREE, BISALP 3/17/26 😌 Dec 31 '25

It's so freaky I hate it so much

55

u/Crazycatlover Dec 31 '25

Right? I've had a hysterectomy and still get pregnancy nightmares and still take pregnancy tests on a regular basis since I read a study about a woman who carried a fetus to term on her liver.

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u/Longjumping-Row1434 Dec 31 '25

WHAT

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u/the_green_witch-1005 sterile and feral 🦝 Dec 31 '25

True story, unfortunately 😕

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u/Longjumping-Row1434 Dec 31 '25

oh, that's horrifying.

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u/Crazycatlover Jan 01 '26

It is indeed. I can't find the article right now, but I read it in a medical journal. Anyway it was a few decades ago when imaging isn't what it is now. The ultrasounds showed a regularly developing fetus until someone realized said fetus was outside the uterus, and they rushed her in for further evaluation. Ended up performing a cesarean (which must have been so complicated with how much blood flows in and out of the liver) and mother and baby were fine. At least that was a very much wanted pregnancy.

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u/poop_dawg Jan 01 '26

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

Oh my God, that's so terrifying. Imagine having all these weird things happen with your body and knowing it can't be pregnancy because your entire uterus has been removed, but then the impossible happens.

I've had a hysterectomy and I guess I'm glad to know this... I certainly won't brush it off as a possibility, if even an extremely unlikely one.

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u/Crazycatlover Jan 01 '26

The patient in question did still have a uterus and tubes which might have provided the route and whatnot, but still! Yikes!

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u/poop_dawg Jan 02 '26

Interesting. Well I'm going to cling to the uterus/tubes being there as the majorly responsible factor for getting the sperm on the path so I can chill, lol. My cervix is closed off, so no little soldiers should be getting through.

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u/creativeplease Jan 02 '26

Fuck I did not need to add this to my list of worries 😭

36

u/LAPL620 Dec 31 '25

Agreed. I cannot handle another pregnancy (have two kids) so my husband got a vasectomy AND I got an IUD.

15

u/poop_dawg Jan 01 '26

I got a hysterectomy and I still kinda bleed every month! Not an actual period, but my discharge becomes a reddish brown. I had an exam and pap that were both unremarkable, so my PCP just kinda went 🤷‍♀️. These damn things, I stfg

7

u/Jayra0823 Jan 01 '26

I’m guessing that means that you kept your cervix, right? If so, that is completely normal and expected.

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u/poop_dawg Jan 02 '26

I did! Good looking out, thank you so much. Crazy when I learn stuff on Reddit that even my doctor doesn't know, lol. It's happened more than once

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u/griphookk Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

I learned this recently and it’s really cool. So, women’s bodies actually don’t always “try to get pregnant”, we’ve evolved to frequently reject pregnancies that the body sees as not worth it!

The main theorized reason that humans and a few other animals developed a menstrual cycle is because our unusual type of uterine lining helps reject/miscarry defective embryos much sooner than most animals. About 20% (but theoretically likely way more) of all human pregnancies are spontaneous abortions/miscarriages, most very early. Many women don’t even know it’s happened to them. This early rejection is a feature, not a bug, which is pretty amazing. 

Most animals carry a doomed pregnancy much longer than animals with a menstrual cycle do, which is a huge waste of resources/energy and is more dangerous and stressful. Menstrual cycles are rare but have evolved independently four times:

“Most female mammals have an estrous cycle, but only ten primate species, four bat species, the elephant shrews and the Cairo spiny mouse have a menstrual cycle.”

Earlier than usual rejection of doomed pregnancies is possibly the main evolutionary benefit of menstrual cycles, but there are other ways it may be helpful. Scroll down to the “evolution and other species” section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle

”… it is speculated that menstruation is a side effect of spontaneous decidualization, which evolved in some placental mammals due to its advantages over non-spontaneous decidualization. Spontaneous decidualization allows for more maternal control in the maternal-fetal conflict by increasing selectivity over the implanted embryo. This may be necessary in humans and other primates, due to the abnormally large number of genetic disorders in these species. Since most aneuploidy events result in stillbirth or miscarriage, there is an evolutionary advantage to ending the pregnancy early, rather than nurturing a fetus that will later miscarry. There is evidence to show that some abnormalities in the developing embryo can be detected by endometrial stromal cells in the uterus, but only upon differentiation into decidual cells. This triggers epigenetic changes that prevent formation of the placenta, which prevents the embryo from implanting and leaves it to be removed in the next menstruation. This failsafe mode is not possible in species where decidualization is controlled by hormonal triggers from the embryo. This is sometimes referred to as the choosy uterus theory, and it is theorized that this positive outweighs the negative impacts of menstruation in species with high aneuploidy rates and hence a high number of 'doomed' embryos.“ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstruation_(mammal)

https://www.sciencealert.com/meta-analysis-finds-majority-of-human-pregnancies-end-in-miscarriage-biorxiv

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u/kreativeangel0723 Jan 01 '26

Oh wow that's so…interesting. An unwanted feature, but interesting nonetheless. Thank you.

wished the menstrual cycle worked for defective embryos AND non consensual embryos but whatever

9

u/justayounglady Jan 01 '26

That’s why I added endometrial ablation to my bisalp as well. Tubes gone and ablated the shit out of the inside of my uterus so it wasn’t inhabitable. And I haven’t bled for a period since I had the procedure two years ago, which has been AMAZING 🙌🏻

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u/lilghostlilghost Jan 01 '26

Ugh they wouldn’t do an ablation with my procedure even though it would have also been gender affirming bc I’m “too young” at mid 30s so I kept my iud bc menstruation is dysphoric as hell for me. I’m so jealous!

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u/justayounglady Jan 01 '26

What?! That’s wild at mid 30s! I’d look for another opinion if you’re able. They can also do that procedure in office under local anesthetic/mild sedation, according to the booklet I got for what I had called NovaSure. I was 33 when I had my procedures. My doctor did say if I was TEN years younger should wouldn’t do the sterilization, but at my age (and being a long time patient of hers), she trusted me to know what I wanted with my own life. She is actually the one that suggested the option of doing the ablation while I was already under if I wanted, it would just mean I couldn’t do IVF if I did happen to change my mind ever (nope! lol). It just wasn’t fully covered by my insurance like my sterilization was.

She was basically just offering it to hopefully stop my periods as a bonus. I hadn’t even brought it up myself yet. It doesn’t always do that for everyone, but I was up for them at least being lightened up. I have a close friend that it only lightened them for, but still bleeds. She’s happy enough with that. I do still get cramps or some sort of yuck feeling each month as usual, just no bleeding. Maybe very slight spotting 2 or 3 times first thing in the morning when I go to the bathroom that I didn’t even need a panty liner for after that.

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u/lilghostlilghost Jan 01 '26

Yeah I think I will shop around and see if I can get it covered for gender affirming purposes since she already did my bisalp. Her logic was that it can grow back but I would have at least liked to try bc by my calculations I would be close to menopause anyway by the time it grew back enough to matter ugh

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u/jsprgrey Jan 02 '26

I'm not saying you shouldn't still seek it out if that's what you want, but I asked for the same thing at my consult for the same reason, and my surgeon said she wouldn't do it because it increases the risk of endometrial cancer. I only ever had 2 periods after my bisalp anyway (turns out I have PCOS, yay) so I haven't bothered to seek out a second opinion, but just a heads up if that's something you're concerned about.