Sterilized and Satisfied: Outcomes of Childfree Sterilization Obtainment and Denials

Abstract

As more women choose to forgo motherhood, childfree women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) are important to study, particularly given pronatalist ideals that can make the choice not to have children difficult to exercise. Although temporary contraception prevents motherhood, physicians sometimes discourage or deny women access to more permanent options, including sterilization, due to their belief that childfree women and those AFAB will regret their decision. From a reproductive justice framework, we examined psychological outcomes of sterilization approval and denials among a sample of 154 childfree women and nonbinary people AFAB who sought and either obtained or were denied sterilization. Participants completed measures of psychological well-being, self-esteem, and sexual quality of life. Childfree participants who obtained sterilization reported higher self-esteem, better sexual quality, and higher well-being than childfree individuals who were denied the procedure. Neither age nor time since making the sterilization request accounted for the differences between the groups in terms of sexual quality of life and psychological well-being. Collectively, these findings offer the first empirical evidence of the potential outcomes among childfree women seeking sterilization.

A Framework for Studying Adults who Neither have Nor Want Children

“…First, this population is large (Neal & Neal, 2022) and growing (U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 2019), with multiple studies suggesting that not wanting children is the most common form of non-parenthood (Brown, 2021;Martinez et al, 2012;Neal & Neal, 2023a). Second, members of this population have unique physical health needs such as long-term contraception (Cummins, 2022a(Cummins, , 2022bLemke et al, 2023;Tazkargy, 2014), mental health needs such as coping with stigma (Doyle et al, 2013;Gillespie, 2000;Mollen, 2006;Mueller & Yoder, 1999;Park, 2002;Turnbull, Graham & Taket, 2016), and social needs such as navigating a world where activities (Neal & Neal, 2023b) and financial planning (Zigmont, 2022) are oriented toward parents. Third, this population may significantly impact global demographic trends, including trends of declining fertility and population.…”

Rising Up, Pushing Forward: Standing Our Ground in the Face of Injustice

“…Thus, in a mixed-method study, Klann and Wong examine the relations among psychological distress, parenting self-efficacy, perceived harm from pregnancy, and likelihood of choosing an abortion in a hypothetical pregnancy scenario among women experiencing mental health disturbances. Following, Lemke et al (2023) examine psychological outcomes (i.e., self-esteem, well-being, and sexual quality of life) associated with sterilization attainment or denials among childfree women and people AFAB. We conclude the special issue with an article by Abbott et al (2023) that used a collaborative autoethnography to examine how personal and professional experiences as both reproductive beings and health service psychologists overlap, as well as ways in which they, as reproductive justice advocates, can sustain themselves during a perilous and vulnerable time in our sociopolitical history.…”

A framework for studying adults who neither have nor want children

“…First, this population is large (Z. P. Neal & Neal, 2022) and growing (U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 2019), with multiple studies suggest that not wanting children is the most common form of non-parenthood (Brown , 2021;Martinez, Daniels, & Chandra, 2012; J. W. . Second, members of this population have unique physical health needs such as long-term contraception (Cummins, 2022a(Cummins, , 2022bLemke, Mollen, & Buzolits, 2023;Tazkargy, 2014), mental health needs such as coping with stigma (Doyle, Pooley, & Breen, 2013;Gillespie, 2000a;Mollen, 2006;Mueller & Yoder, 1999;Park, 2002;Turnbull, Graham, & Taket, 2016), and social needs such as navigating a world where activities (Z. P. and financial planning (Zigmont, 2022) are oriented toward parents. Third, this population may significantly impact global demographic trends, including trends of declining fertility and population.…”