Post Sterilization Regret in India: New Evidence on Trends, Patterns, and Determinants

Abhishek Singh , International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

We use data from the Indian National Family Health Surveys conducted in 2005-06 and 2015-16 to examine trends, patterns, and determinants of post sterilization regret in India. Post sterilization regret has increased from 5% in 2005-06 to 7% in 2015-16. Women who report poor quality of service during and immediately after sterilization were more likely to regret sterilization than those who rate the care as good. Women who do not have both sons and daughters, women who reported losing a child after sterilization, and those with lower parity were more likely to report regret compared with their counterparts. Change in composition of 'parity at sterilization', 'sex composition of children' 'women's schooling', 'being informed that they cannot have more children after sterilization', and 'geographic region' contributed to the increase in percentage of women reporting regret between the two surveys.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2