Post partum tubal ligation following vaginal delivery

The authors report the results of a retrospective study of 253 cases of tubal ligation collected between January 1985 and December 1989 in the maternity unit of the Yalounde Teaching hospital. The tubal ligations were done through minilaparotomy with local anesthesia using the technique of Pomeroy. The frequency of tubal ligation evaluated at 3,8 per cent did not change during the period of this study. The authors note that the majority of patients in this study wished a tubal ligation only when they have 5 or more surviving children. We had no post-operative death, but our complication rate of 1,6 % can be improved upon by paying more attention to operative detailes. The authors conclude that because of poorly equiped medical infrastructures in the context of developing countries tubal ligation through minilaparotomy should be promoted as a contraceptive method in family planning programms.