Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of women who suffer from post tubal ligation syndrome; and whether he plans to ask the NHS to recognise that syndrome.
No estimate has been made and there are no plans to ask the National Health Service to recognise this as a syndrome. The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare is the body responsible for providing clinical guidance on contraception, including female sterilisation. As set out in the Faculty’s clinical guidelines, there is no evidence that tubal ligation results in significant changes to hormone levels, nor is there evidence that it directly causes changes to menstrual symptoms or increased risk of subsequent hysterectomy. As such, post tubal ligation syndrome is not currently recognised by professional bodies in their clinical guidance. Any woman experiencing complications following surgery should seek advice from their general practitioner.