Hysterectomy at 35

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I once was told that God gave me two kids because I have two hands. One hand to hold each child’s hand. And that was plenty for me. As a wide-eyed naïve girl, growing up I determined that I would have five children. I have no idea why I thought 5 children would be the perfect number, but for me, that was definitely overshot!

Fertility Issues

I had fertility issues associated with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and had quite a difficult time getting pregnant the first time. In fact, after a few surgeries and medications, I did get pregnant with twins, but that pregnancy ended in miscarriage. It was decided I would be high risk after that and was told that getting pregnant again might be even more difficult if not impossible.

After some time, I got pregnant again, and immediately was monitored closely the entire pregnancy. There were some complications with the delivery, but thankfully my Elijah was born, healthy and pretty darn near perfect!

I got pregnant again a few years later and was monitored very closely again, and my Ethan was born a few weeks early. He had some intense jaundice issues and had to have a few surgeries at a young age for some urology issues, but today he is just perfect.

A year after Ethan was born, I knew at that point I was done having children. I have my two boys and I am overwhelmingly blessed. After I was told I would probably not be able to have children, I was thankful with what I had been given!

Done Having Kids

I started to look into permanent birth control methods. I had previously been on DepoProvera and that had very serious side effects on me. Birth control pills worked fine, but it was such a hassle having to rely on the pills every day and all the extra hormones were a little crazy.

I decided to have a tubal ligation because I was only 34. To me, a hysterectomy was extreme and at that point, not medically necessary. The tubal ligation was a success and things seemed to be ok for a few months. Unfortunately, that success soon turned into immense pain and unbelievably horrible cycles every month. At that point, my doctor told me I would need to have a hysterectomy. After several months of the pain and discomfort, I was perfectly fine with that!

My Decision

At 35, I had a hysterectomy. I got some slack from people asking why I would have permanent birth control at such a young age. What if I decided I wanted more children? Didn’t I want to try for a girl?

All my pregnancies were high risk and I was certainly lucky to have two healthy boys. I knew my family was complete and I was content with my two miracles.

I definitely feel like there’s a stigma around women who take control of their own fertility at a “young” age. Sure, there was a lot of outside pressure on me to not to have the surgery. People thought they knew what I needed.

I’m getting remarried in a few months and my fiancé never had his own children. We discussed this early in our relationship and he was perfectly fine with me not being able to have children of our own. He’s accepted my children into his life and he’s going to be a fantastic step-father to my children.

For me, having a hysterectomy at 35 was an option that made sense. It was the right decision for me and my life and one that only I could make. Honestly, it’s been one of the best medical decisions I’ve made. If this is a decision you are facing currently or in the future, make sure you make it for the right reasons. Make it YOUR decision and take control of your own fertility. I don’t regret it!

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Abby Turner Hager
I am originally from New Hampshire and moved to the Cincinnati area in 2003. I am a single mom to 2 amazing boys, Eli and Ethan. We are avid Reds fans and you will likely find us at the ballpark quite a bit during baseball season. I have a degree in healthcare management and work full-time in Cincinnati. I have shared parenting of my boys, so when we are together, I try to make sure we make the most of our time! Whether it’s seeing Madcap Puppets, exploring the numerous local parks, enjoying the Cincinnati Pops, or cheering on our Cincinnati Redlegs, I strive to expose my boys to as many aspects of culture that I can! I enjoy music (I’ve played piano for 30 years) as well as being crafty (as time allows!), making crazy cool cakes, and relaxing with my boys, our dog Frankie and cats Lyra & Luna (we have quite the animal kingdom in our house)! I’m really excited about sharing a piece of my world with you and this oftentimes humorous and wild adventure I call my life as a mom!

9 COMMENTS

  1. Where I appreciate your openness with your struggles, my heart and soul hurt to hear this story. As you used the words “control my fertility”, what I heard was “control God” – make it so that He cannot act even if He wanted to. I don’t condemn your decision or you. I just pray that others recognize what permanent birth control is – controlling God. Peace.

    • Thanks for your comment. It’s actually something I prayed about for over 3 years before I had the surgeries. We felt a perfect peace about the decision and haven’t had any regrets about it. I feel that God can give people discernment to make the decisions that need to be made in life. That’s why he’s given us free will to make those decisions. If I felt like there was any resistance or unrest about it, I would never have proceeded. Looking back on it now, I’d still make the same decision. My 2 boys are my world and for me, that’s what matters!

  2. I JUST had a hysterectomy at 35! It’s always nice to hear about women in similar situations. Thank you for sharing your story. It was definitely a last resort decision but after several surgeries to prevent one it had to be done.

    • Since I had a partial hysterectomy, my ovaries are still there, so I didn’t go into instant menopause. I had hormonal issues already because of my Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, but after my hysterectomy, I didn’t notice any increase in the hormonal variances. Now that I’ve hit 40 and it’s been some time since the hysterectomy, I’m starting to notice the early stages of early menopause, but nothing too dramatic, besides the occasional hot flash 🙂 As for my sex life, it’s really hard to determine honestly because I’ve been through a divorce and a couple years of being a single mom since my hysterectomy. I just recently got remarried, so maybe you should ask my new husband 🙂

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