Table 2.
Barriers to obtaining a desired tubal ligation before hospital discharge among low-income women who delivered in Texas and had an unmet demand for the procedure, overall and according to type of unmet demand, 2014–2018a
| Explicit (n = 62) | Prompted (n = 145) | Any unmet demand | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 7 (11.3) | 50 (34.5) | 57 (27.5) |
| Patient could not afford procedure | 4 (6.5) | 33 (22.8) | 37 (17.9) |
| Insurance did not cover procedure | 5 (8.1) | 25 (17.2) | 30 (14.5) |
| Hospital/system barriers | 36 (58.1) | 23 (15.9) | 59 (28.5) |
| Problems with consent form | 17 (27.4) | 15 (10.3) | 32 (15.5) |
| Patient did not have C-section | 12 (19.4) | 8 (5.5) | 20 (9.7) |
| Operating room was not available | 8 (12.9) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (3.9) |
| Provider barriers | 6 (9.7) | 34 (23.4) | 40 (19.3) |
| Patient told she was too young | 0 (0.0) | 14 (9.7) | 14 (6.8) |
| Patient told she did not have enough children | 0 (0.0) | 11 (7.6) | 11 (5.3) |
| Provider would not operate (other reasons) | 4 (6.5) | 7 (4.8) | 11 (5.3) |
| Patient did not discuss with provider | 2 (3.2) | 9 (6.2) | 11 (5.3) |
| Other reasons | 25 (40.3) | 41 (28.3) | 66 (31.9) |
| Patient changed her mind | 4 (6.5) | 15 (10.3) | 19 (9.2) |
| Patient had health condition | 5 (8.1) | 6 (4.1) | 11 (5.3) |
| Patient did not have enough information | 3 (4.8) | 4 (2.8) | 7 (3.4) |
| Patient’s partner was opposed/had not yet discussed with partner | 0 (0.0) | 6 (4.1) | 6 (2.9) |
| Other | 14 (22.6) | 10 (6.9) | 24 (11.6) |
| Number of barriers | |||
| 1 | 22 (35.5) | 107 (73.8) | 129 (62.3) |
| 2 + | 40 (64.5) | 38 (26.2) | 78 (37.7) |
a
Respondents could choose more than one option.