Background & objectives: Tubal ligation is recommendable for women completed their family. The existence of the menstrual disorders following this procedure has been the subject of debate for decades. The aim of this study was to compare menstrual cycle pattern and quality of life in women who have undergone tubal ligation and women without tubal ligation.

  Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 150 subjects with tubal ligation and on 150 subjects using condom as contraceptive method. Simple random sampling was used to collect data from health care centers in Rudsar, Iran during 2012-2013. Data collection tool was a questionnaire including questions regarding demographic, menstrual and obstetrical characteristics. The participants were also asked to fill out the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). The analysis was performed using SPSS v.16. Statistical analysis was carried out using Chi-square and t-test.

  Results: Women with TL (29 (19.3%)) had more menstrual irregularity than those without TL (14 women (9.3%)) (p=0.02). Women with tubal ligation had more duration of bleeding menstrual than those without the tubal ligation (p=0.03). Also there was a significant difference in menstrual cycle length between women with and without tubal ligation (p=0.01). Similarly, in the analysis of SF-12 scores, two groups were different in all domains of quality of life (p<0.0001).

  Conclusion: We found significant differences in menstrual characteristics and quality of life between women with and without tubal ligation. Therefore, the consultation on these methods should be performed by health care providers.