Trista Sutter, the Original Bachelorette, Undergoes Essure Procedure After Deciding Her Family is Complete

After the arrival of her second child (a baby girl named Blakesley Grace, born on April 3, 2009), Trista Sutter, the star of ABC’s first Bachelorette show, is reporting that her Essure procedure went well, and that the entire procedure took place in her physician’s office in about the same amount of time as a routine OB/GYN exam.

During Trista’s pregnancy with Blakesley, she had expressed to her physician that she was considering having a tubal ligation after the delivery. Trista, along with her husband Ryan Sutter, felt their family would be complete after the arrival of their second child. After speaking with her doctor about all her birth control options, Trista decided that the Essure procedure was the best fit for her.

"The Essure procedure was just what I expected, minimally invasive and easy, and it was performed in my doctor’s office,” says Sutter. "Ryan and I knew our family was complete with two children and I knew I didn’t want to be on hormones anymore, so I’m happy that I won’t need to worry about birth control or an unplanned pregnancy. I like that I can focus my attention on my family and our future.”

Essure is a permanent birth control procedure for women that can be performed in the comfort of a doctor’s office. The procedure is preferred by women because it requires no cutting or burning, no general anesthesia, no hormones, and has minimal recovery time. The Essure procedure has been FDA approved and in use since 2002, and it is trusted by more than 300,000 women worldwide.

Three months from now Trista will have the added benefit of the Essure Confirmation Test, so she can be confident that she is protected from unplanned pregnancy. The Essure procedure has the highest rate of efficacy in the permanent birth control category, with a 99.8 percent effective rate and zero pregnancies reported in clinical trials.

"The Essure procedure is a great solution for women who know their families are complete,” said Dr. Santa Maria, Sutter's physician. "I’m really pleased that Trista has decided to speak publicly about her experience to help inform other women about Essure.”

Trista says, "I want more women to know about all their options; as an advocate for women’s health, I believe it’s important for women to make informed decisions, and avoid undergoing surgery needlessly when other options exist.”

About the Essure Procedure:

The Essure procedure, FDA approved since 2002, is a permanent birth control method that can be performed in the comfort of a physician’s office in about 10 minutes¹ without hormones, cutting, burning or the risks associated with general anesthesia or tubal ligation. Small, flexible micro-inserts are placed in a woman’s fallopian tubes through the cervix without incisions. Over the next three months, the body forms a natural barrier around the micro-inserts to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. Essure is 99.8% effective² with zero pregnancies reported in clinical trials. The procedure is covered by most insurance plans, and when it is performed in a doctor’s office the cost may be as low as a simple co-pay.

Three months after the Essure procedure, a doctor performs an Essure Confirmation Test to confirm that the fallopian tubes are fully blocked, and that the patient can rely on Essure for permanent birth control. Essure has been proven and trusted by physicians since 2002, with more than 300,000 women worldwide having undergone the Essure procedure.

Essure and Conceptus^® are registered trademarks of Conceptus Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTS)

About Trista Sutter:

Now a Vail, Colorado resident with her husband Ryan, Trista Sutter (formerly Rehn), was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.

While working as a pediatric physical therapist in Miami, Florida, Trista was looking for something new and exciting and applied for a new show called "The Bachelor.” After being chosen to appear as one of 25 bachelorettes on the ABC hit, she achieved overnight fame as the runner-up who was not ultimately picked as The Bachelor’s dream girl. Not being chosen proved to be the best thing that could’ve happened, because she was then asked to become the first Bachelorette and ended up meeting the man of her dreams in handsome firefighter Ryan Sutter. On the finale, she said "yes” to his televised marriage proposal, and after a year-long engagement they planned a dream wedding for a TV special that they shared with over 20 million people who had watched their love story unfold. To this day, they are the only couple from "The Bachelor” and "The Bachelorette” to actually tie the knot, and one of few to even remain together.

In addition to her involvement on the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, Trista has a very active and well-followed Twitter (tristasutter), blogs for E! online, and is a correspondent for GMA, Extra and Good Day Live. Additionally, she also participated in the first season of the Emmy-nominated "Dancing with the Stars.”

¹ Average hysteroscopic procedure time

² Based on 4 years of follow-up