New procedure permanently prevents pregnancy

For decades, women have been looking for less invasive options to permanently prevent pregnancy. Now, there's a new type of contraception that can be done in minutes under local anesthesia.

Amanda Belena, 35, had a tough time delivering her two girls.

“(I had) two previous abdominal surgeries that were major, and then on top of that each of my children were C-sections, so that created further scar tissue,” she said.

Belena’s doctor told her she should not have more kids, so Belena looked for a permanent solution.

“Knowing that I can't get pregnant, no matter what happens, was the most important factor,” she said.

Instead of having surgery to have her tubes tied, Belena chose the new Food and Drug Administration-approved procedure called Adiana. There are no incisions or cuts, it requires only local anesthesia and it's done in minutes.

An instrument delivers low level radio-frequency energy to each fallopian tube. A tiny insert, about the size of a grain of rice, is then placed in each tube.

“We place this little spongy material inside. We kind of drop it there. Then, the body forms scar tissue around the spongy material and just seals everything shut,” said Dr. Jacques Moritz, with Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

The procedure is similar to another permanent birth control procedure called Essure, which uses a tiny metal coil insert, rather than Adiana's softer sponge insert.

Although the Adiana’s procedure has been available for about a year, there is only a handful of doctors doing it around the country. Belena said she was glad she had the option.

“In the end, when I thought of my health and being there for my two girls, it was an easy decision,” she said.

And with virtually no recovery time, she was able to stay on her toes with her girls. Doctors say another form of contraception is necessary the first three months after the procedure while tissue grows around the inserts.