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Researchers from the University of Dundee and University College London analyzed the medical records of more than half a million British women between 1987 and 2012. Specifically, they looked at 54,675 women who had appendectomies, 112,607 women who had tonsillectomies, and 10,340 women who had both procedures, comparing the data against a control group of 355,244 women who had neither surgery.
What they found: Women who’d had their appendix, tonsils, or both removed got pregnant at a higher rate than women who had had neither removed. Fifty-four percent of the women who had appendectomies got knocked up post-surgery, as did 53 percent of those who had tonsillectomies. Meanwhile, 60 percent of women who had both surgeries eventually became pregnant. Compare that to the 44 percent of women from the control group that got knocked up—and that’s a signifcant difference, right?
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The reasons for the link are unclear. One theory is that getting rid of inflamed organs makes conception easier.
Regardless, the findings go against previous thinking that the procedures—especially appendectomy—could lead to a build-up of scar tissue around your fallopian tubes, lowering your baby-making odds. “For many years medical students were taught that appendectomy had a negative effect on fertility and young women often feared that having their appendix removed threatened their chances of later becoming pregnant,” says study author Sami Shimi, clinical senior lecturer in the School of Medicine at the University of Dundee, in a press release.
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So if you had your appendix or tonsils removed as a kid, you better stock up on the condoms—unless you want to pop out a baby in the near future.