What Is An Ectopic Pregnancy?

A friend of mine recently told me she was pregnant. She and her husband had been trying for child for a long time and had started to give up hope, so I was really happy for her. Unfortunately, though, the pregnancy had to be terminated because it turned out to be ectopic. There was really nothing else the doctors could do, so she had emergency surgery and is now stuck on the couch when she'd rather be tending her tomato plants.

How did this happen? What exactly is an ectopic pregnancy?

An ectopic pregnancy (also called a tubal pregnancy) is what its name suggests-a pregnancy that takes place inside the fallopian tube. In a normal pregnancy, an egg that is fertilized moves into the uterus and attaches to the lining and grows into a baby. Occasionally, though, a fertilized egg doesn't make it to the uterus and instead either stays in the tube or attaches to an ovary or other organ. This is what happens in about 1 in every 50 pregnancies and requires emergency surgery so that the mother's life is not put at risk.

Doctors aren't entirely sure what causes ectopic pregnancies, but there are a few risk factors.

• Having had your tubes tied (tubal ligation)
• Having an intrauterine device (IUD) in place

You're probably saying, wait a minute, aren't these things supposed to prevent pregnancy? While this is usually the case, there's still that 1% of women who get pregnant while using an IUD. There's also that less than 0.5% of women who get pregnant after having their tubes tied.

More factors-

• Having had pelvic or abdominal surgery before
• Having had endometriosis (tissue growing outside of the uterus)
• Having had a sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
• Having had an ectopic pregnancy in the past
• Having used infertility treatments in the past

Some of the warning signs of an ectopic pregnancy include-

• Vaginal bleeding or spotting
• Severe abdominal cramps
• Dizziness or weakness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Pain in your neck, rectum or shoulder

If you have any of these symptoms, consult a doctor. Most of the time surgery is needed to remove the pregnancy, although some pregnancies respond to a chemical treatment. If the tube or any other reproductive organs are damaged, they may need to be removed. Hopefully this won't be the case, but it does happen. Otherwise, it's very possible to get pregnant after an ectopic pregnancy. As you can imagine, this was good news to my friend. Your doctor will tell you what to do from here.

Like I said before, ectopic pregnancies happen in about 1 in 50 pregnancies. If you think you may have a problem, please consult your doctor.