ECTOPIC PREGNANCY

What is it?

An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that starts to develop outside your womb - usually in one of the Fallopian tubes that connect your ovaries to your womb.

What causes it?

All your eggs are produced in your ovaries. They have to travel down one of your Fallopian tubes to your womb, which is where they usually settle once they have been fertilised and a pregnancy begins. Ectopic pregnancy usually happens if your egg's progress down the Fallopian tube is slowed down, so it attaches itself to your body before it gets to your womb.

Who gets it?

You can have an ectopic pregnancy at any time in your life when you could become pregnant. However, your risk is increased if you have had damage to your Fallopian tubes (such as through pelvic infections) or surgery to your Fallopian tubes. You are also at slightly higher risk if you have a coil fitted for contraception or if you are taking the progesterone-only Pill.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms depend on where in your tube the egg has attached itself. Quite often, the symptoms come on suddenly at around or just after the time your period is due. You will usually have severe pain over your lower stomach, worse on one side and occasionally going up into your shoulder tip. You will get vaginal bleeding, which may be quite light, and you might even collapse.

When should I see my doctor?

If you have severe lower stomach pains and slight vaginal bleeding, especially if you have been trying to get pregnant and your period is due or a few days late, You should contact your GP as soon as possible.

What tests will my doctor do?

Your doctor will ask you some questions and examine you; he or she may need to do an internal examination. Your GP may admit you directly to hospital, or arrange for an urgent pregnancy test before referring you. if your condition is not too severe, he or she may arrange for you to have an urgent ultrasound scan of your pelvis.

What is the short-term treatment?

f you do have an ectopic pregnancy, you will need to be admitted to hospital for an operation to remove the pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies can never develop normally. You will almost certainly have to have the affected Fallopian tube removed as well.

Will I need long-term treatment?

You should not need any follow-up specifically for your ectopic pregnancy. However, once you have had one ectopic pregnancy, you will be at much greater risk of having another ectopic pregnancy in the other tube at a later date. This means you must always be on the look-out for early signs of another ectopic pregnancy for as long as there is any chance of you becoming pregnant.

How can I stop it from happening?

If you have had an ectopic pregnancy in the past, you must always inform any doctor who gives you contraception so he or she does not recommend fitting a coil or giving you the progesterone-only Pill.