An ectopic pregnancy most often occurs in a fallopian tube, which carries eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. This type of ectopic pregnancy is called a tubal pregnancy. Sometimes, an ectopic pregnancy occurs in other areas of the body, such as the ovary, abdominal cavity or the lower part of the uterus cervix , which connects to the vagina. An ectopic pregnancy can't proceed normally.
The fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-threatening bleeding, if left untreated. You may not notice any symptoms at first. However, some women who have an ectopic pregnancy have the usual early signs or symptoms of pregnancy — a missed period, breast tenderness and nausea. If you take a pregnancy test, the result will be positive.
Still, an ectopic pregnancy can't continue as normal. Often, the first warning signs of an ectopic pregnancy are light vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain. If blood leaks from the fallopian tube, you may feel shoulder pain or an urge to have a bowel movement. Your specific symptoms depend on where the blood collects and which nerves are irritated. If you become pregnant and are at high risk for an ectopic pregnancy , you will be closely watched.
A urine pregnancy test—including a home pregnancy test—can accurately diagnose a pregnancy but cannot detect whether it is an ectopic pregnancy. If a urine pregnancy test confirms pregnancy and an ectopic pregnancy is suspected, further blood testing or ultrasound is needed to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. In most cases, an ectopic pregnancy is treated right away to avoid rupture and severe blood loss. The decision about which treatment to use depends on how early the pregnancy is detected and your overall condition.
For an early ectopic pregnancy that is not causing bleeding, you may have a choice between using medicine or surgery to end the pregnancy. Using methotrexate to end an ectopic pregnancy spares you from an incision and general anesthesia.
But it does cause side effects and can take several weeks of hormone blood-level testing to make sure that treatment has worked. Methotrexate is most likely to work:. If you have an ectopic pregnancy that is causing severe symptoms, bleeding, or high hCG levels, surgery is usually needed. This is because medicine is less likely to work and a rupture becomes more likely as time passes.
When possible, laparoscopic surgery that uses a small incision is done. For a ruptured ectopic pregnancy , emergency surgery is needed. For an early ectopic pregnancy that appears to be naturally miscarrying aborting on its own, you may not need treatment. Your doctor will regularly test your blood to make sure that your pregnancy hormone hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin levels are dropping. This is called expectant management. Ectopic pregnancies can be resistant to treatment.
If your blood type is Rh-negative , Rh immunoglobulin may be used to protect any future pregnancies against Rh sensitization. For more information, see the topic Rh Sensitization During Pregnancy. Surgery may be your only treatment option if you have internal bleeding. You cannot prevent ectopic pregnancy, but you can prevent serious complications with early diagnosis and treatment. If you have one or more risk factors for ectopic pregnancy, you and your doctor can closely monitor your first weeks of a pregnancy.
If you smoke, quit to lower your risk of ectopic pregnancy. Women who smoke or who used to smoke have higher rates of ectopic pregnancy. Using safer sex practices, such as using a male condom or a female condom every time you have sex helps protect you from sexually transmitted infections STIs that can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease PID. PID is a common cause of scar tissue in the fallopian tubes, which can cause ectopic pregnancy. If you are at risk for having an ectopic pregnancy and you think you may be pregnant, use a home pregnancy test.
If it is positive, be sure to have a confirmation test done by a doctor, especially if you are concerned about having an ectopic pregnancy. If you are receiving methotrexate treatment to end an ectopic pregnancy, you may experience side effects from the medicine. See these tips for managing methotrexate treatment to minimize these side effects. If you experience an ectopic pregnancy loss, no matter how early in a pregnancy, expect that you and your partner will need time to grieve.
It is also possible to develop depression from the hormonal changes after a pregnancy loss. If you have symptoms of depression that last for more than a couple of weeks, be sure to call your doctor or a psychologist, clinical social worker, or licensed mental health counsellor.
You can contact a support group, read about the experiences of other women, and talk to friends, a counsellor, or a member of the clergy.
These things may help you and your family deal with a pregnancy loss. If you have had an ectopic pregnancy, you may worry about your chances of having a healthy or ectopic pregnancy in the future. Your risk factors and any fallopian tube damage you may have will impact your future risk and your ability to become pregnant. Your doctor can answer your questions based on your risk factors. Medicine can only be used for early ectopic pregnancies that have not ruptured.
Depending on where the ectopic growth is and what type of surgery would otherwise be used, medicine may be less likely than surgical treatment to cause fallopian tube damage.
Medicine is most likely to work when an early ectopic pregnancy is not causing bleeding and:. For an ectopic pregnancy that is more developed, surgery is a safer and more dependable treatment. Methotrexate is used to stop the growth of an early ectopic pregnancy. It can also be used after surgical ectopic treatment to ensure that all ectopic cell growth has stopped.
Methotrexate treatment is usually the first choice for ending an early ectopic pregnancy. If the pregnancy is further along, surgery is safer and more likely than medicine to be effective. Routine follow-up blood tests are needed for days to weeks after the medicine is injected. Methotrexate can cause unpleasant side effects, such as nausea, indigestion, and diarrhea.
For information about how to minimize side effects, see these tips for managing methotrexate treatment.
If your ectopic pregnancy is not too far advanced and has not ruptured, methotrexate may be a treatment option for you. Successful methotrexate treatment of an early ectopic pregnancy avoids the risks of surgery, may be less likely to damage the fallopian tube than surgery, and is more likely to preserve your fertility. If you are not concerned with preserving fertility, surgery for an ectopic pregnancy is faster than methotrexate treatment and will likely cause less bleeding.
When possible, surgery is done through a small incision using laparoscopy. This type of surgery usually has a short recovery period.
An ectopic pregnancy can be removed from a fallopian tube by using salpingostomy or salpingectomy. Both salpingostomy and salpingectomy can be done either through a small incision using laparoscopy or through a larger open abdominal incision laparotomy.
Laparoscopy takes less time than laparotomy. And the hospital stay is shorter. But for an abdominal ectopic pregnancy or an emergency tubal ectopic removal, a laparotomy is usually required.
When an ectopic pregnancy is located in an unruptured fallopian tube, every attempt is made to remove the pregnancy without removing or damaging the tube. Emergency surgery is needed for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Your future fertility and your risk of having another ectopic pregnancy will be affected by your own risk factors. These can include smoking, use of assisted reproductive technology ART to get pregnant, and how much fallopian tube damage you have.
As long as you have one healthy fallopian tube, salpingostomy small tubal slit and salpingectomy part of a tube removed have about the same effect on your future fertility. But if your other tube is damaged, your doctor may try to do a salpingostomy. This may improve your chances of getting pregnant in the future.
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Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. IVF treatment is where an egg is fertilised by a sperm outside the womb usually in a test tube and, after fertilisation, the embryo is surgically implanted into the womb.
Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that implants outside the uterus womb. Most ectopic pregnancies occur in one of the fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancy is a serious condition. Read more on myDr website. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants outside the uterus womb.
Read more on WA Health website. Unfortunately not all pregnancies are successful. Find out more on miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy and stillbirth and neonatal birth.
There are several types of miscarriage — threatened, inevitable, complete, incomplete or missed. The vast majority of miscarriages will happen in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some even happening before you knew you would have known you were pregnant. Read more on Pink Elephants Support Network website. Read more on Red Nose website.
Unfortunately half of these pregnancies may also end in miscarriage, which cannot be prevented. Miscarriage Despite being common and widespread, miscarriage can be a heartbreaking experience — with up to one in five pregnancies ending before week Read more on Gidget Foundation Australia website.
Female sterilisation is a permanent form of contraception. It's a surgical procedure to block the fallopian tubes that carry the egg to the uterus. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby is not responsible for the content and advertising on the external website you are now entering. Video call. This information is for your general information and use only and is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes.
The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care. Pregnancy loss, no matter how early, can be devastating. You can ask your doctor if there are available support groups in the area to provide further support after loss. Take care of yourself after this loss through rest, eating healthy foods, and exercising when possible. Give yourself time to grieve. Remember that many women go on to have healthy pregnancies and babies.
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It's often benign. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Parenthood Pregnancy Ectopic Pregnancy. Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. What causes an ectopic pregnancy?
In some cases, the following conditions have been linked with an ectopic pregnancy: inflammation and scarring of the fallopian tubes from a previous medical condition, infection, or surgery hormonal factors genetic abnormalities birth defects medical conditions that affect the shape and condition of the fallopian tubes and reproductive organs Your doctor may be able to give you more specific information about your condition.
Who is at risk for an ectopic pregnancy?
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