Symptoms Of Ectopic Pregnancy:
Could your baby be growing inside your fallopian tube?

Do you know the signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy?Ectopic pregnancies are on the rise because of an increase in sexually transmitted disease which renders a lot of women with tubal damage. There are also more incidences of ectopic pregnancy because it is easier to detect these days with all the modern technology in place.

Here's a great short video about diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy:

What Is An Ectopic Pregnancy?

Basically when an embryo finds a place to attach itself to that isn't inside the uterine cavity where it should be, is when you experience an ectopic pregnancy.
If the fertilized egg can get through the fallopian tube quick enough to the uterus, it might become trapped in the tube and grow there.
It can become trapped due to scar tissue that it sticks to, oddly shaped tubes or infections and inflammation of the tube.
Places it can attach itself to include the cervix, your ovary or even in your abdomen area, but the most common place that most ectopic pregnancies form in are inside your fallopian tube, which is why a pregnancy of this type is commonly referred to as a tubal pregnancy.

Here's another video with an animation about how ectopic pregnancy happens that you will find useful & insightful:

What Are The Symptoms Of Ectopic Pregnancy?

Signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy include:
- missing your period occurring up to about 8 weeks into the pregnancy
- experiencing vaginal bleeding
- having pain in your lower abdomen
- feeling sharp and stabbing pains that vary in intensity
- lower back pain
-lowered blood pressure (which can be the cause of blood loss)
The trouble with ectopic pregnancy is, you may have no unusual signs or symptoms, and the only way to diagnose if you are experiencing an ectopic pregnancy for sure is to get a vaginal ultrasound scan combined with a blood test to confirm a pregnancy.
The symptoms of ectopic pregnancy can usually mimic the same signs as a normal pregnancy and will therefore include signs such as breast tenderness, nausea, vomiting and frequent urination.

Treatment And Outcome of Having An Ectopic Pregnancy

It can be a hard time for you if you suspect or know you have an ectopic pregnancy. Usually an ectopic pregnancy won't continue to a live birth because growing in any area other than the uterus means the developing embryo won't have the space it needs, or the nurturing tissue to properly develop. At some stage if it continues to grow it will burst the organ that it is growing inside of.
This is dangerous for the mother and can cause severe bleeding.
How your ectopic pregnancy is treated will depend on factors such as how big the growing embryo or fetus is, where it is growing in your body and the condition the mother is in.
If found early you can normally get an injection to stop the embryo from growing any further.
If the pregnancy is too far along you will probably require surgery to have it removed. In the past large incisions were made, but today a laparoscopy, which is a much less invasive procedure involving a small incision can usually remove the abnormal pregnancy, along with repairing or removing damaged organs.
The doctors will want to monitor you for a few weeks afterward to make sure all of the ectopic tissue has been completely removed. If it hasn't than you can usually just get an injection to kill those cells.
Unfortunately women who have had an ectopic pregnancy before have about a 15% chance of it happening again.
Becoming pregnant after experiencing a tubal pregnancy can be harder if there has been some significant damage done.
Perhaps if you are particularly worried and traumatized by this happening again, you may be able to explore some options like IVF where the fertilized egg is placed directly into the uterus, eliminating the chance of a pregnancy developing in your tubes.