Ectopic Pregnancy: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Diagnosis

Motherhood is said to be the greatest gift of the lord for a woman. Despite of the intolerable pain that a women has to go through not only during the time of delivering the child but also during the gestation period that she suffers, the happiness that it provides with is incomparable to anything in the whole wide world.

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The period of gestation for the human, that is the 9-10 months are the most crucial period as one has to take extreme care of oneself during that time. There are chances of having many risk factors involved creating obstacles and hindrances in the process of pregnancy and there are even some before that. And Ectopic pregnancy is a state in which the fertilized ovum implants in a place other than the endometrial lining of the uterus.

In simpler words in this is a potentially life-threatening condition where the fertilized egg settles and grows in any location other than the inner lining of the uterus. This causes a leading cause of maternal mortality during the initial period of pregnancy.

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The majority of ectopic pregnancies are called tubal pregnancies as majority (which is around 98%) of the times the other site occurs in the Fallopian tube although it can occur in other locations too such as the cervix, ovary and abdominal cavity. About half of ectopic pregnancies mostly end at a bad note that is miscarriage occurs. There might be no symptoms, and you may never have known that you were pregnant.

Symptoms of Ectopic Pregnancy:

Ectopic Pregnancy is mostly not detected in the initial months of conception. Symptoms may start to develop at any time between 4 and 10 weeks of pregnancy. The fetus may grow for a while in the narrow Fallopian tube which can stretch the tube and cause symptoms. This is when an ectopic pregnancy is commonly diagnosed.

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Few of the symptoms that might indicate this condition are:

1: Lower abdominal pain

2: Pain in your shoulder, neck, or rectum

3: Light vaginal bleeding

4: Sharp abdominal cramps (and if the fallopian tube ruptures, the pain and bleeding could be severe enough to cause fainting)

5: Nausea and vomiting

6: Dizziness or weakness

Risk factors associated with Ectopic Pregnancy :

Since ectopic pregnancy is a fatal complication there are several risks associated with it like:

1: Smoking of cigarette during the time of conception increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy.

2: Any disorder in the normal architecture of the Fallopian tubes can prove to be a risk factor for a tubal pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy.

3: Pelvic inflammatory disease:  This is an infection in the pelvis which causes yet another risk factor for ectopic pregnancy. Pelvic infections are usually caused by sexually-transmitted organisms.

4: Few conditions such as fibroid tumors, endometriosis, or pelvic scar tissue which is known as pelvic adhesions can be a reason to constrict the Fallopian tubes and disrupt egg transportation. And this increases the chances of an ectopic pregnancy.

6: There are a few non-sexually transmitted bacteria which can also cause pelvic infection and increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy by damaging or obstructing the Fallopian tubes.

5: This risk also increases in women using intrauterine devices (IUDs).

Diagnosis procedure of Ectopic pregnancy:

The symptoms of ectopic pregnancy seem to show their signs pretty late. But however the process of diagnosing it is not a difficult one. The diagnosis procedure is followed by:

1: a pregnancy test at first

2: a pelvic exam

3: And then an ultrasound test which may be performed to view the condition of the uterus and fallopian tubes.

If the report shows an affirmative test result for ectopic pregnancy then the treatment procedure based on the medical condition and the future plans for pregnancy.