Pregnancy Help & Info

My doctor has diagnosed me as being pregnant, but he says it’s an ectopic pregnancy, what does this mean?

This means that your egg has been fertilized outside the uterus, either in your fallopian tubes, cervical canal, or in your pelvic or abdominal cavity. This causes a fetus to develop outside of the uterus causing you to test positive for being pregnant. Normally eggs are fertilized in the fallopian tubes and then they make their way to the uterus in order to develop further. This has not happened with your pregnancy. Your egg has either gotten stuck or was traveling to slow due to an infection you may have, causing an ectopic pregnancy.

Can I carry an ectopic pregnancy to full term?

No, sorry, but there is no way your baby will have the environment it will need to sustain life inside of you, and you will putting your own health at risk by trying to do so.

How can doctors be sure it is an ectopic pregnancy?

Doctors might first suspect an ectopic pregnancy if your uterus is smaller than it should be after you have tested positive for being pregnant. An ultrasound will be ordered to confirm the uterus is empty and then the doctor will use a fiber optic tube through a small incision in your abdomen to see the ectopic pregnancy.

How is an ectopic pregnancy removed from my body?

Usually an ectopic pregnancy is removed surgically. If it’s located in your fallopian tubes, the doctor will make a small incision and remove the fetus and placenta.

Can I still have a baby if I’ve already had an ectopic pregnancy in my fallopian tubes?

Well that depends on how damaged your fallopian tubes were from the fetus. If the fetus dies early, your tubes will not be harmed, but if the fetus is partially in the uterus and partly in the fallopian tubes, your fetus could grow large enough to rupture your fallopian tubes and cause internal bleeding. When a doctor surgically removes a fetus from the fallopian tubes, he leaves the incision to heal on it’s own so that there will be no scar tissue to interfere with your next pregnancy.

For other information about ectopic pregnancies visit http://www.ectopicpregnancy.com

Filed under: Pregnancy Tests & Symptoms