You are no more at risk of an ectopic pregnancy than anyone else, even if your immediate family members suffered. Miscarriage is not related to ectopic pregnancy: Unfortunately, miscarriage is a very common event that occurs in one in five first trimester first 12 weeks pregnancies but there is no link between the two conditions.
Abortion is not linked to ectopic pregnancy: The decision to terminate pregnancy is a significant decision based on circumstances at the time for an individual.
When considering the circumstances around the termination most would likely arrive at the same decision, time and time again. There are many inaccurate articles online, often used as propaganda by pro-life groups which make tenuous links between termination and ectopic pregnancy. There is nothing at all, however, to be gained by alarming or blaming ourselves about a termination and whether it might or might not have contributed to a subsequent loss.
If you are struggling with this issue to be gentle with yourself and do not believe everything you read on the internet or social media, in the news, or in magazines. Always check the source of the figures that are quoted. Importantly, please do not blame yourself for something that cannot be changed and is unlikely to have contributed anyway.
Exercise and sport in general: Exercise including intense activity makes no contribution to ectopic pregnancy. Flying: There is no evidence to link ectopic pregnancy to flying in a plane. If you have been diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy or might have an ectopic pregnancy, you should not take flights on planes. Benzodiazepine: A study shows an association with use of Benzodiazepine more commonly known as Valium and Xanax and ectopic pregnancy.
The EPT strongly suggests that this study be interpreted with caution. The study is not designed to show precise cause and there may be many reasons why women who have been prescribed with the drug might have higher incidence of ectopic pregnancy. In other words, the increased incidence of ectopic pregnancy may not be directly linked to use of the drug. Regular testing in the first weeks of pregnancy can find a problem early or let you know that the pregnancy is normal.
Fallopian tube damage is a common cause of ectopic pregnancy. A fertilized egg can become caught in the damaged area of a tube and begin to grow there. Some ectopic pregnancies occur without any known cause. Common causes of fallopian tube damage that may lead to an ectopic pregnancy include:.
Although pregnancy is rare after a tubal ligation or with an intrauterine device IUD , those pregnancies that do develop may have an increased chance of being ectopic. An early ectopic pregnancy often feels like a normal pregnancy. A woman with an ectopic pregnancy may experience common signs of early pregnancy, such as:. First signs of an ectopic pregnancy may include:. As an ectopic pregnancy progresses, though, other symptoms may develop, including:.
Symptoms of miscarriage often are similar to symptoms experienced in early ectopic pregnancy. For more information, see the topic Miscarriage. Normally, at the beginning of a pregnancy, the fertilized egg travels from the fallopian tube to the uterus , where it implants and grows.
But in a small number of diagnosed pregnancies, the fertilized egg attaches to an area outside of the uterus, which results in an ectopic pregnancy also known as a tubal pregnancy or an extrauterine pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy cannot support the life of a fetus for very long. But an ectopic pregnancy can grow large enough to rupture the area it occupies, cause heavy bleeding, and endanger the mother.
A woman with signs or symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy requires immediate medical care. An ectopic pregnancy can develop in different locations. In most ectopic pregnancies, the fertilized egg has implanted in a fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancy can damage the fallopian tube, which can make it difficult to become pregnant in the future.
Ectopic pregnancies are usually detected early enough to prevent deadly complications such as severe bleeding. A ruptured ectopic pregnancy requires emergency surgery to prevent heavy bleeding into the abdomen. The affected tube is partially or fully removed. For more information, see Surgery. Things that can increase your risk of having an ectopic pregnancy include:.
Medical treatments and procedures that can increase your risk of having an ectopic pregnancy include:. Ectopic pregnancy has been linked to the use of medicine used to make the ovary release multiple eggs superovulation. Experts do not yet know whether this is because many women using it already have fallopian tube damage or because of the medicine itself. If you become pregnant and are at high risk for ectopic pregnancy , you will be closely watched.
Doctors do not always agree about which risk factors are serious enough to watch closely. But research suggests that risk is serious enough if you have had a tubal surgery or an ectopic pregnancy before, had DES exposure before birth, have known fallopian tube problems, or have a pregnancy with an intrauterine device IUD in place. If you are pregnant, be alert to the symptoms that may mean you have an ectopic pregnancy, especially if you are at risk. If you have symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy or you are being treated for an ectopic pregnancy, avoid strenuous activity until your symptoms have been evaluated by a doctor.
Call or other emergency services immediately if:. Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:. Your family doctor , general practitioner , or an emergency medicine specialist can check you for an ectopic pregnancy.
You may be referred to a specialist, such as a gynecologist. Most ectopic pregnancies can be detected using a pelvic examination, ultrasound, and blood tests. If you have symptoms of a possible ectopic pregnancy, you will have:. Sometimes a surgical procedure using laparoscopy is used to look for an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy after 5 weeks can usually be diagnosed and treated with a laparoscope.
But laparoscopy is not often used to diagnose a very early ectopic pregnancy, because ultrasound and blood pregnancy tests are very accurate. During the week after treatment for an ectopic pregnancy, your hCG human chorionic gonadotropin blood levels are tested several times.
Your doctor will look for a drop in hCG levels, which is a sign that the pregnancy is ending hCG levels sometimes rise during the first few days of treatment, then drop. In some cases, hCG testing continues for weeks to months until hCG levels drop to a low level. 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. Ectopic pregnancy In a healthy pregnancy, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Cunningham FG, et al. Implantation and placental development.
In: Williams Obstetrics. McGraw-Hill Education; Accessed Dec. Tulandi T. Ectopic pregnancy: Epidemiology, risk factors, and anatomic sites.
Cunningham FG, et al. Ectopic pregnancy. Frequently asked questions. Pregnancy FAQ American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Ectopic pregnancy: Clinical manifestations and diagnosis. Burnett TL expert opinion.
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