Ectopic pregnancy? A pregnancy that can be deadly ( English Version)

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg is implanted outside the uterus. In this pregnancy, the egg lodges in an incorrect place in the woman's body. In most cases, the ovum lodges in the fallopian tubes. However, it could also be implanted in one of the ovaries, the cervix or the abdomen.

When the fertilized ovum begins to grow in the wrong place, it can cause the organ in which it has been implanted to be damaged, causing it to rupture and producing heavy hemorrhages that can lead to the death of the pregnant woman. For this reason, ** ectopic pregnancies ** are potentially dangerous to the health of the women who are experiencing them. Recognizing the symptoms of these pregnancies early on will not only help save your life and decrease the risk of infertility.

• What are the chances of a woman having an ectopic pregnancy? Are there women who are more at risk than others of suffering from it? Why?

It is estimated that approximately two ectopics can be produced per hundred pregnancies. Women who have a higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy have the following characteristics:

• Have a history of pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis.

• They are 30 years of age or older.

• They had an ectopic pregnancy before.

• They had pelvic surgery, in the fallopian tubes or abdomen.
They are smokers.

• In addition, it is rare for a woman to become pregnant after a sterilization procedure or while using an IUD (contraceptive device known as the "t"). However, doing so increases the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.

• Early sexual relationships.

• What are the signs and symptoms of this type of pregnancy?

Unfortunately, some of the main signs of ectopic pregnancies are similar to those of normal pregnancies; making the women who are experiencing them ignore their potential dangers and warning signs. The most common symptoms are:

• Have a late period.
• Having unusual vaginal bleeding (unusual color, unusual flow, or unusual consistency).
• Perform a pregnancy test that yields a positive result.
• Suffer fainting, dizziness, or dizziness.
• Having pain in the lower abdomen.
• Having pain in the bladder or bowels.

Feel a sensation of sharp pain; especially in the area of the abdomen, it is a very important alarm signal that could hint that an ectopic pregnancy could be developing. If you experience a combination of some of these symptoms, it is important to see your doctor as soon as possible so that he / she can examine and determine if you are developing a pregnancy of this type.

• How to know if it is an ectopic pregnancy?

When the symptoms appear, it is possible to detect the ectopic pregnancy by means of an ultrasound where it will be really evident where the pregnancy is taking place. In addition, a pelvic examination should be performed, which will show the sensitivity that is in the area mentioned and how urgent is the termination of pregnancy.

Finally, during pregnancy a hormone called GCH is secreted. During an ectopic pregnancy, this discharge may stop or slow down. The absence of the presumed amount of HCG is indicative for physicians that they have an ectopic pregnancy.

Any obstetrician gynecologist is fully trained to help a woman diagnose and treat this type of pregnancy so that it represents the least possible harm to the mother.

• What is the treatment for this pregnancy?

Unfortunately, there is no surgery so far in which the fertilized egg can be removed from the place where it is and moved to the uterus. This is why the only treatment is to save the life of the mother: Interrupting the pregnancy. The treatments for extrauterine pregnancy can be of two types: surgical or pharmacological. It depends on the clarity of the diagnosis, the size of the embryo and the available techniques.

The pharmacological treatment: It interrupts pregnancy and allows reabsorbing the tissue that causes erosion of the walls of the tube, this treatment is painless. However, when medication is not the best option to treat ectopic pregnancy, the most appropriate treatment is surgery.

The drugs are contraindicated when the ectopic pregnancy is too advanced, when there are intense pains or internal hemorrhages, when the mother is in the period of lactation or when she has certain diseases that make the medication not a good option.

Surgical treatment: If a stable clinical picture is present and the embryo is small enough, it can be removed through a surgical intervention consisting of the incision of the tube, extracting the fertilized ovum from the inside, by laparoscopy or also, laparotomy. This method keeps the tube intact. However, if the tube has suffered a lot of damage or there are severe hemorrhages, it may be necessary to remove it.

• After a pregnancy of these characteristics, can you have another normal pregnancy?

Yes, you can, although it is more difficult. It depends on the treatment the pregnant woman had and the condition of her fallopian tubes. If one of the tubes was removed or both have scars, it can be harder to get pregnant. However, many women can have normal pregnancies after an ectopic pregnancy. Between five and eight of every 10 women can achieve it. However, one in 10 women who have an ectopic pregnancy will have another.

• Are there cases of babies born in ectopic pregnancies?

Although there are successful cases, they do not represent the 1% of the termination of ectopic pregnancies that occur in the world. Generally, women who continue with an ectopic pregnancy and obtain success were not aware of their condition until the pregnancy was advanced; this running with the risk of the explosion of the fallopian tubes, or some other rupture according to the location of the fertilized embryo.

Babies born in ectopic pregnancy have low growth, weight and little formation in some organs. In addition, some are born with malformations.

_The World Health Organization, as well as many medical organizations continue to recommend that the best thing for the health of a woman who suffers this type of pregnancy is that it interrupts it. The reason is that he could lose his life and there are no guarantees that the baby will get out of the procedure alive.
_Laws in most countries endorse the termination of pregnancy if it represents imminent risk to the health of the mother. For this reason the population that suffers this condition is urged not to try to continue with the pregnancy once diagnosed as ectopic.

It is important to have a gynecologist control, know how to recognize when a woman's body does not act normally, to be alert to circumstances like this, and not expose our life to high-risk situations.

As I commented, this is a subject that I had to live in a very personal way, and from which to a certain extent I had information not in such an enlarged way. I hope that my research will be useful to you, and help you to be alert to this type of situation, since we do not know when it may happen to us.