What are the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy?

Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the egg which is fertilized implants itself somewhere outside the uterus. This implantation most often then occurs in the fallopian tubes. This pregnancy can be fairly difficult to identify. The main reasons are because some of the signs and symptoms that accompany an ectopic pregnancy are also part of a normal pregnancy. These common signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy include a missed period, nausea and vomiting, an increase in breast tenderness and also fatigue. Some of the other distinctive symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy include bleeding, abdominal pain and also tubal rupture. The bleeding that accompanies an ectopic pregnancy usually ranges from light spotting or heavy bleeding. This loss of blood accompanies the positive signs on a pregnancy test and hence is indicative of an ectopic pregnancy. The abdominal pain that one feels during an ectopic pregnancy is the shooting or stabbing pain kind. This pain can very in strength but is always there in an ectopic pregnancy. This pain is usually felt on one side of the pelvic region or the abdomen.

In an ectopic pregnancy, there can also be tubal rupturing. When the tube ruptures the internal bleeding is such that it puts pressure on the woman’s diaphragm. This can lead to pressure being exerted on the surrounding nerves too which can in turn cause pain to be felt in the woman’s neck and also in the shoulder. Dizziness is another indication of an ectopic pregnancy. This can also be accompanied by a fall in the blood pressure; there can be some dizziness and some weakness too. All these signs together will be indicative of an ectopic pregnancy. Usually an ectopic pregnancy is caused by various factors. Some of these include damage being caused to the fallopian tubes. This can occur because of a blockage. Other causes include an infection occurring that results in this pregnancy. An example includes pelvic inflammatory disease or PID. Scar tissue, endometriosis or even congenital defects can all be causes of this condition of ectopic pregnancy. These women tend to have histories of ectopic pregnancies and need to be extra vigilant at the time of pregnancy. In the event of a woman suspecting that she might have the symptoms that are indicative of an ectopic pregnancy, she should immediately notify her doctor and have the condition checked. The doctor will then conduct an ultrasound and do a pelvic and abdominal examination to confirm the case. Ectopic pregnancy will always have to be terminated in order to save the mother’s life.

Submitted by P T on July 7, 2010 at 01:31

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