The first thing to consider is the definition of a tubal pregnancy. It is formal medical term is an ectopic pregnancy. This happens when the egg, upon fertilization from the sperm, does not travel the fallopian tube to the uterus but instead attaches itself to the wall of the fallopian tube.
The fertilized egg should implant itself into the wall of the uterus where it can grow with no problem. When the fertilized egg implants itself into the fallopian tube where it cannot grow, the problems begin.
This type of pregnancy is relatively rare, however. Only about one in 250 women will have ectopic pregnancies and it is usually caught early enough to avoid danger to the mother.
What can cause tubal pregnancy to happen? Well, fallopian tube problems will cause it, such as a reversed tubal ligation. When this type of sterilization is reversed an ectopic pregnancy is more likely to happen. Also, very often this kind of pregnancy can be due to an intrauterine device, another name for 'the coil'. Your chances also increase if you have recently had some sort of pelvic infection. Many other common things can cause this kind of a problem such as the contraceptive pill, infertility drugs, smoking and numerous abdominal surgeries.
The symptoms of an tubal pregnancy are not much different than the early days of a normal pregnancy and thus very difficult to diagnosis. Like the beginning of a normal first trimester, the symptoms are breast tenderness, morning sickness, tiredness and the missing of a menstrual period.
However, there are other signs that your pregnancy is not normal. You may start to have abdominal pain or slight bleeding that doctors call 'spotting'. Another symptom is cramping in your abdomen, although slight cramping in early pregnancy is quite normal. If you start to suffer from severe cramping, very often associated with blood spotting, that can be a sign that the pregnancy might be a tubal pregnancy. Very often, one of the first symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy can be a severe pain on just one side of your abdomen, or a throbbing abdominal pain that can last for a while. One of the most widely recognized symptoms of this type of pregnancy is that not only will you get a severe pain in your abdomen, you can also get a very definite pain in your shoulder. Which shoulder is affected indicates which one of your fallopian tubes has the fertilized egg.
There are a number of tests that the doctor can do to find out if the problem is an ectopic pregnancy. One of these is a simple blood test to check on your hCG levels. The level of hCG in your blood should double every day. If they are rising more slowly than that, your doctor may want more testing to be done on your blood or he may ask you to go for an ultrasound scan which will confirm an ectopic or normal pregnancy. The ultrasound will show an empty uterus since the fertilized egg has lodged in one of the fallopian tubes.
If you start to suffer any of these symptoms you should call your doctor immediately. An ectopic pregnancy can make you infertile due to the ruptured fallopian tube. If the fallopian tube is allowed to burst you may develop peritonitis, a condition in which the infection from a ruptured organ spreads throughout your body and endangers your life. A ruptured fallopian tube is a medical emergency due to internal bleeding and shock.