What is Ectopic Pregnancy and Why is it So Dangerous?
June 28th, 2010
There are many things that women find themselves worrying about when they learn that they are pregnant. It’s true that there are many complications that can happen during pregnancy such as gestational diabetes or problems regulating blood pressure. However, early after finding out she is pregnant, one of the very first complications that can happen is that a woman finds out she actually is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy.
The simple definition of an ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo implants itself outside of their uterus. The only place that’s safe and healthy for an embryo to implant is on the uterine wall. Therefore, ectopic pregnancies are not viable and can present a danger to the mother. for example, internal bleeding is one complication that commonly happens if a woman does not terminate the ectopic pregnancy in time.
Most ectopic pregnancies actually occur inside of the fallopian tube. this type of pregnancy is commonly called a tubal pregnancy. However, there are other areas that embryos have been known to implant such as the abdomen, cervix, and ovaries. An ectopic pregnancy is an emergency situation and must be treated quickly. It can be a fatal condition if a woman does not have it treated in time.
If left untreated, about half of the ectopic pregnancies will actually resolve without any treatment whatsoever. However, it is too dangerous to believe that an ectopic pregnancy will treat itself. A woman should definitely seek medical counsel to find out whether or not she needs a particular medication that can reduce the chance that she would have to have surgery. some women end up losing one of their tubes if the embryo is implanted there and they have waited too long to seek medical assistance.
An interesting thing to note is that although an ectopic pregnancy is normally not viable, there have been rare instances where live baby has been delivered as a result of an abdominal one. this typically means that the placenta sat on the abdominal organs and was able to somehow get a good blood supply. However, this puts a great as risk on the mother’s life because the placenta has commonly attached to her internal organs and can cause major hemorrhage and bleeding after the baby is removed.
I have been in the hospital ALL day. I am having bleeding and I am said to be around 5 weeks pregnant.