What Is Ectopic Pregnancy And How Do I Know If I Have It?

March 17, 2017 5:11 am Published by Leave your thoughts

An ectopic pregnancy is defined when the pregnancy is attached and grows outside the womb – which is usually the fallopian tube or in the ovaries. This is a life threatening situation, because if the pregnancy grows uncontrolled, it can burst the tube or whatever space its growing in. Therefore, it must be immediately treated with a surgery and medicines. Abortion pills however do not effect a pregnancy growing outside the womb.

Therefore, it is advised to only buy abortion pills if you have confirmed an intrauterine pregnancy which is under 10 weeks’ gestation.

This you can make sure by having an ultra-sound or a pelvic examination. If you use an MTP Kit – i.e., mifepristone and Misoprostol without confirming or having an ultrasound first, there is a rare chance that you could have an unnoticed ectopic pregnancy.

If you do not discharge any tissues or blood after taking Misoprostol pills, it is a possibility that you have an ectopic pregnancy.

How do I know if I have an ectopic pregnancy?

  • If you feel sudden severe pain in your stomach or lower back/back and mostly only on one side
  • If you are feeling dizzy or fainted
  • If you have pain in your shoulders or in that area.

These symptoms may happen if your ectopic pregnancy has already burst and therefore the patient will need immediate medical attention in such a case.

On the other hand, if the woman is experiencing symptoms like increasing abdominal/ pelvis pain, cramps on either side of the pelvis, breast soreness, lower back pain, nausea, little amount or any unusual vaginal bleeding, etc. they may have an undetected ectopic pregnancy.

Women who have ectopic pregnancy should not worry about going to the hospitals as it is treated everywhere, even where abortions are strictly prohibited.

How does it happen?

An ectopic or an ovarian pregnancy happens when the egg is fertilized but instead of attaching itself on attaching itself on the uterine surface (endometrial lining), it grows elsewhere. This usually happens in the fallopian tube – the tiny passage from where the egg passes from ovary to the uterus.

When the matured egg is stuck in the tube and continues to grow, it becomes too large to be contained in the tube, causing it to rupture. Naturally, this type of pregnancy is impossible to carry to the final term and has to be terminated to save the life of the mother.

Thus, treatment from a GYN is necessary to ensure safety and health of the woman. If it’s gone untreated, there is a risk of heavy internal bleeding due to splitting of the fallopian tube.

Why abortion pills don’t affect ectopic pregnancy?

Mifepristone and Misoprostol do not cause ectopic pregnancy, but neither do they treat it.

If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy and took abortion pills, there are no additional complications associated with medical abortion.

Abortion pills wholly work with pregnancy hormones inside the uterus and cause intrauterine contractions to end the pregnancy. Therefore, they are ineffective in terminating pregnancies outside of the womb.

Tags: ectopic pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy

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This post was written by Marcella


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