Ectopic Pregnancy
Alternate Names : Pregnancy in the Fallopian Tube, Tubal Pregnancy, Extrauterine Pregnancy
What can be done to prevent the condition?
Not every ectopic pregnancy can be prevented. However, a woman should avoid
risk factors that make ectopic pregnancy more likely to occur, including:
sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), such as chlamydia and gonorrhea.
These STDs can cause pelvic
inflammatory disease and adhesions that block the fallopian tubes.
Practicing safer sex can help a woman avoid STDs.
using other forms of birth control besides an IUD or progestin-only
Mini-Pill
If a woman who has had a tubal ligation has a positive pregnancy test,
she probably has an ectopic pregnancy. She needs further tests right away.
Four of out 10 ectopic pregnancies occur in women between 20 and 29 years old.
Over 75% of these cases are diagnosed before the 12th week of pregnancy.
What are the long-term effects of the condition?
A woman's symptoms will last and grow worse as long as the ectopic pregnancy
exists. A rupture causes more pain and serious problems if not diagnosed and
treated. These problems can include:
removal of the affected tube, which causes infertility in about 40% of cases
risks from blood
transfusions
a chronic infection in a tube, known as salpingitis
intestinal blockages
death, which occurs in 1 in 1,000 cases
When surgery is done to treat a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, a later, normal
pregnancy is possible in
about half of the cases. In the other cases,
infertility occurs.
What are the risks to others?
An ectopic pregnancy is not contagious. It poses risks only to the mother and
the fetus.
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