“I recently experienced an ectopic pregnancy. How did this happen?”
I recently had an ectopic pregnancy. I had to have a procedure to remove the egg from my fallopian tube. What cause this ectopic pregnancy to happen to me, and how can I prevent it from happening again? My husband and I really want to have a second child.
7 Answers
Elongated tube, previous P.I.D., and tubal surgeries.
It is usually the tubal damage caused by either infection or scarring by endometriosis or previous surgery. Have your doctor check you.
An ectopic pregnancy is when the fertilized egg, embryo, implants into the fallopian tube instead of the uterine lining. When caught early this can sometimes be treated with a medication called Methotrexate along with close supervision. Sometimes ectopic pregnancies require surgery which entails opening the tube and removing the ectopic or removing the tube along with the ectopic. The decision which procedure to perform is determined at surgery based on the amount of bleeding, the size of the ectopic, if there is any tube to salvaged and the woman's reproductive plans in the future. Often times ectopic pregnancies occur without an obvious cause. Women who have had pelvic infection, prior surgery in the lower abdomen or pelvis and previous ectopic pregnancies have a higher risk.
Sometime in the past you must have had an infection in the Fallopian tubes (pelvic inflammatory disease) that caused scarring within the tiny lumen of your Fallopian tubes. This infection may have even been subclinical (without any significant symptoms).
My advice to you is that next time you become pregnant make sure to see a doctor soon after missing your period to make sure the pregnancy is inside the uterus.
My advice to you is that next time you become pregnant make sure to see a doctor soon after missing your period to make sure the pregnancy is inside the uterus.
Ectopic pregnancy usually occurs due to damage to the cilia (little hair-like structures) in the fallopian tube. These cilia help move the embryo from the tube after fertilization to the uterus for implantation. Cilia could be damaged due to infections, sometimes unknown infections if they resolve by themselves. You can definitely get pregnant again, but you are at increased risk for having an ectopic pregnancy. Please see your OB/Gyn and discuss precautions for your next pregnancy.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Charles Benjamin Palmer, IV.
OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist)
Ectopic pregnancy can be for several reasons. Generally there is a problem of moving the fertilized egg down the Fallopian tube to the uterus for implantation. There are tiny “hairs” called cilia that help move this process along. Things that can impair this transportation is smoking, history of surgery on your Fallopian tube, a prior ectopic pregnancy, using Invitro fertilization, and history of sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhea or PID. Sometimes there is no explanation. But having an ectopic pregnancy does make the next pregnancy a higher risk of having another one. Good Luck
Charles Benjamin Palmer, IV.
OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist)
Ectopic pregnancy can be for several reasons. Generally there is a problem of moving the fertilized egg down the Fallopian tube to the uterus for implantation. There are tiny “hairs” called cilia that help move this process along. Things that can impair this transportation is smoking, history of surgery on your Fallopian tube, a prior ectopic pregnancy, using Invitro fertilization, and history of sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhea or PID. Sometime there is no explanation. But having an ectopic pregnancy does make the next pregnancy a higher risk of having another one. Good Luck
