A Life Threatening Pregnancy

A Life Threatening Pregnancy

Ectopic Pregnancy, a leading cause of Pregnancy Related Death is a rare condition of embryo development outside the normal uterine cavity.

In a normal pregnancy, ovary releases an egg into fallopian tube. If the egg meets with a sperm, the fertilized egg moves into uterus to attach to its lining and continues to grow for the next 9 months. But in few cases, the fertilized egg stays in fallopian tube. In that case, it's called an ectopic pregnancy or a tubal pregnancy. In such a case, the pregnancy cannot continue and needs immediate attention and emergency treatment.

Ectopic pregnancy happens mostly within the first few weeks of pregnancy. You might not even know you're pregnant, so it can be a big shock. Doctors usually discover it by the 8th week of pregnancy.

The major cause of an ectopic pregnancy is a damaged fallopian tube. The defected tube doesn't let a fertilized egg enter into uterus, so it starts growing in the fallopian tube or somewhere else in your abdomen. There are several other reasons as well for ectopic pregnancy:

Those who become pregnant while using an intrauterine device (IUD) might be more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy,

Smoking is another major cause of ectopic pregnancy,

Having multiple sexual partners also increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy,

If someone has medical history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) results in ectopic pregnancy,

Sexually-transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia and gonorrhoea causes ectopic pregnancy,