Ectopic Pregnancy: Can I Carry to Term?
By: Julie Fletcher
When looking at a pregnancy, you will find there is not one that is the same as another. Each woman is an individual, and each pregnancy can bring its very own separate symptoms and developments no matter if this is your first or fifth time as an expectant mother. Trying to compare yourself to another woman while pregnant can give you misguidance since each instance is entirely different. The amount of time one woman will carry to term can differ immensely from another, even if they are related to each other. If you have any concerns about a current pregnancy, you should consult your individual health care provider.
There are many instances where women are at a higher risk for an ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had their tubes tied can still manage to have an ectopic pregnancy even after a successful surgery. The use of an IUD (Inter-uterine Device) can also bring a higher chance of ectopic pregnancies. Sometimes depending on the timing of the egg’s release and the joining of the sperm, if an egg is fertilized and manages to grow in size before it reaches the uterus in order to completely plant itself for further development, it can become stuck in a fallopian tube or next to the ovary.
An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg has implanted itself somewhere other than a woman’s uterus. This can be on the cervix, in the fallopian tubes, on the abdomen, an ovary or even the joint between a fallopian tube and the womb. Between 1 and 5% of all ectopic pregnancies will be the result of a fertilized egg implanting somewhere in the fallopian tubes of the woman. This type of pregnancy can have a positive result on a pregnancy test, but often the woman will find out about the pregnancy due to complaints of discomfort or pain in her abdomen from the developing egg outside of the uterus, as well as spotting outside of regular menstruation cycles.
In almost every single case of an ectopic pregnancy, the option to carry to term is not possible. A fertilized egg that needs to grow cannot receive the nutrients it needs or the space in order to develop into a full-term baby. You may have heard of isolated cases documented where women did indeed carry to term from an ectopic pregnancy, but those are highly rare and extremely dangerous for both the woman and the infant involved. In many cases of ectopic pregnancies the embryo has already died,since it could not thrive outside of the uterus.
Even in this day and age of medical miracles and progressing technology, your medical practitioner will treat an ectopic pregnancy with termination, if it hasn’t terminated itself already. This is for the benefit of both the mother and the embryo, since neither will have a positive medical outlook if it is left to progress naturally. Personal safety is of the highest concern with any medical condition and should be assessed and treated quickly with a highly trained medical professional.