Learn about Ectopic Pregnancy
The contents of this video are for information and purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before seeking any new treatment.
Welcome to the first nine, I’m Doctor Saul Weinreb with babyssentials.com. Today, we’re going to be discussing ectopic pregnancy. First of all, what is an ectopic pregnancy? An ectopic pregnancy refers to any pregnancy that takes place and implanted itself outside the uterus where a pregnancy belongs. It is important to remember that the only pregnancy that can last and developed a happy, healthy baby is the one that takes place within the uterus itself. It is impossible for pregnancy to develop outside the uterus and develop into a normal healthy baby except in a extremely, extremely rare circumstances. Therefore, any pregnancy that’s not within the uterus is considered a danger to the mother’s health and it’s not considered a pregnancy which can continue. Once we know this we can discuss this type of pregnancy further.
And the common location for an ectopic pregnancy is within the fallopian tube and that includes about 90% to 95% of such pregnancy. Occasionally, they may occur in other places such as the ovary, within the pelvis or within the abdomen. When an ectopic pregnancy is noted it’s very important to have it immediately treated before it develops further and can cause catastrophic bleeding and even death to the mother. How then is it diagnosed? Well, first of all, an ultrasound can sometimes locate the location of the pregnancy and say whether that pregnancy is indeed within the uterus or somewhere else. If the ultrasound visualizes that pregnancy outside the uterus then an ectopic pregnancy diagnosis is made and the ectopic pregnancy must be treated. Occasionally, it may not be so clear and an ultrasound might not be conclusive. And through the use of blood test monitoring hormone levels and other ways your doctor can figure whether or not you indeed have an ectopic pregnancy.
Now, why would someone developed an ectopic pregnancy? What are the risk factors? The most important risk factor is anything that causes the fallopian tube to be either scarred or blocked in any way. This could have been because you had a previous ectopic pregnancy which is a significant risk factor or because an infection such sexual transmitted infections. Those can cause scarring or inflammation in the fallopian tube most commonly that would be is history of Chlamydia Or it could be because you had surgery in your fallop that cause scarring. There are other reasons as well. So anyone that has these respective needs to be watched very closely until it’s determined the location of this pregnancy.
In addition, it’s important to know that most women with ectopic pregnancy just happened for reasons which we don’t fully understand. Most of the time we don’t have anything we can blame it on it just happens. How then will it be treated? Well, it really depends on many factors but there are two basic ways that ectopic pregnancy can be treated. There are medical treatments for ectopic pregnancy and surgical treatments. And whether or not a medical or surgical approach is appropriate for you depend on many factors that are specific to your case. It depends on how advance the pregnancy is exactly where it’s located and exactly what condition you maybe in if and when you were diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. So it’s very important to discuss with your physician the particulars of your case and if for whatever reason you’re concerned about this issue definitely speak with your doctor about this issue so that you can decide how best do go about taking care of your particular case. Remember don’t depend on this video as a replacement for a visit to your healthcare provider. This has been Dr. Saul Weinreb with Babyssentials.com, have a great day.
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