An ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the fetus starts to grow outside the uterus. This is an unviable pregnancy and most cases of ectopic pregnancy are naturally terminated by the body; needless to say that a certain percentage of these cases are resolved without any surgical or medical intervention. However, most ectopic pregnancies are considered a matter of concern and are aborted with the use of medications like methotrexate or by surgical procedures like a salpingectomy or a salpingostomy.
The first signs of an ectopic pregnancy include pains and cramps in the abdomen. Other signs of an ectopic pregnancy include bleeding that can occur. This may start out as a small discharge of blood externally but it usually hides a more problematic bleeding that could be invading the peritoneum. The peritoneum is the space between organs and the muscles and skin in which the organs of the body are housed. In an ectopic pregnancy, the fetus secretes enzymes that allow it to eat into tissue and find the nearest blood vessel. If the fetus is in the fallopian tube it will destroy this tube and bleeding can then start to dump blood into the peritoneum. This will irritate the peritoneum. Early signs of an ectopic pregnancy include pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen, painful urination, and minor vaginal bleeding. These symptoms usually end up causing a misdiagnosis of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease or PID. Later ectopic pregnancy signs can include lower back and pelvic pain and pain in the shoulders because the diaphragm is affected. The early misdiagnosis of PID can be laid to rest when a positive indication of pregnancy is done by testing for BHCG levels.
Ectopic pregnancies are so complicated that once they occur in the fallopian tubes, they can recur again. This is because there are fine hairs in the fallopian tubes that guide a fetus to the uterus. One round of ectopic pregnancy will cause this condition yet again due the destruction of cilia once already. There are some other predisposing factors like this which are responsible for causing ectopic pregnancies. There are some other regions of the body where an ectopic pregnancy can happen like the cervix, vagina, and surprisingly in the abdomen. This is all because of the burrowing action of the fetus while trying to find a blood supply. Another complication of multiple births is called the heterotopic pregnancy, where one or both fetuses are ectopic in nature.