How is an ectopic determined? Early ectopic pregnancy: how to determine what the test will show? Signs that can be seen on an ultrasound

When a fertilized egg begins to develop outside the main female reproductive organ, this phenomenon is not considered normal and is called an ectopic pregnancy.

Why is it important to recognize an ectopic pregnancy as early as possible?

The tubal course of pregnancy is often diagnosed, in which the growth of the fetal egg begins in any of the fallopian tubes. Much less often it is observed in the abdominal cavity, in the cervical region of the uterus.

It is important to know! How to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home should be known to absolutely every woman of reproductive age, since no one is immune from this problem. And the lack of timely medical assistance is fraught with serious consequences for life.

In this condition, the death of the fetus is unequivocal, since the further development of the fetal egg is impossible. The most important thing is to save the woman's life. The onset of death is possible due to rupture of the fallopian tube with subsequent internal bleeding. Peritonitis often occurs.

The sooner you see a doctor, the easier it will be to cope with this problem and with minimal loss to health. With the early establishment of the correct diagnosis, it is possible to prevent rupture of the fallopian tube, and in some cases even save it during surgery to terminate a pathological pregnancy.

How is it possible to determine such a pathological condition at home, as an ectopic pregnancy, is significant due to the risk of developing the following complications:

the occurrence of inflammation in the reproductive organs;
infertility;
adhesive process;
general disturbances in the activity of the female reproductive system.

Important to remember! In the absence of basic knowledge of how to recognize this pathology on your own, the occurrence of undesirable consequences is most likely.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home: the main symptoms

The main danger of such a deviation is that the course of a normal pregnancy is almost the same as that of a pathological one. Similar symptoms are observed.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home. Signs to help recognize HMP early

Not everyone knows how to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home, but with a careful attitude to your body, this is quite real.

It is important to pay attention to the following symptoms in combination with classic signs and with a positive test:

acute pain sensations in the lower abdomen, which only get worse each time;
soreness can spread throughout the abdomen, especially after rupture of the fallopian tube;
presence of bloody discharge, which does not happen during a healthy pregnancy;
pain, radiating to the anus, difficulty with stool and urination;
health disorder, dizziness, up to loss of consciousness, such signs are aggravated after the rupture of the tube.

The fetal egg grows, as a result of which the patient's condition worsens.

Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy in the first week

At the very beginning, this condition is similar to the well-being of a woman with a healthy pregnancy. Only slight vaginal discharge with blood content can disturb. But as the fetal egg grows, the symptoms of a pathological pregnancy become more and more vivid.

Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy at 6-8 weeks

The progression of the problem under consideration is very dangerous, and if at the initial stage the disease is difficult to distinguish from an ordinary pregnancy, then after 6 weeks this pathology cannot be overlooked.

From 6 to 8 weeks, a woman is usually concerned about the following symptoms:

intense pain in the lower part of the abdomen, localized on one of the sides, depending on which of the pipes was damaged;
otherwise febrile state is observed;
general deterioration well-being, weakness, loss of working capacity.

Be careful! Do not immediately take painkillers to improve well-being. Thus, you can simply remove one of the symptoms, but the pathological process will continue.

Since it is after the 6th week that the risk of destruction of the fallopian tube is most possible, it is very important to understand how and by what signs you can independently determine an ectopic pregnancy at home.

Symptoms of HMP from 8 or more weeks

Diagnosis of HMP is most often after 6 or 8 weeks, when the pathological symptoms become more and more pronounced. The sooner you seek medical help, the more favorable the outcome of this disease will be.

For 8 weeks, the following symptoms are characteristic:

frequent cramping pains in the abdomen;
pale skin;
lowering blood pressure, dizziness;
the spread of pain that can reach the shoulder in a horizontal position.

In the most severe condition, a woman may faint. These symptoms may signal internal blood loss due to the destruction of the fallopian tube.

In order to find out how to independently determine an ectopic pregnancy at home, you can use the following data.
Symptoms of the first weeks	Symptoms 6-8 weeks	Symptoms for more than 8 weeks
There is no deterioration in well-being.	Soreness in the lower abdomen on a specific side.	Strong cramping pain.
There may be small spotting discharge with blood content.	Weakness, dizziness.	Decreased blood pressure, fainting.
	Increasing the temperature level.	Fever.

Definition of ectopic pregnancy by test

Express tests usually give out the presence of pregnancy in the body, regardless of where the fertilized egg began to develop. But with a pathological pregnancy, the content of hCG is usually an order of magnitude lower, so the tests do not always give a true result.

Note! If the pregnancy test is negative, but all other characteristic signs are present, then this is a sufficient reason to urgently go to the doctor.

The result of recent medical developments has become a special test cassette that determines the presence of a pathological pregnancy. It can be purchased at any pharmacy at a relatively affordable cost.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy by the level of hCG

Detection of the level of hCG is considered the most reliable way to determine the presence of pregnancy, especially in conjunction with a study on an ultrasound machine.

When, after the process of fertilization, the egg is fixed in the uterine space, the content of hCG, as a rule, increases every 2 days. However, with the growth of the fetal egg outside the uterus, such dynamics are not observed.

Therefore, if there is the slightest hint of a disease, a repeated blood test for hCG is usually performed.

Signs of tubal rupture in an ectopic pregnancy

The rupture of the fallopian tube occurs due to the growth of the embryo, when its size increases so much that the tube is no longer able to stretch and ruptures. During this process, a woman usually feels a strong cutting pain, which is accompanied by dizziness and weakness.

The temperature may rise, and often women lose consciousness. With this condition, urgent hospitalization is required, since there is a danger to life.

When to see a doctor urgently

If the initial symptoms of pregnancy occur, such as delayed menstruation, weakness, breast swelling, nausea and loss of appetite, it is better to immediately contact a female doctor in order to conduct a series of diagnostic tests to establish the presence of a fetal egg in the body.

This is important at the earliest possible time, since the egg does not always attach to the wall of the uterus, resulting in a pathological ectopic pregnancy.

IMP is a dangerous condition that can lead to death. Therefore, in order to avoid significant health problems, it is important to establish and eliminate the pathology in time.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home. The signs will be discussed in this video:

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy in the early stages, as well as how the operation goes, see this video:

An ectopic pregnancy causes fear and anxiety in many mothers. What is it connected with and how to avoid an abnormal pregnancy, who can help and how to act?

An ectopic pregnancy is a violation, a direct threat to the expectant mother and her fetus. If you yourself identify one of the signs of an ectopic pregnancy, this is an urgent sign to contact a gynecologist for help. From the point of view of medicine, an ectopic pregnancy occurs as a result of the fixation of a fertilized cell not in the fallopian tube, as it should be in a healthy woman, but in the ovaries or abdominal cavity. Survey statistics show that 1-2% of all pregnancies are ectopic.

Causes of failure in the body:

continuous inflammatory processes in the body of a pregnant woman (for example, after an incorrect and unprofessional abortion);
congenital pathologies of the uterus;
hormonal disruptions in the body;
tumors of the internal genital organs.

As a result of these processes, the fallopian tube does not function normally, does not contract or is clogged.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy in the early stages?

It is impossible to unambiguously determine an ectopic pregnancy, especially in the early stages. All the signs that accompany an ectopic pregnancy can also be with a normal uterine pregnancy. Failures in the localization of the egg can only be established with the help of laparoscopic surgery. The doctor only makes a referral and suggests an ectopic pregnancy. After that, the pregnant woman should definitely do a laparoscopy to confirm or refute the suspicions. In the early stages, it is extremely difficult to determine the disease; an ectopic pregnancy up to 6 weeks may not be detected.

Laparoscopic surgery still remains the most reliable diagnostic method, and at the same time it is a therapeutic procedure. Despite this, it is recommended to carry it out only in extreme cases.

Signs of an ectopic pregnancy can be: dizziness, sharp pain in the lower abdomen, weakness, lowering blood pressure.

With an ectopic pregnancy, a home test may not detect pregnancy. This is due to the low level of the hormone in the blood of a woman, which is produced during the period of uterine and ectopic pregnancy.

The reason for an urgent visit to the doctor is also bloody, abundant discharge during pregnancy. They have nothing to do with the menstrual cycle, so you should pay attention to such disruptions in the body.

How long is an ectopic pregnancy?

The question of when it is possible to determine an ectopic pregnancy is difficult to answer even for experienced doctors. Everything depends individually on the woman's body, her physiological characteristics and individual needs. Signs and symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy appear between the sixth and eighth weeks. Ectopic pregnancy (ectopic) is also determined at a later date. The task of a woman is to identify symptoms in time and seek qualified help.

A few main conclusions on the timing of the definition of ectopic pregnancy:

determine the maximum available from the fifth to the fourteenth week;
not always an ectopic pregnancy is accompanied by pain or other of the above symptoms, often the disease is determined as a result of an ultrasound examination.

Does the test detect an ectopic pregnancy?

If you have any suspicions of an ectopic pregnancy, contact your gynecologist immediately. It is almost impossible to independently determine the problem with a pregnancy test. A home test will show both uterine and ectopic pregnancy. In some cases, the second one may also appear on the test strip. It should be understood that an ectopic pregnancy is very dangerous for health, after about 8 weeks, such a pregnancy can terminate itself. This process is accompanied by blood loss, severe pain and further complications for the woman and her health.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy without ultrasound and with its help?

Ultrasound is an affordable way to determine an ectopic pregnancy. Without it, it is very difficult to establish failures in the body. At home, the first symptom can be considered a delay in the menstrual cycle. It has already been said that during an ectopic pregnancy, bleeding from the vagina may occur. They also differ from ordinary menstrual flow: they are unstable, scarce, of a peculiar color. Pain during an ectopic pregnancy, as a rule, is aching and pulling in nature. But sharp pain syndromes cannot be ruled out.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy by hCG?

HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone that is only present in the body of a pregnant woman. It is inherent in both ectopic and uterine pregnancy, since it is produced in everyone at the stage of fetal development in the body. A test for the level of this hormone allows you to determine whether a fertilized egg is located within the uterus. Otherwise, there is a chance to avoid an ectopic pregnancy. The hCG level differs from normal levels during the change in the position of the egg.

By the presence of hCG in the blood, the fact of pregnancy is determined, its presence is displayed even on a simple test that you did at home. Determination of hormone levels does not always help determine an ectopic pregnancy. In addition, doctors recommend undergoing an ultrasound examination. If the egg is located outside the uterus, the hCG level is relatively lower. If during the pregnancy test one of the strips is colored blurry and indistinct, this may indicate an ectopic pregnancy. If you regularly diagnose the presence of a hormone, you can analyze its growth. If natural growth dynamics is noticeable, pregnancy proceeds without complications.

In order to prevent life threatening, it is important to use all diagnostic methods to determine the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. Remember that regular consultations, your own health monitoring and ultrasound examinations can help you and your baby.

Any expectant mother is afraid to hear the diagnosis of "ectopic pregnancy" from the doctor. It is necessary to understand what it is and how it can be dangerous. An ectopic pregnancy is a pathology in the process of development of which the egg is attached not to the uterus, where it should be, but in another place:

in the walls of the fallopian tubes;
in the ovaries;
in the peritoneum.

Features of the course of pathology

In an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo enters the fallopian tubes. Most often this is due to a violation of the normal functioning of this body. During the passage of the embryo towards the uterus, it is delayed and implanted in the wall of the fallopian tube. If the pregnancy breaks the pipe, then you have to urgently resort to surgical intervention.

An ectopic pregnancy essentially differs from the standard one in that in such a situation, the mother cannot bear the fetus and give birth to a child. In any case, you will need the help of qualified obstetricians who will determine the timing of the operation. The consequences of an ectopic pregnancy can be the most negative, especially if the disease was not diagnosed in a timely manner. According to statistics, about two percent of all pregnancies are ectopic.

The danger of pathology

If a fertilized egg develops in the mucous membrane of the fallopian tube, then the diameter of the latter will begin to increase over time. This is a completely natural process under such circumstances. The appendages are not designed for such a load, therefore, after a short period, the walls of the pipes will stretch so much that the pathology will become noticeable to a pregnant woman.

If you do not intervene in this process in a timely manner and do not take the necessary measures, stretching can lead to a rupture of the shell. As a result, unwanted substances such as blood and mucus will enter the abdominal cavity. This is where the fertilized egg comes out. The problem is that the abdominal cavity needs to be as sterile as possible, otherwise the risk of infection greatly increases. Such cases often end with the development of peritonitis and excruciating pain.

An ectopic pregnancy is accompanied by massive bleeding, which is caused by damage to blood vessels. This condition is considered critical, since the treatment of a pregnant woman requires immediate hospitalization. A similar danger exists not only for tubal, but also for other pathological course of pregnancy.

Now experts identify several key reasons that can serve as an impetus for the development of an ectopic pregnancy. Often the basis for the disease are any problems with the normal functioning of the fallopian tubes. It's connected with:

infectious diseases - chlamydia, gonorrhea, etc.;
inflammatory diseases - adnexitis;
surgical interventions - for example, after surgery, the risk of ectopic pregnancy increases;
procedures to restore normal tubal patency;
medical treatment for infertility;

There are situations when even experts cannot explain why the pregnancy turned out to be ectopic. However, it should be borne in mind that if a woman has already encountered such a problem once, then she is at increased risk.

In this case, it is necessary to be extremely scrupulous about pregnancy: regularly visit an ultrasound scan, during which the presence of a fetal egg in the uterus will be confirmed. It is important to remember that in the early stages of gestation, the egg is extremely small in size, so it is rather difficult to notice it during one examination.

Precautionary measures

In order to prevent an ectopic pregnancy, you must be very careful about your health. This is primarily due to gynecological diseases that are sexually transmitted. Usually they are accompanied by vaginal discharge, but some of them are extremely insidious and do not have pronounced signs.

Women are accustomed to identifying the problem by pain in the abdomen, bleeding, problems with menstruation, but sometimes the disease that can lead to an ectopic pregnancy is asymptomatic. That is why it is so important to visit the gynecologist twice a year for a preventive examination.

When can a pathology be diagnosed?

In most cases, the disease becomes apparent after an artificial or natural termination of pregnancy, which most often takes the form of a rupture of the fallopian tube or tubal abortion. The probability of this exists at different times, but the period from 4 to 6 weeks of gestation becomes especially dangerous.

The next time you can detect pathology around the third or fourth week. Alarm signals should be the presence of hCG and the absence of any signs of uterine pregnancy during ultrasound examination.

In a situation where the fetus is localized in the rudimentary horn of the uterus, it is possible to determine the pathology only at the tenth to sixteenth week.

Contacting a specialist

Timely intervention by medical professionals is key in an ectopic pregnancy, but for a successful outcome, a woman should see a doctor even before complications appear. Currently, two methods of treatment are used, which are widely practiced in medicine: surgical and medical.

Not so long ago, doctors removed the affected organ along with the uterus, which completely deprived the woman of the opportunity to become a mother in the future. Modern technologies allow operations to be carried out in such a way that the integrity of the structure is in the first place.

In medical practice, there are drugs that allow you to treat an ectopic pregnancy without surgery. Specialists use medications that stop the development of the fetus. In other words, they are used in cases where the fetal egg continues to grow.

Clinical manifestations of ectopic pregnancy

Specialists cannot identify obvious symptoms that would categorically indicate the development of a tubal pregnancy. Diagnosis is hampered by the fact that the symptoms of this pathology are often present in the early stages of a standard pregnancy. This is due to the inability to see the fetal egg during an ultrasound examination.

Laparoscopic surgery is required to accurately determine the diagnosis. However, for its implementation, a set of signs indicating the development of an ectopic pregnancy is necessary.

Laparoscopic surgery, due to its characteristics, is not only a diagnostic, but also a therapeutic procedure, but you should not bring it to the point where it becomes necessary. In the event of a sharp decrease in blood pressure, pain in the abdomen, severe weakness and loss of consciousness, you should immediately call a doctor for hospitalization.

Pregnancy test and pathology

To determine the development of the pathology is obtained by a conventional pregnancy test, but this method should not be fully trusted. It reacts to a special hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin. In the case of pathology, its concentration is significantly lower than in traditional pregnancy.

Women who are faced with pathology can identify alarming signals by the nature of menstruation. During menstruation, a bloody substance is released from the genital tract, which, by and large, is not even menstruation. In some cases, the secretions contain fragments of the decidua, which was rejected by the body.

Among the main signs it should be noted:

scanty menstruation;
a strong delay in menstruation;
painful pulling pains in the abdomen (this is a consequence of an increase in the diameter of the pipe);
profuse bleeding;
early toxicosis;
enlarged and painful breasts;
pain radiating to the rectum and lower back.

Experts are convinced that with due attention, it is possible to determine an ectopic pregnancy even before the delay of menstruation. This is facilitated by competent history taking and timely examination.

At the first suspicion of a pathology, which can be determined by the signs listed above, you should immediately contact a gynecologist. The doctor should conduct an examination, during which the degree of softening of the cervix and its bluish color is revealed.
It is also extremely important to know the signs of internal bleeding in order to have time to call doctors in a timely manner. Symptoms include:

Types of pain in the lower abdomen and possible pathologies

Possible diagnosis	Gestational age	The nature of the pain	Other symptoms		Degree of danger
	5-7 weeks	Sudden sharp pain in the lower abdomen	Dizziness, bleeding	Early ultrasound
Threat of abortion	Any gestational age	Aching unrelenting pain in the lower abdomen, radiating to the lower back	Bloody issues		Elevated, immediate medical attention needed
Premature placental abruption	Any gestational age	Severe sharp pain in the lower abdomen, bleeding in the uterus	Any symptoms consistent with significant blood loss	Emergency doctor or hospital	High, urgent medical attention required

Rehabilitation

After an ectopic pregnancy, doctors turn to a set of measures that allow the body to return to normal. First of all, it is necessary to take care of the prevention of the adhesive process and the normalization of the hormonal background.

Video - The first signs of an ectopic pregnancy in the early stages

Video - How to diagnose and treat an ectopic pregnancy

All nine months of pregnancy for many expectant mothers pass under the banner of various fears that something is wrong with the child or with themselves. In the first trimester, pregnant women often worry about the embryo getting fixed and developing properly, and therefore they are exploring all possible ways to determine an ectopic pregnancy on their own or in a hospital.

Ectopic, or ectopic, is a pregnancy in which the implantation of the fetal egg occurs outside the cavity of the uterine body, for example, in the fallopian tubes, ovaries, cervix or abdominal cavity. Such cases are observed in 1-1.5% of all pregnancies. The most common localization of ectopic pregnancy is in the tubes (more than 90% of cases). This pathology attracts such close attention of physicians because it always requires emergency care. With a belated appeal to doctors and untimely surgical intervention, a fatal outcome is observed in every fourth patient.

Why does the fetus develop in the wrong place?

This can happen as a result of the following:

Functional hormonal disorders due to endocrine diseases, with improper use of progestin oral contraceptives (mili-drank), with ovulation stimulation.
Anatomical changes in the uterus and fallopian tubes - with salpingitis (inflammation) and obstruction of the tubes, the presence of adhesions (including after previous surgical interventions on the pelvic organs), with tumors of the uterus, ovaries and other surrounding tissues that can compress the uterus and interfere normal fetal attachment.

What are the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy?

How an ectopic pregnancy manifests itself directly depends on where it develops and how long the woman is. In ovarian and abdominal pregnancy, severe repeated pain attacks in the abdomen are observed, since the tissues of the ovary and peritoneum cannot be stretched for the growth of the embryo. The fetus freezes in the early stages, massive internal bleeding occurs with shock phenomena.

This situation requires immediate surgical intervention. With a rather rare type of ectopic pregnancy that occurs between the ligaments of the uterus, the fetus can develop up to a relatively long time (up to five months). If a woman did not register with a gynecologist in a timely manner and did not undergo an examination, such a diagnosis can be made during a diagnostic operation after an abortion and the development of heavy bleeding into the abdominal cavity.

When the embryo is attached to the fallopian tube, two consecutive stages are clinically distinguished:

1. Progressive tubal pregnancy - the fetus is attached to the inner lining of the fallopian tube and grows as long as the elasticity of its wall allows.

Symptoms in the earliest stages of such attachment and development of the fetus will not differ in any way from the usual complaints of pregnant women at the beginning of the first trimester:

delay of menstruation;
nausea, weakness and other manifestations of toxicosis;
enlargement and soreness in the mammary glands.

As the fetus grows, periodic pain in the pelvis appears. Toward the middle of the first trimester, the pain syndrome in the lower abdomen can become permanent, and the nature of the pain from aching will turn into acute and paroxysmal. The pain often radiates to the rectum or inner thigh.

Due to the lower content of hormones during ectopic pregnancy, rejection of the inner uterine layer (endometrium) often occurs, which is manifested by bloody discharge from the genital tract. A characteristic feature is that they cannot be stopped with the help of drug hemostatic therapy.

The uterus increases in size, but is always smaller than it should be at the expected gestational age. In the region of the appendages or behind the uterus, one can often feel for a volumetric formation.

2. Disrupted tubal pregnancy - tubal abortion (the fetus froze and began to be rejected into the abdominal cavity), rupture of the fallopian tube.

This stage is always accompanied by acute cutting cramping pain in the abdomen up to fainting. In this case, internal bleeding of varying severity develops. Depending on the amount of blood lost, bleeding can be from slight to massive with the development of shock (lowering pressure, pronounced pallor, cold sweat, loss of consciousness).

It is believed that more significant blood loss occurs with bruises and heavy physical work. At the same time, symptoms of peritoneal irritation appear: bloating, tension and soreness of the abdominal wall.

How to know that the pregnancy is developing incorrectly?

In the early stages at home, with a delay in menstruation or if symptoms of early toxicosis appear, you can take a pregnancy test. But according to the test, it will not be possible to reliably decide whether this is a uterine pregnancy or not. The fact is that with improper attachment of the embryo, hormones are still formed, indicating that the woman is pregnant, albeit in a smaller amount. Therefore, if you use a highly sensitive test at home, it will reveal even low values of the chorionic hormone and show pregnancy. In addition, even with a negative test, an ectopic pregnancy cannot be completely excluded.

Also, if you suspect an ectopic pregnancy, you can independently feel the seal on the right or left in the lower abdomen. At home, an abnormally developing pregnancy can be suspected by constant pain in the abdomen, as well as spotting spotting. Similar symptoms also occur with the threat of abortion of a correctly attached embryo, and both of these situations require urgent examination in a hospital setting and medical supervision.

The development of an ectopic pregnancy can be indirectly judged by hCG and progesterone in the blood. HCG in the case of ectopic localization of the fetus will increase slightly, much lower than the norm for the duration of the proposed pregnancy. In addition, in the dynamics you can track the absence of its doubling every two to three days, which always happens during normal pregnancy. The amount of progesterone will also be below the expected norm, but its fluctuations are more difficult to trace than hCG, since a low level may indicate a threat of miscarriage of a normally located fetus.

Reliable diagnosis without ultrasound, relying only on the values of laboratory parameters of hormones, is not possible. Only an ultrasound examination can reveal an extracavitary fetal egg, indicate the stage of development (live embryo or stage of abortion), and determine the approximate amount of blood poured into the abdominal cavity. This effective and publicly available study is used in dynamics at the initial stages of pregnancy and in controversial cases (ultrasound is repeated after two to three days to assess the condition and localization of the embryo).

If a tube rupture and internal bleeding are suspected, an important diagnostic examination is a puncture of the posterior fornix of the vagina, in which blood is determined in the punctate. But the most informative, and at the same time, the therapeutic method is laparoscopy. During this operation, special laparoscopic instruments are introduced into the abdominal cavity through several micro-incisions, which allow the surgeon to see all the processes taking place in the abdominal cavity, eliminate an ectopic pregnancy, remove spilled blood and save the fallopian tube.

Is there a chance of getting pregnant after an ectopic pregnancy?

Be sure to consult your doctor about when and how to get pregnant after an ectopic pregnancy will be possible in your case. On average, doctors recommend waiting six months to a year for the body to fully recover. If the exact cause of ectopic fetal implantation is known (for example, adhesive and inflammatory processes), it is necessary to undergo a course of treatment to eliminate this cause.

Previously, during the surgical treatment of such a pathology, one fallopian tube was always removed, which reduced the chances of a new normal pregnancy by half. At present, with the introduction of laparoscopic surgery for ectopic pregnancy, it is almost always possible to save a woman's fallopian tubes, so the chances of getting pregnant again remain almost at the same level.

Even if the early period of pregnancy, in your opinion, is proceeding normally, you should not postpone the first visit to the doctor, since only a specialist can most reliably recognize an ectopic pregnancy. Timely diagnosis and treatment of such a disturbed pregnancy will help preserve your reproductive health and give you the opportunity to feel the happiness of motherhood in the future.

What is an ectopic pregnancy? How to define it? What are its main reasons?

These questions concern most expectant mothers who are consciously approaching the issue of planning. We live in the information age, and sometimes the expectant mother knows much more than the local doctor and can notice alarming symptoms on her own.

At the beginning of pregnancy, often at 3-4 weeks, most women experience pain in the lower abdomen.

On the one hand, such sensations may indicate that implantation has occurred and the pregnancy is developing, on the other hand, this may be a warning sign and suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy- this is a situation when a fertilized egg, for some reason, does not reach the uterine cavity and is implanted in the fallopian tube, where it continues its development.

Due to the fact that the fallopian tubes are quite small in size, and the embryo develops quickly, there is a risk of rupture of the fallopian tube and, as a result, there is a risk of bleeding that is life-threatening for a woman. The consequences of an ectopic pregnancy are quite dangerous, so it is important to establish an accurate diagnosis as early as possible.

How to determine an ectopic pregnancy?

Do an ultrasound at 5-6 weeks.

At the moment, this is the fastest and most reliable way to determine the uterine or ectopic pregnancy. Starting from 3 weeks on ultrasound, you can already see the fetal egg. If during the examination a fetal egg is not found in the uterus, it is too early to make a diagnosis. Usually, an additional examination is prescribed in a week.

If, as a result of an ultrasound examination, the doctor found a fetal egg in one of the tubes of the uterus, the diagnosis is made absolutely accurate and the woman is sent to the hospital.

Monitor your well-being.

Like any disorder in the body, an ectopic pregnancy cannot be asymptomatic. Signs that may indicate it include the following:

malaise,
bleeding,
sharp and sharp pain in the lower abdomen,
dizziness,
fainting,
fever,
low pressure.

If you observe several of the above signs in yourself, consult a doctor immediately to confirm or eliminate the diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy.

Take a blood test for hCG.

HCG is the pregnancy hormone. HCG levels during ectopic pregnancy differ from standard norms.

If the tests show a high level of hCG, which confirms the presence of pregnancy, and the ultrasound does not detect a fetal egg, then the likelihood of an ectopic pregnancy greatly increases.

The earlier the diagnosis is made, the earlier a woman goes to the doctor - the more likely it is to save the fallopian tube and thus the opportunity to become pregnant. And the chance of avoiding a second ectopic pregnancy is significantly increased.

We hope that our article has provided you with the necessary information, and now you can be calm about your health, because, as the well-known saying goes, “Forewarned is forearmed!”

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