Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms

Ectopic pregnancy means a pregnancy that has implanted in your body outside of the normal place to grow a baby. The term ectopic literally means out of place. More than ninety percent of these pregnancies happen outside of the uterus in the fallopian tubes. This has given rise to the term tubal pregnancy, when in fact they can grow anywhere. One sign that you may be having an abnormal pregnancy is the presence of a period during pregnancy.

The egg, which has been fertilized implants there and begins to grow. Needless to say this is a very dangerous situation since the fallopian tubes or other areas of the body are not geared toward supporting a baby and are also not able to stretch as they need to stretch to give the baby room to grow.

While the egg can grow in other places, it most commonly selects the fallopian tubes, but other areas that it may be found are the ovary, the abdomen, the cervix or even the outside of the uterus.

Not a single one of these areas has the means to grow a baby. When the egg implants there and begins to grow it causes bleeding, may rupture areas such as the fallopian tubes, and will in the end run probably cause a situation that will create bleeding and put the mothers life at risk. The presence of your period during pregnancy may be one clue that all is not as it seems.

Paying attention to the symptoms that may be present in an ectopic pregnancy is imperative, particularly if you have been the victim of a previous ectopic pregnancy. Mothers who are over the age of 35 at the onset of the pregnancy, who have previously experienced an ectopic pregnancy or who have had pelvic inflammatory disease are more prone.

If you are in any of these high risk groups it pays to pay attention to your body's signals and to seek out good medical advice if you have any of the symptoms of ectopic pregnancy. If you are experiencing periods during pregnancy, shoulder pain, pain in the pelvic or abdominal region, dizziness, nausea or other symptoms it does not necessarily mean that you are experiencing an ectopic pregnancy but it is certainly worth checking out.

Any time pain is present during pregnancy, not merely cramps, muscle aches and other normal parts of pregnancy, but pelvic pain or pain during intercourse, it is necessary to find out why it's taking place. While some discomfort is common in pregnancy, deep pain during activity or movement is not a normal part of being pregnant and should be checked out with your doctor.