Ectopic Pregnancy

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

The uterus, or womb, is the place where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg grows in the wrong place, outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes. The result is usually a miscarriage.

Ectopic pregnancy can be a medical emergency if it ruptures. Signs of ectopic pregnancy include

• Abdominal pain
• Shoulder pain
• Vaginal bleeding
• Feeling dizzy or faint

Get medical care right away if you have these signs. Doctors use drugs or surgery to remove the ectopic tissue so it doesn't damage your organs. Many women who have had ectopic pregnancies go on to have healthy pregnancies later.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Start Here

• Ectopic Pregnancy (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Ectopic Pregnancy (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• Ectopic Pregnancy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Symptoms

• Abnormal Uterine Bleeding FAQ (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
• Common Discomforts of Pregnancy (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Obstetrical Ultrasound (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Pregnancy Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Progesterone Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Dilation and Curettage (D&C) (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Related Issues

• Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• Pregnancy Loss: How to Cope (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy, Abdominal (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy, Ectopic (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy, Tubal (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Ectopic pregnancy and its long-term results.
• Article: Imaging of Acute Pelvic Pain: Pregnant (Ectopic and First-trimester Viability Updated).
• Article: Relation of Chlamydia trachomatis infections to ectopic pregnancy: A meta-analysis and...
• Ectopic Pregnancy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Ectopic/Tubal Pregnancy (Children's Hospital Boston)

Patient Handouts

• D and C (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ectopic pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• HCG blood test - quantitative (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish