Health – Ectopic Pregnancies – Leave them be?

What is it?

It’s when a fetus implants outside of the womb. It can happen in many places, such as the ovary, the abdomen, the cervix, at the join between the tube and the womb (cornua) and so on. The most common site, however, is within the fallopian tube.

Why should we care?

Well, why I care is due to a forum discussion that I’ve been pursuing recently. I’ve since ceased general posting, save for occasional fragments of opinion and been monitoring it now and then. It was started by a highly dogmatic Catholic poster who seems to be about as trustful of God as any human can possibly be. Amid the firestorm of various other posters badgering him with a steady, morphing stream of refutation all of which plink harmlessly off his theistic force shields, is the contention that aborting an ectopic pregnancy should be allowed as the baby will die anyway, why let the pregnancy continue if it will kill the mother right along with it.

Despite all effort to even budge the topic originator from his hardcore viewpoint he continues to maintain it is not the place of man to end that pregnancy artificially. He also maintains that a portion of such pregnancies ‘go away’ on their own. One of his assertions for leaving it be and, more or less, leaving the matter ‘in God’s hands’.

Personally, I think the guy is insane and if the baby will die before it can truly develop anyway, there really isn’t much point in letting it run its course. Considering that God would already has the kid marked for deletion, in essence.

So lets learn more about this rare(2% in the US – Deaths are rare, 1 in 2,500 cases) sort of pregnancy.

How does it happen? The normal process of the woman’s body goes a little something like this. Each month before she has a period an ovum(egg) is released from the ovaries. It is caught by one of the fine, finger-like fimbriae and deposited at the end of the fallopian tube. It travels toward the womb and, if fertilized when it arrives, attaches to the special lining that has developed. If not fertilized the ovum and lining are released in the menstrual flow.

One thing that can cause an Ectopic pregnancy to occur is the fimbriae doesn’t catch the ovum and it falls elsewhere and is fertilized where it falls. Otherwise, as the ovum is moving along it is fertilized(normal) but it gets caught along the way through the fallopian tubes(not good).

What increases the risk of developing one? Well, there are factors, but sometimes it’s just plain bad luck. Beyond the fait of chance there is advancing age, Pelvic inflammatory disease which can increase the risk seven-fold due to scar tissue, surgery on the fallopian tubes, previous ectopic pregnancies which will raise the risk to about 10-20%, DES exposure which can cause abnormalities in the reproductive system, Previous termination of pregnancy(particularly if there was an infection afterward), and IVF (test-tube baby) and ovulation induction, which increases the risk. The progesterone–only contraceptive pill alters tubal motility and has been linked with a slightly raised sick of this abnormal pregnancy.

It is possible to notice certain symptoms of such a pregnancy. One sided pain in the abdominal area, which can be persistent and severe. ‘Sounder-tip’ pain can be felt, caused by internal bleeding irritating the diaphragm when you breathe in and out. Bladder and bowel pain when using the bathroom is possible as well as collapsing spells, paleness, increasing pulse rate, sickness, diarrhea and falling blood pressure could also be present. If you’ve recently engaged in sexual activity or already know you’re pregnant, these symptoms should be paid closer attention to.

Even better, have your pregnancy checked regularly to keep watch for abnormal developments like this.

It seems that, once a pregnancy has gone this way there is no way to move the fetus into the womb. Some do actually regress on their own. An injection of methotrexate can cause some ectopics to regress by stopping cell division. Most require invasive surgery, however.

Why is the death rate so low? Because early detection and removal of the abnormal pregnancy has been getting better. While such a pregnancy, left uncorrected, will not likely kill the mother immediately, having a part of your body burst by an abnormally growing baby will, if not kill, maim and permanently damage the mother. There is no statistic I could find on rates for regression, despite several searches.

One likely reason is doctors never let it get that far without saving the mother’s life if they discover it before its too late. The 1 in 2,500 that was mentioned are above are likely those few who weren’t discovered in time and not given medical attention in time if it wasn’t previously discovered.

Leaving the topic of the pregnancies and looking back to the forum topic and the originator who believes such abnormal cases should be allowed to run their course, he continues to maintain that he’s not a heartless individual. Yet how can one think someone anything but if they would leave such a beleaguered mother to endure the pain and disfigurement of having part of her reproductive system ruptured when it can be stopped? I would think I’m not the only one that would consider such a position to be questionable. Even in the context of a pro-life stance. How many pro-lifers would be for allowing ectopic pregnancies to run their course.

A good question that, perhaps, should be posed.

Rsources

Ectopic pregnancy – Women’s Health UK

Ectopic pregnancy Trust

Ectopic Pregnancy – KidsHealth.org