In an ectopic pregnancy what happens is that the fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus rather than inside the uterus. The term ectopic actually means out of place, which fits with the ectopic pregnancy because the entire pregnancy is out of place. In about 95% of ectopic pregnancies the fertilized egg actually settles in the fallopian tubes, which is the reason that these types of pregnancies are usually called tubal pregnancies. But just because the egg usually implants itself into the fallopian tubes that doesn't mean it will always implant there some other places that the egg can also implant are the ovaries, abdomen or the cervix.

But no matter where the egg implants itself most ectopic pregnancies do not result in a live birth. The main reason for this is that none of the areas that an egg can implant itself in has enough space or enough nurturing tissue as the uterus does for the pregnancy to develop. In fact in most cases when an egg implants itself somewhere other than the uterus the fetus will grow until it bursts the organ that contains it. This can cause severe internal bleeding which can endanger the mother's life. The main cause of this happening is the ectopic pregnancy going undiagnosed.

The main reason that an ectopic pregnancy can be hard to diagnose is because its symptoms are the same as the symptoms of a normal early pregnancy. Because the symptoms are the same in the beginning many women do not know that they are suffering from an ectopic pregnancy which can be eventually lead to medical complications. The early symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy include missed periods, breast tenderness, nausea, vomiting, or frequent urination.

In fact the first warning sign that you are probably going to have to inform you of an ectopic pregnancy is pain in your pelvis or abdomen, but in some extreme cases you might even feel that pain in your shoulder or your neck. The reason that the pain can be felt in the neck or shoulder is because blood from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy actually builds up and irritates certain nerves.  The type of pain that most women associate with an ectopic pregnancy is reported as being sharp and stabbing, but it can be concentrated on one side or the pelvis and come and go and it can also vary in intensity. But another common sign can also be vaginal bleeding.

Some other signs that you need to watch for that can signal an ectopic pregnancy are:

• Vaginal spotting
  
• Dizziness or fainting, which is caused by blood loss
  
• Low blood pressure, which is caused by blood loss
  
• Lower back pain

Ectopic pregnancies are caused by a fertilized eggs inability to move fast enough through the fallopian tube and into the uterus before it is ready to be implanted. One of the main causes of this is an infection or inflammation of the fallopian tubes that has partially or entirely blocked the tube. This blockage can be caused pelvic inflammatory disease, which in most cases is caused by gonorrhea or Chlamydia. But another cause of the blockage can be from endometriosis, which is when cells from the lining of the uterus implant and grow elsewhere in the body. Or the blockage can be caused by scar tissue from previous abdominal or fallopian surgeries.

The only way that you can be diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy is by a doctor. Many times what happens is that women go into the emergency room or their doctor's office complaining of stomach pain. If you are unaware of being pregnant the first thing that the doctors will do is give you a urine pregnancy test to determine if you are pregnant or not and then they will proceed from there. But if you already know you are pregnant they will skip that test and move onto the other tests that need to be done.

Once they have determined that you are pregnant  they are most likely going to give you a quantitative hCG test, which is a blood test that measures the levels of the hCG hormone that is produced by the placenta. This hormone can show up as soon as eight to ten days after conception and for the first several weeks of your pregnancy the levels of the hormone double every two days. So if the levels of the hormone are lower than expected for the stage of pregnancy one of the common explanations is an ectopic pregnancy. But another thing that they might do is give you an ultrasound examination. The purpose of this examination is to show whether or not the uterus contains a developing fetus or if there are masses present elsewhere in the abdominal area. The bad thing about the ultrasound is that it cannot detect every ectopic pregnancy so sometimes a pelvic exam is also needed. The pelvic exam is used to locate the areas that are causing the pain and then check for an enlarged uterus which can indicate pregnancy or look for other masses that can be causing the problems. Keep in mind that because it is so hard to see any pregnancy less than 5 weeks after the last menstrual period your doctor might ask you to keep coming back every 2 to 3 days to check your hormone levels so that they can either rule it an ectopic pregnancy or a normal pregnancy.

When it comes to treating an ectopic pregnancy you have a few options, but how it is treated is going to depend on when the ectopic pregnancy is caught, the size and location of the ectopic pregnancy and on how medically stable the woman is. Here are the various treatment options you have when it comes to an ectopic pregnancy:

Injection - if the ectopic pregnancy is caught early enough you can usually treat it with an injection of methotrexate. What this injection does is stop the growth of the embryo.

Surgery - this can be done in one of two ways depending on the pregnancy.

Major surgery

This is what used to be done all of the time but today is only used in cases of emergency or where extensive internal injuries are present. But what happens is there is a large incision across the pelvic area that allows the doctor to remove the embryo and repair the damage to the organs

Laparoscopy

This is less invasive suregery that allows the pregnancy to be removed. What happens here is that the doctors make small incisions in the lower abdomen and then inserts a tiny video camera and instruments through the incisions. The video camera shows the images from inside your body onto a screen in the operating room so the doctor can see what is going on. They then remove the pregnancy surgically and repair or remove any damaged organs.

 But no matter what kind of treatment you undergo to remove the ectopic pregnancy your doctor is going to want to see you on a regular basis afterwards. The reason for this is that your doctor is going to want to monitor your hCG levels to ensure that they return to zero, which can actually take up to several weeks. If your levels don't go back down to zero this can mean that some ectopic tissue was missed and you might need additional surgery to have it removed or another injection.

Women who have had an ectopic pregnancy can sometimes find it difficult to get pregnant again. But the women who seem to have the hardest time getting pregnant again after an ectopic pregnancy are women who had fertility problems before the ectopic pregnancy. But your chances of getting pregnant again after having an ectopic pregnancy is going to depend on your fertility before the pregnancy and the extent of the damage that was caused from the ectopic pregnancy. Keep in mind that the chances of you having another ectopic pregnancy actually increase with each subsequent ectopic pregnancy. Once you have had one ectopic pregnancy you have about a 15% chance of having another.

Every woman is at risk for an ectopic pregnancy, but like other medical conditions some women are more at risk than others. In fact with ectopic pregnancies the women who have the highest risk of having an ectopic pregnancy are women who are over 35 and have had at least one of the following:

• PID
  
• A previous ectopic pregnancy
  
• Surgery on a fallopian tube
  
• Infertility problems
  
• Medication to stimulate ovulation

But there are other risk factors that go into having an ectopic pregnancy. For example woman who have numerous sexual partners and woman who smoke are at a higher risk for having an ectopic pregnancy. But also certain birth control methods can increase your chances of having an ectopic pregnancy if you get pregnant while using them. Those methods are: progesterone-only oral contraceptives, progesterone intrauterine devices (IUDs), or the morning after pill.

If you think you might be at risk for an ectopic pregnancy the best thing you can do is to call your doctor right away because with these the sooner they are diagnosed and treated the better off you are.