Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff. Lauren vogelbaumb Here in September of lifestyle blogger de Vita leaderly candidly chronicled a devastating event she says she never saw cumming, the discovery that her first pregnancy was a topic. Laterally wrote on her blog the Healthy Maven quote, if you don't know anything about an ectopic pregnancy, it's basically a pregnancy that develops outside of your uterus. A healthy and viable pregnancy can only develop
in your uterus. If it develops elsewhere, it is not a viable pregnancy. Two percent of all pregnancies are a topic, very rare, and of them happen in a fallopian tube. At this point, I was in the two percent of the two percent in that my topic could not be found. But it was time to start making decisions and moving forward.
Despite people like Lead really in preasing the number of frank and comprehensive conversations around pregnancy laws and ectopic pregnancies in particular, many people are still unaware of what this condition is really all about. So today let's talk about it. For the article this episode is based on has to Fork spoke with Catherine White, m d, m pH, Assistant Professor of obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University. She said, an atopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that's growing in a
place other than the womb or beauterus. The most commonplace for deck topic to be is in one of the fallopian tubes, but an atopic can also be in the cervix, on an old cesarean section scar in the corner of the uterus, or on the ovary according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or a COG. Almost all
ectopic pregnancies over occur in a fallopian tube. This can have serious and even deadly consequences because as the pregnancy progresses, it can cause the tube to burst, which may lead to major internal bleeding, a potentially life threatening emergency that requires immediate surgery. So what are the risk factors? This is actually a complicated question to answer because research has offered conflicting findings on the matter, and because every person
and every pregnancy is unique. There's no guarantee that a
nicktopic can be traced back to one specific issue. Lots of different conditions and factors can increase the risk like previous ectopic pregnancy, fallopian too, pelvic or abdominal surgery, of pelvic inflammatory disease and demetriosis, a certain sexually transmitted infections or s t i s like chlamydia, a cigarette smoking age above thirty five years, a history of infertility, and or the use of assisted reproductive technology like in vitro
fertilization or IVF. But even with all of these potential risks, about half of all ectopic pregnancies occur without any of them. The Mayo Clinic also indicates that people who use intrauterine devices or i u d s should be aware of the risks when it comes to a topics. Getting pregnant while using an i u D is extremely rare, but if a pregnancy does occur with an i u D
in place, it's more likely to be A topic. White said, I wish people knew that a topic pregnancies are common and that there's nothing you can do to cause it or to prevent it from happening. We also can't move the pregnancy from the abnormal location into the uterus. Patients ask me that all the time. Because a topic pregnancies cannot be saved and can endanger the life of the pregnant person. It's important for anyone who can get pregnant
to be aware of the early signs and symptoms. They include vaginal bleeding or spotting after your period has ended, a lower belly cramping, and or intense constant pain. As Literally wrote on her blog, the week after my period should have been finished, I was still spotting and cramping. I found this unusual and thought I'd just connect with my O B G y N to be safe. We chatted pandemic style over the phone, and she suggested I come in for some testing, and then if I had
a pregnancy test at home, I should use it. The test confirmed that Literally was in fact pregnant, and, as she wrote, we were so happy, but also knew that things weren't adding up, so we shouldn't get too excite it. Laterly went in for blood work and an ultrasound that afternoon,
and the tests confirmed that something was off. Her blood tests indicated the presence of human choreonic gonadotropin or hCG, which, as we've talked about in previous episodes, is a hormone that's released during pregnancy, but there was no sign of
a pregnancy on the ultrasound. Although her hCG levels continued to rise over the next two days and she began experiencing the symptoms of early pregnancy like extreme bloating, acky legs, painful breasts, et cetera, the ultrasound was still mysterious clear. She wrote, I was officially diagnosed with a pregnancy of unknown location. It will likely be the strangest diagnosis I will ever receive in my life. It turns out I
was pregnant. They just couldn't find out where. Ectopic pregnancies aren't just concerning and confusing again, they can be life threatening. A White said, the biggest risk with an ectopic pregnancy is that the site of the ich topic will rupture your fallopian tubes and those other non uterous locations were not designed to allow a pregnancy to grow safely. When rapture occurs, you can bleed so much that you can need blood transfusions, and sometimes a patient bleeds so much
that they die. So it's critical to treat an ectopic pregnancy when it's found, either by surgery to remove the pregnancy or by medication to dissolve it. Because it's so serious. Let's talk about those emergency symptoms. If a rupture of an ectopic pregnancy does occur, the sim TEMs may include severe abdominal or pelvic pain, along with vaginal bleeding, extreme dizziness or fainting, and pain in the shoulder. Unfortunately, Laterally experienced these for herself after she felt a sharp jab
following early treatment for her topic. She was rushed to the emergency room and underwent surgery, which resulted in the loss of her left fallopian tube. Although all a topic pregnancies inevitably and in pregnancy loss, most people who experience of topics can go on to have healthy pregnancies later on, and people who have had one topic pregnancy are, however, at higher risk of having another, and so it's important to stay alert for those signs and symptoms that we
discussed earlier. The White said that based on her experience in the clinic and having seen countless patients endure the emotional fallout of the topics, she hopes the medical field will evolve to cultivate more empathy and support for such patients. Leadly says that her experience brought about profound grief, but also immense gratitude. She wrote, while I would never wish this experience on anyone, I am forever changed in the way I view pregnancy and having children, and this perspective
I wouldn't change for the world. So now I'm in this club I never wanted to be a part of, but especially the ectopic pregnancy club, which has so few members. I wish I had more women to talk to about this. So far, I've had friends tell me about a friend of a friend or a sister who went through this experience, but no one who I know personally. My hope with sharing this post is not only to help me heal from my experience, but also to connect with other women
who have gone through it too. If you think that you are someone close to you may be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, get in touch with the medical professional right away. Many clinics and organizations provide financial and logistical support for pregnancy losses like these. There has been concerned since the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade that states now
banning abortion ending ectopic pregnancies will become more difficult. That's because abortion bands sometimes use vague warding that could prevent healthcare providers from ending even a dangerous unviable pregnancy, as poll ectopic pregnancies are before a patient is in immediate
danger of death. However, even if you live in a state with abortion bands, treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is considered life saving, so although it may be more difficult to access care, medical professional will be able to help you obtain it. You can also turn to the National Network of Abortion Funds for assistance. Today's episode is based on the article what is an ectopic Pregnancy? On how
stuff works dot com written by Michelle Konstantinovski. The brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler klang A. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.