The implantation of zygotes outside the uterine cavity and pregnancy develops anywhere other than the endometrium lining of the uterine lining is termed as ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition and approximately a 2% risk of this condition is associated with all pregnancy. Immediate medical assistance is required to take care of this serious condition. In IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedures, the chances of development of ectopic pregnancy are high.
The rate of incidence of ectopic pregnancy is increasing and medical researchers are trying to solve this problem by providing more effort to gain the detailed mechanism of ectopic pregnancy and also to develop innovative clinical methods to diagnose and treat the ectopic pregnancy successfully.
Ectopic pregnancy is one of the major causes of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality in women. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy causes poor fertility prognosis and also negatively affects subsequent pregnancies.
Ectopic pregnancy is classified in different types depending upon the blastocyst implantation. Some of the common types of ectopic pregnancies are intra-ligament pregnancy or abdominal pregnancy, ovarian pregnancy, tubal pregnancy, etc. However, fallopian tubes are the most common site of ectopic pregnancy development.
Besides the above mention ectopic pregnancies, cesarean scar pregnancy, interstitial pregnancy, cornual pregnancy, and cervical pregnancy are some special-site ectopic pregnancies.
Till now researchers discovered some pathogenesis of ectopic pregnancy, which are the previous history of tubal pregnancy, oviduct inflammation, tubal surgery, and the application of assisted reproductive technology (ART).
The identified common risk factors which trigger ectopic pregnancy are a pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), the use of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD), vaginal douching, smoking, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, detailed knowledge of the etiology and pathogenesis of ectopic pregnancy is still unknown.
Diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy is always a challenge during the gestation period. Transvaginal ultrasound and determination of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels are included in the routine pregnancy tests to avoid the ectopic pregnancy-related complications and early detection.
Gynecologists believe that early detection of ectopic pregnancy gives a better outcome by decreasing morbidity and mortality rate. Therefore, both transvaginal ultrasound and β-hCG levels have considered very precious value in pregnancy tests.
Modern medical research concerned about the treatment of ectopic pregnancy. The classic treatment management for ectopic pregnancy involves both medication and surgical intervention. However, medical researchers look forward to obtaining safe and effective treatment management for preserving reproductive potential.
Medical research finds supports single-dose of methotrexate reduces the treatment cost by improving the morbidity and surgical intervention and reducing the duration of the hospitalization period. Some studies also give evidence that subsequent intrauterine pregnancy rate is also higher after an ectopic pregnancy.
Ravi Sharma is a self-motivated, successful entrepreneur and has a solid experience in the fertility segment. and he is the director at ARTbaby Global (ARThealthcare). He is a pharmacy graduate with post-graduation in business administration and has 14 years of rich experience in the field of infertility segment. He loves to write about IVF, Surrogacy, and other ART (assisted reproductive technology) news, issues, and updates. He is a Pharmacy graduate (B. Pharm) and M.B.A (marketing).
His most recent success includes the successful launch of the medical tourism company, ARTbaby, which offers treatment options for infertility, egg donation, and surrogacy. He likes spending time with his family and writing about various aspects of IVF surrogacy and donating eggs.