Confused but hopeful

Preparing For Your Next Pregnancy
1

Hi Everyone,

I’m very new to this site, and also very confused and hopeful someone can shed some light on my situation (and also some success stories)!

About 5 years ago I unexpectedly fell pregnant. At the time, I was in a situation where I was not able to raise a child and so abortion was the only option for me - at the clinic they couldn’t see anything on the scan and I was rushed to A&E. Upon arrival I was told I was having an ectopic pregnancy and they had no choice but to take me into surgery. It was the first time I’d ever heard of an ectopic pregnancy, and overall was so frightened I just trusted the doctors to do what was best for me.

Once the operation was complete I was told my left tube had to be removed - but overall the surgery went well. I recovered fairly quickly and my cycle has been mostly regular since.

Looking back, the whole process seems a bit of a blur and I don’t think I paid enough attention to what was happening. Now happily married and trying for a family, I’m really not sure what the best steps are in conceiving. I’m tracking ovulation, and my doctor has suggested I try naturally for a year.

Any success stories with conceiving with one tube? Any tips? Anything anyone can share would be helpful. I was very young at the time and now so confused with my body.

Thanks… sending love to you all xxx

2

Dear Amy27,

I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy, it can be a very confusing time indeed.

The chances of a further ectopic after a first in UK is 10%. So that’s 90% chance of the embryo being in right place next time.

While generally it is possible to conceive after an ectopic pregnancy, the amount of time it takes varies from couple to couple. Factors include age, general health, reproductive health and how often you have sex, among other things. We have more information on trying to conceive after ectopic pregnancy here https://ectopic.org.uk/patients/trying-to-conceive/

It is important to get an early pregnancy scan as soon as you know you are pregnant, contact your local EPU to inform them and book in for an early scan at around six weeks. Remind them of your previous ectopic pregnancy. This self refer route is the best route in our view. Hopefully you will have some comfort to know you are under the radar of medical professionals right away. If you are unable to self refer, speak to your GP who will be able to do this for you.

Generally, when a person has only one fallopian tube and both ovaries, they are still able to get pregnant from an egg at the opposite ovary as an egg from one ovary can travel down the tube on the other side. The fallopian tubes are not attached to the ovaries and, at the point of ovulation, some very delicate structures called the fimbriae begin to move gently creating a slight vacuum to suck the egg toward the end of the tube it is nearest to (like lots of little fingers waving and drawing the egg towards it). So, if you have only one tube then there is only one set of receptors working and one set of fimbriae creating a vacuum and so the egg is much more likely to find its way to that tube, whichever ovary it is produced from. Conservative estimates suggest that an egg produced on the tubeless side manages to descend the remaining tube around 15 to 20% of the time.

We will be here for support for as long as you need.

Sending much love,

Karen x

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust

Registered Charity Number: 1071811

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Further information is available at ectopic.org.uk

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