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Preparing For Your Next Pregnancy
1

I am really strugling to get my head around everything. I was so excited to be pregnant with baby number 2. We found out on 15th October it was an eptopic pregnancy on the 16th I had a shot of methotrexate which was working and numbers falling but on Tuesday 8th November I got rushed into hospital due to a ruptured tube so had to have surgery to removed my left tube. I am heart broken that I am going to struggle to convince. The doctors have reassured me that my right tube is healthy and my overys are both very healthy. But I am Only 29 and desperately want another baby. How can I get my body in the best condition possible to get

Pregnant what can I do to help? Doctor said I can try to convince after my first full cycle.

2

Hi Georgia130793,

I’m sorry to hear about your experience, ectopic pregnancy, and loss. You have had a massive physical and emotional upheaval, and recovery from ectopic pregnancy will take time. Everyone’s path is unique to them, and there is no set timeframe for emotional recovery. There are no “musts” or “shoulds” or deadlines. Grieve as you wish and cry, vent, and release your emotions as you need.

Your ectopic pregnancy was so recent, and it is still early days in your recovery. For me, I found that writing in a journal did help to process the many elements. I recalled elements of the hospital and recovery and found myself thinking about the family and friends who reached out with support. It helped me to get the words out of my head, and eventually share them with my partner and close friends.

While there is no clear, researched evidence on how long a woman should wait to try to conceive after having treatment for ectopic pregnancy, we and other medical professionals advise you to wait for at least three months or two full menstrual cycles (periods) before trying to conceive for both physical and emotional reasons.

Physically, this timeframe is to allow your cycle to return and for there to be a clear Last Menstrual Period (LMP) date to be able to date a new pregnancy. The LMP date is what is used to decide when to scan a pregnancy; information that is invaluable in ensuring you are not suffering from another ectopic pregnancy. This wait also allows the internal inflammation and bruising from the ectopic and any associated treatment to heal.

In addition to the physical aspects of ectopic pregnancy, many women also feel an intense emotional impact. Taking time before trying to conceive again enables the necessary process of grief to surface and be worked through. The emotional recovery that is often needed can be significant and many underestimate this aspect. Some studies suggest that women who conceive immediately after treatment for ectopic pregnancy are more at risk of suffering a subsequent ectopic and, as painful as it is to think about, the incidence of miscarriage (which is not linked to an ectopic pregnancy) is 1 in 5 pregnancies, so taking that extra bit of time enables you some emotional recovery to feel strong enough to face whatever is coming next should there be further bad news.

However, you can start taking folic acid now. It is recommended to take folic acid for at least 12 weeks prior to conception.

Please allow yourself all the time and space you need to heal and know that you have a supportive environment here for as long as you need. We are here for you any time. These boards are a safe environment to let off steam among people who have been there and understand. Please continue to do so as often as you wish.

With good wishes,

Michele

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust

Registered Charity Number: 1071811

Ectopic pregnancy patient information suite: Highly Commended in the 2019 BMA Patient Information Awards

If the information provided here or through the EPT website has helped you, you can donate towards our support services, volunteer, or fundraise to raise awareness.

Further information is available on our website.

Email us: ept@ectopic.org.uk

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Detailed medical information can be found on our website. Please remember online medical information is NO SUBSTITUTE for expert medical advice from your own health care team

3

Thank you so much for your reply. I am struggling to get any information from anywhere about what my chances of actually getting pregnant again. As Doctors said my right tube is healthy and my overys are healthy but just feel really sad that what if I won’t get another chance to get pregnant and what do I do if I can’t ? Really want another baby we have a 2 year old. I just want to be pregnant again with our baby so trying to find out if it will ever happen again for us. I am 29.

4

Dear Georgia,

I’m afraid it is difficult to give precise statistics as there is little research completed in this field and there are so many factors that influence our ability to conceive.

The chances of a further ectopic after a first in UK are around 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. It may be comforting to know that 65% of women are successfully pregnant within 18 months of experiencing an ectopic pregnancy and some studies suggest this rises to around 85% after two years.

in terms of chances of future successful pregnancies, studies do not show a significant difference between treatment routes, whether surgical, medical using methotrexate or expectant management (allowing time for the body to resolve the pregnancy itself).

Importantly, help is available if conceiving naturally has not yet been successful after some time trying - and the EPT advises that women under 35 should seek medical advice following 12 months trying to conceive and those over 35 should seek advice after 6 months.

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 hear from many women who successfully concieve following treatment for ectopic pregnancy.

As a gentle reminder regarding conceiving again, we and many medical professionals advise waiting for two menstrual cycles. It is important to allow time for your body to recover and emotions to surface and be worked through. This is so that you have some comfort that your body is returning to its natural rhythm and you have a last menstrual period date from which to date a new pregnancy - key information in checking you are not suffering from an ectopic pregnancy in the future. The first bleed soon after surgery for ectopic pregnancy is not classed as a period as it is the body’s response to falling hormone levels.

I hope this helps in some way,

Sending much love,

Karen x

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust

Registered Charity Number: 1071811

Ectopic pregnancy patient information suite: Highly Commended in the 2019 BMA Patient Information Awards

If we have been able to help you, are you able to help us with a small donation or by volunteering or fundraising?

Further information is available at ectopic.org.uk

Email us: ept@ectopic.org.uk

We provide a call-back helpline service: 020 7733 2653

Take a look at our newsletters and subscribe to our mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/986bdd6091ee/ectopic-matters

Detailed medical information can be found on our website. Please remember online medical information is NO SUBSTITUTE for expert medical advice from your own health care team