An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that implants someplace other than in the uterus.

So, what Are The Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms? The most common site of an ectopic pregnancy is the fallopian tubes but it can implant in the fimbria on the outermost part of the fallopian tube or on the ovary or other pelvic organ.

Women who have had some kind of pelvic infection in the past, such as Chlamydia, have scarring in their tubes that impede the passage of the fertilized egg down the fallopian tube, leading to an ectopic pregnancy.

When you have an ectopic pregnancy, you have a positive pregnancy test and will feel pregnant for the first couple of weeks with the  very early symptoms of pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancies begin to show themselves at about pregnancy week 6 through 8.  At that time, you may feel less pregnant and have fewer symptoms of early pregnancy and the pregnancy hormone, HCG, may begin to drop as the pregnancy becomes more and more in trouble.

So, what are the ectopic pregnancy symptoms? The pregnancy cannot support itself in the narrow confines of the fallopian tube and begins to put pressure on the tube as it tentatively continues to try and grow.  You may experience spotting or frank bleeding from the fallopian tube as it becomes irritated by the pregnancy and sends bleeding down through the fallopian tube, and down the uterus into the cervix and vagina.

As the growing embryo puts pressure on the fallopian tube, it causes pain, usually noticed on one side of the body or the other.  It feels like cramping pain and could be associated with bleeding.  As the embryo grows, there can be a rupture of the fallopian tube, associated with severe bleeding and internal bleeding as well.  Such a condition can be very dangerous for the mother and can, if not treated surgically, be fatal.

The treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is the surgical removal of the embryo associated with removal of the tube or, in cases where the tube has not ruptured and the embryo is small, the tube is carefully slit open and the pregnancy is removed, leaving the fallopian tube stitched back up and hopefully able to allow a fertilized egg to pass in the future.  If the tube is removed, the woman is left with only one fallopian tube and has half the fertility she had before the ectopic pregnancy.

If the fertilized embryo lands and implants on the fimbria or on the ovary, the pregnancy can get much larger and the ectopic nature of the pregnancy is not discovered until several weeks after a fallopian tube ectopic pregnancy is noticed.  There may be little to no pain at first and there may just be bleeding from irritation of the part of the body the embryo has been attached to.  There may be internal bleeding, which causes pain on the side where the embryo has attached and there may be pain from pressure of the expanding pregnancy on other tissues of the pelvis.

Eventually, the ectopic pregnancy is discovered by ultrasound and surgery is required to remove the ectopic pregnancy and any tissue damaged by its implantation into the tissue.  The ovary may have to be removed which can reduce a woman’s fertility in the future.

The very early symptoms of pregnancy in the first week or the first month pregnancy symptoms will be slightly diifferent in a normal pregnancy.