Brief overview
- Symptoms: Signs of normal pregnancy such as absence of periods, nausea; usually no other symptoms because there is enough room in the abdominal cavity and the egg usually does not survive
- Causes: Fallopian tubes or uterus leak due to a rupture or similar, the fertilized egg mistakenly enters the free abdominal cavity and nests there; various risk factors: inflammation of the fallopian tubes, endometriosis, ovarian inflammation, smoking, IUDs
- Diagnosis: medical history, presence of positive pregnancy test, gynecological examination, ultrasound, blood test of pregnancy hormone (beta-HCG)
- Treatment: Usually abdominal pregnancy resolves on its own, otherwise surgical or drug treatment (as in ectopic pregnancy).
What is an ectopic pregnancy?
Like ectopic pregnancy, abdominal pregnancy is a form of extrauterine pregnancy (= pregnancy outside the uterus). Doctors also refer to this as ectopic pregnancy. Among ectopic pregnancies, ectopic pregnancy is much rarer compared to ectopic pregnancy and is less than one percent.
In affected pregnant women, the fertilized egg does not nest in the uterus but in the free abdominal cavity.
What are the symptoms?
At the beginning, an ectopic pregnancy basically proceeds like a normal pregnancy: menstruation is absent. Many women report morning sickness and a feeling of tightness in the breasts. The pregnancy test is positive.
Can an abdominal pregnancy be carried to term?
In the vast majority of cases, the embryo in an abdominal pregnancy is not viable and the abdominal pregnancy cannot be carried to term.
Doctors speak of advanced abdominal pregnancy or advanced abdominal (extrauterine) pregnancy when the pregnancy exceeds the 20th week. But this is an absolute rarity these days.
How does an abdominal pregnancy occur?
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when there is a leak in the fallopian tube or the uterus. Through a tear in the tissue, the fertilized egg then mistakenly enters the free abdominal cavity and nests there.
- Previous inflammation of the fallopian tubes
- Ovarian inflammation
- Endometriosis
- Smoking
How can an ectopic pregnancy be detected?
An abdominal pregnancy can be detected by a gynecologist (women’s doctor). During regular check-ups, the doctor uses ultrasound to check whether the fertilized egg has nested in the uterus as normal. If this is not the case, even though the pregnancy test is positive, extrauterine pregnancy is suspected.
By means of more detailed ultrasound examinations, the doctor tries to find the implantation site of the egg. In the vast majority of cases, this is the fallopian tube (ectopic pregnancy). More rarely, the egg has mistakenly nested in the abdominal cavity (ectopic pregnancy) or elsewhere.
In unclear cases, the doctor performs an abdominal endoscopy (laparoscopy) in order to detect the defectively nested egg. Often this is the treatment at the same time, as he removes the egg right away as part of the procedure.
How is an ectopic pregnancy treated?
If the body does not terminate the extrauterine pregnancy on its own, the doctor usually removes the improperly nested embryo using surgery or medication.
You can read more about the treatment options for ectopic pregnancies in general in the article Ectopic pregnancy.
What is the course of an ectopic pregnancy?
In the vast majority of cases, the body terminates an ectopic pregnancy itself – the embryo in the abdominal cavity dies and the body breaks down the tissue over time.
In principle, a new pregnancy with a normal egg nested in the uterus is possible even after an ectopic pregnancy. In individual cases, it is possible that the chance of a normal pregnancy is reduced to a greater or lesser extent. At the same time, the risk of another abdominal pregnancy is increased.
