Diagnosis
Frequency distribution
Pain in the left or right ovary during pregnancy is quite common and usually no cause for concern. Pain on both sides of the ovary during pregnancy is less frequent, as the pain is usually localized on the side where the fertilized egg was created. Ovarian pain during pregnancy is rarely caused by an ectopic pregnancy (tubal pregnancy).
This occurs in only 1-2% of all pregnancies. Even rarer is an ectopic pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy). Depending on the age of the mother, the frequency distribution (incidence) varies. In 20-year-old mothers it is only 0.4%, while in 30-40 year-old mothers it is already 1.3-2%.
Symptoms
Pain in the area of the ovary during pregnancy usually causes abdominal pain, which can be of a pulling or stabbing nature. The pain occurs on the right, left or both sides. Occasionally there are other symptoms such as swelling, malaise or, due to psychological stress and the fear of losing the fruit, in addition to hot flushes, palpitations and restlessness.
Different scenarios can occur in ectopic pregnancy. On the one hand, it is possible that the fruit will die (abortion). In this case, the only symptoms besides possible pain in the ovary are that the patient’s menstruation (period) starts again.
If, on the other hand, there is a rupture of the fallopian tube (tubal rupture), there is sudden abdominal pain and symptoms of shock (blood pressure drops, heart rate rises, etc). This is an acute emergency that must be treated immediately! Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are often very similar to the symptoms of a normal pregnancy, but can be accompanied by significantly increased pain or even frequent bleeding. In the case of an ovarian cyst, in addition to pain in the ovary, there is often back pain and pain during sexual intercourse or urination. In some cases, the pain can also be purely unilateral, for example, only on the left side.
