Ectopic pregnancy complicates unwanted pregnancy abortions
Last Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Contents of This Post:
- What is an Ectopic Pregnancy?
- Ectopic Pregnancy Diagnosis
- What happens to an ectopic pregnancy?
- Abortion Options in Countries With Restricted Abortion Laws
- Unwanted Pregnancy Abortion in India
- What is the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy?
- What to expect during an ectopic pregnancy surgery at AHB?
Women carrying unwanted pregnancies often seek abortions to terminate their pregnancies. However, the abortion rules in different countries come at crossroads. They stand as barriers for women seeking safe, legal and confidential abortions. The majority of unwanted pregnancies are a result of contraceptive failure.
Women who do not know of their safe abortion options often in a hurry or panic tend to opt for unsafe abortions. By doing so, they put their health and lives at immense risk.
Ectopic pregnancy is one out of many abortion risks. It is a case of medical emergency and if the patient does not receive immediate medical attention and care, it may even be fatal. It can impact her future fertility. Even self-administration of abortion pills can be fatal in events of ectopic pregnancies.
This post intends to shed light on what is ectopic pregnancy, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
Additionally, we will also be speaking about how with the right knowledge you can prevent, diagnose and get treatment for an ectopic pregnancy at the earliest.
It is not that women do not think about this complication, but the fact is that they know very little about ectopic pregnancies. Even it is a topic very less spoken of. Moreover, unmarried girls or other women who experience pregnancy for the first time hardly know that a wrongful pregnancy can be a complication or it even exists.
“Do you know, 10% of maternal deaths are accountable due to ectopic pregnancies and their complications worldwide.”
Do you have a choice? This post may help you know your best options. Let us begin with an introduction to Ectopic Pregnancy.
What is an Ectopic Pregnancy?
A woman’s body undergoes various stages of the menstrual cycle every month. As a part of this cycle, when she ovulates, one of her two ovaries release an egg or the ovum. The egg then awaits fertilization for nearly 12-24 hours.
If the male sperm happens to fertilize it during this window, the fertilized product is known as an embryo that has to travel to the uterus and attach to the uterine lining. This is the destination of an embryo where the embryo starts deriving nutrition from the mother’s body and starts growing day by day throughout the gestation period.
This is the case with normal pregnancy which is also known as intrauterine pregnancy since the embryo is in the uterus.
Now, what if the embryo does not reach the uterus? If it is not in the uterus, then where is it?
After fertilization, the embryo has to cross a pathway, the fallopian tube. The fallopian tubes are the narrow ducts that connect both the ovaries to the uterus. But if it gets stuck in the middle of the journey or dislocates somewhere other than the uterus, the pregnancy is known as extrauterine or ectopic pregnancy.
These wrong locations can be the fallopian tube, cervix, ovary lining or even the abdominal cavity.
Tubal ectopic pregnancies: The most common form of ectopic pregnancies:
When the embryo stays in the midway, anywhere in the fallopian tube, it is known as a tubal pregnancy. These are the most common types of ectopic pregnancies since all fertilized products have to pass through the fallopian tubes to reach the uterus.
A piece of advice for all pregnant women:
For all women with a positive pregnancy test, it is advisable to stay calm and be positive whether the pregnancy is wanted or unwanted.
And in both cases, visit a registered medical practitioner and get an ultrasound to confirm both the length and location of the pregnancy.
Ectopic Pregnancy Diagnosis
The correct diagnosis for an ectopic pregnancy is through an ultrasound or a transvaginal scan. The scan reveals the exact length and location of the pregnancy. It is a painless diagnostic test.
In a country where abortion is illegal, even for a scan to confirm the pregnancy, a pregnancy file is necessary that requires the woman and the spouse’s verifiable personal details and their marriage registration certificate.
Without these things, you cannot even have an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy after you miss your period or have a positive Urine Pregnancy Test (UPT).
What happens to an ectopic pregnancy?
An undetected and untreated ectopic pregnancy may continue to grow at the wrong location. And ectopic locations cannot sustain pregnancies. The embryo may continue to grow as a group of tissues, but usually ectopic pregnancies are not viable.
As soon as the tube gets narrow for the embryo, it may rupture and this condition is a medical emergency and needs urgent action to save the woman’s life.
We will learn about how an ectopic pregnancy is preventable. Even in some cases if it is unpreventable, it is possible to at least save the fertility and life of the woman preventing the rupture and internal bleeding.
Advantages of early detection of ectopic pregnancy:
Are you pregnant? Did you get the pregnancy location and length checked?
If not, you can schedule an early appointment with AHB which is just a call away.
The advantage of early detection of an ectopic pregnancy is that is is possible to treat early ectopic pregnancies with just a few safe medicines without needing any surgery.
But in late cases, such as ruptured tubal pregnancies, surgery is crucial. The doctor needs to remove the ruptured tube and the attached ovary with the ruptured tissues during the procedure to save the woman’s life and stop haemorrhage. This is how an ectopic pregnancy can be fatal.
This surgery may save the woman’s life but it may affect her future pregnancies. Such women have their fertility reduced by nearly 50% with one remaining ovary. And she may experience difficulty in conceiving in future. This is how an ectopic pregnancy can impair your future pregnancies.
Any delay in this surgery can make it very difficult to save the woman’s life. Hence, it is best to get the earliest appointment as soon as you miss your period or your Urine Pregnancy Test (UPT) is positive.
Seeking safe abortion but abortion in your country is illegal: What are your options?
Wanted pregnancies are welcome. But what about unwanted pregnancies?
And what if you are pregnant out of the marriage or you are an unmarried pregnant woman or a single mother or just that you do not want the child for any other personal, social or economic reasons?
Does your country permit legal abortions?
Are you living in Dubai, Sharjah, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the Philippines or a country where abortion is illegal or the abortion rules are very strict?
In such a case, you may struggle to find out the length and location of pregnancy since you will require a pregnancy file before any diagnostic tests. And the file requires the consent of both parents and unmarried girls don’t have even this choice.
Most likely, this is not your choice at all in all these cases. But do not lose hope. You can schedule an early appointment with American Hospital Bangalore (AHB) in Bangalore, India. Here, abortion is not only legal but the world’s best abortion team ensures the safety of the abortion and privacy of the patient.
Another big thing is that you do not need consent of a partner if you are an adult. All adult women can get a private one-to-one consultation with the doctor. You can have all the diagnostic tests performed before the procedure. The doctor will check for both the length and location of the pregnancy.
The two scenarios with an unwanted pregnancy abortion in India:
There are two possibilities with unwanted pregnancies in respect to their location when you visit AHB by an early appointment.
- A normal intrauterine pregnancy
- An ectopic pregnancy
An unwanted intrauterine pregnancy: What is your next option?
If you visit American Hospital Bangalore for early consultation and are carrying a normal unwanted pregnancy, it is possible and legally permissible to terminate it by a small abortion procedure on the same day.
Yes, take a sigh of relief. Along with the location of the pregnancy, the doctor will also check for the pregnancy length. And if you wish you can get an abortion by a short procedure then itself.
According to the gestation length, the three recommended methods for terminating pregnancies are:
The medical method of abortion:
It may be your option if your gestation length is less than 6-8 weeks. The method involves the administration of abortion pills to remove the embryo through vaginal blood flow.
It is just like a heavy period. But since the method involves moderate to severe pain, bleeding and a waiting period of up to a week to ensure a successful abortion, most women opt for Gentle Care and the painless abortion procedure.
Furthermore, the abortion pill method is nearly 92%-95% effective which means that there are chances of incomplete abortion. These incomplete abortions pose many difficulties for women and they require surgical procedures to complete them.
The vacuum aspiration method (VA method) of abortion:
It is for terminating pregnancies that are less than 12 weeks. This method involves sucking the embryo with the help of an aspirator where a vacuum creates suction. It is a very gentle procedure that is absolutely painless and at AHB, the expert team conducts it precisely within 5-10 minutes. You can expect minimum bleeding, zero pain and a complete abortion. You can return home with a stress-free mind.
Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E) or the surgical method of abortion:
It is the method of abortion for terminating late-stage pregnancies, i.e., the ones that are beyond 12 weeks of gestation but the legally permissible age of fewer than 20 weeks.
Since you are visiting the hospital for early consultation, this may likely not be your procedure. But if the doctor sees this method as the best for your case-specific like large embryo size and other medical conditions, this method may be on your prescription.
At AHB, this method too is very gentle and painless. It may take less than 30 minutes to complete. The doctor evacuates the uterine cavity using small, safe and sterile medical tools followed by the whole cavity cleaning and introduction of uterine packaging to minimize blood loss.
Even with this procedure, you may take discharge in an hour or so and you can confidently return home with a successful abortion.
There may be a few concerns regarding abortion laws that may be capturing your mind right now. So, here is a quick Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section for the same.
Abortion in India FAQs
Q. Is abortion legal in India? If I plan to travel to Bangalore from my country, will I get a safe and legal abortion?
Ans. Yes, abortion in India is legal under wide circumstances and you can easily obtain an abortion in India safely, legally and maintaining your privacy at a registered abortion clinic.
Q. Do I need my partner’s consent for the abortion?
Ans. No, you can avail of abortion in India only with your consent if you are an adult.
Q. I do not wish to involve my parents in this. I am unmarried and want a safe abortion? Can I have it without their consent?
Ans. Yes, you can avail of a legal and safe abortion in India even if you are unmarried and that too only on your consent if you are an adult. In India, all people above the age of 18 years are adults and can consent to their abortion.
An unwanted ectopic pregnancy: What is your next option?
There may be an instance that you visit AHB for an early consultation for unwanted pregnancy and ultrasound reveals that your pregnancy is ectopic.
Good news #1:
There is nothing to panic about. The first best thing is that your visit is earlier than a mishap like a ruptured tube. So, both your fertility and life are safe.
Good news #2:
The next best thing is that it may be possible to remove your ectopic pregnancy easily with the help of medicines.
And even if your ectopic pregnancy needs surgical removal, American Hospital Bangalore can carry out a small surgical procedure to remove the ectopic pregnancy immediately.
Factually, ectopic pregnancy removal is technically not an abortion since it is a procedure to save the woman’s life and the embryo is not viable.
What is the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy?
The medical treatment:
This method as the name suggests uses medicines. The safe and approved medicine to terminate an ectopic pregnancy is Methotrexate which is available only against a valid doctor’s prescription.
At AHB, the doctor shall give you the medicine at the same time to avoid any delay in the treatment. Moreover, the doctors at AHB prescribe only high-quality standardized branded medicines to ensure their safety as well as efficacy.
The working of the medicine:
In case of an ectopic pregnancy, Methotrexate works by stopping the growth of embryo cells. The stopped growth will end the pregnancy. Your body will absorb the leftover embryo within 4-6 weeks. This eliminates the need for surgery and both the woman’s fertility and her life may be saved.
At AHB, Methotrexate will be on your prescription only after considering various factors like co-existing medical conditions, beta-hCG levels or a breastfeeding mother, allergy, any interacting or contra-indicated medicine being taken, etc. Certain diagnostic blood tests will help to make the right prescription.
If the patient’s case permits, Methotrexate is also available for administration as a single injection under the doctor’s observation. After that, you may take discharge. You will have to undergo repeat blood diagnostic tests for checking if the second dose is necessary or not.
Hence, it is advisable never to self-administer any medicine without consulting a doctor or a pharmacist.
Besides, at AHB, you will receive post-abortion guidance with Methotrexate. There are certain Do’s and Don’ts after Methotrexate administration and only a qualified and experienced doctor can guide you the same.
The surgical treatment:
Usually, surgery for an ectopic pregnancy involving the removal of the fallopian tube and ovary is for ruptured tubes. Since we are speaking of an early diagnosis in this post, we can expect the woman to be early in consulting the doctor. And it is during this diagnosis and consultation that she becomes aware of the fact that she is carrying an ectopic pregnancy.
Firstly, if her case permits, she may receive medicine only for the treatment. But in some cases, like an enlarged embryo or if the patient is ineligible for Methotrexate due to any specific reason, then surgery may be the option.
If it is AHB where you visit and learn about your ectopic pregnancy, then you can still feel at ease. The hospital is well-equipped, the doctors highly qualified and the team internationally trained to perform ectopic pregnancy removal surgeries with high precision and accuracy.
It is possible to save your tube and remove only the embryo. But in some cases, the removal of both the tube and the ovary may be essential. This still saves the complications like internal haemorrhage that may happen with a ruptured pregnancy. And lives safe.
What to expect during an ectopic pregnancy surgery at AHB?
At AHB, if the surgical method is the option for removing your ectopic pregnancy, you can expect it to be a small and efficient procedure.
Pain:
The surgery under general anaesthesia makes it painless.
The method:
The method used for ectopic pregnancy removal is known as Laparoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor makes small incisions in the abdominal region. From here, she inserts a very slender and lighted camera, known as a laparoscope to view the organs, location and the progress of the surgery.
Other instruments required to perform the surgery are also inserted. Then, she gently removes the fallopian tube and the ovary. A few stitches closes the surgery.
Infections:
Since the hospital premises undergo regular disinfections and sterile instruments used for all procedures, the chances of infections are minimum.
For further preventing any kind of bacterial or viral attack since the patient is vulnerable to various infections after surgical procedures, antibiotics and pain management medicines will be a part of post-surgical prescription.
Additionally, you can expect to receive dietary guidance and supplements to aid in early recovery.
There are still many ectopic pregnancy related questions and here are answers to them.
Q. Can the fallopian tube rupture very early even before I know I am pregnant?
Ans. Yes, it may happen in some cases and immediate medical attention is essential for saving the woman’s life. It usually comes to notice when a woman gets unconscious or is in severe bad pain without any known reason and when taken to an emergency.
It is therefore advisable that you consult a doctor as soon as possible you realize that you are pregnant. Feel free to call on AHB’s helpline number to schedule an early appointment.
Q. Is there any warning sign or symptom of an ectopic pregnancy?
Ans. Generally, with a missed period and a positive UPT, a woman knows that she is pregnant. Ectopic pregnancy symptoms are the same as any pregnancy like breast tenderness, nausea, light pelvic pain or even vaginal spotting.
These may be mistaken for Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms or even normal intrauterine pregnancy symptoms. Vaginal spotting may be mistaken for implantation bleeding as well. Then, how to differentiate quite early?
However, an ultrasound is the most efficient method. So, you can schedule an appointment for consultation or ultrasound if you have any symptoms as mentioned above. Symptoms that are different from intrauterine pregnancy are moderate to intense shoulder pain or an urge for a bowel movement. Symptoms vary for individual women since they are dependent on the location of blood pooling and the nerves getting irritated.
Q. Is it possible to prevent an an ectopic pregnancy?
Ans. Usually, it is not possible to prevent an ectopic pregnancy but its probability can be reduced in women who are at a higher risk of developing them.
Preventive measures to avoid ectopic pregnancy:
- Fallopian tubes may get inflamed due to sexually transmitted diseases or other infections like PID. In case you have abnormal vaginal discharge, smelly discharge or any other sign of infection, it is essential to get the same diagnosed and medicine taken for it.
- Smoking is a risk factor and hence if you smoke, it may be better to quit before trying to get pregnant.
For any other unaddressed query or concern, your comments are welcome in the section below or you can call on AHB helpline number, speak to a healthcare professional.
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