1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. Lauren vogelbaumb Here in September of lifestyle 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,639 Speaker 1: blogger de Vita leaderly candidly chronicled a devastating event she 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: says she never saw cumming, the discovery that her first 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: pregnancy was a topic. Laterally wrote on her blog the 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: Healthy Maven quote, if you don't know anything about an 7 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: ectopic pregnancy, it's basically a pregnancy that develops outside of 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: your uterus. A healthy and viable pregnancy can only develop 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: in your uterus. If it develops elsewhere, it is not 10 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: a viable pregnancy. Two percent of all pregnancies are a topic, 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: very rare, and of them happen in a fallopian tube. 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: At this point, I was in the two percent of 13 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: the two percent in that my topic could not be found. 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: But it was time to start making decisions and moving forward. 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: Despite people like Lead really in preasing the number of 16 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: frank and comprehensive conversations around pregnancy laws and ectopic pregnancies 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: in particular, many people are still unaware of what this 18 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: condition is really all about. So today let's talk about it. 19 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: For the article this episode is based on has to 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: Fork spoke with Catherine White, m d, m pH, Assistant 21 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: Professor of obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University. She said, 22 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: an atopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that's growing in a 23 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: place other than the womb or beauterus. The most commonplace 24 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: for deck topic to be is in one of the 25 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: fallopian tubes, but an atopic can also be in the cervix, 26 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: on an old cesarean section scar in the corner of 27 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: the uterus, or on the ovary according to the American 28 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or a COG. Almost all 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: ectopic pregnancies over occur in a fallopian tube. This can 30 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: have serious and even deadly consequences because as the pregnancy progresses, 31 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: it can cause the tube to burst, which may lead 32 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: to major internal bleeding, a potentially life threatening emergency that 33 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: requires immediate surgery. So what are the risk factors? This 34 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: is actually a complicated question to answer because research has 35 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: offered conflicting findings on the matter, and because every person 36 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: and every pregnancy is unique. There's no guarantee that a 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: nicktopic can be traced back to one specific issue. Lots 38 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: of different conditions and factors can increase the risk like 39 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: previous ectopic pregnancy, fallopian too, pelvic or abdominal surgery, of 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: pelvic inflammatory disease and demetriosis, a certain sexually transmitted infections 41 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: or s t i s like chlamydia, a cigarette smoking 42 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: age above thirty five years, a history of infertility, and 43 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: or the use of assisted reproductive technology like in vitro 44 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: fertilization or IVF. But even with all of these potential risks, 45 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: about half of all ectopic pregnancies occur without any of them. 46 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: The Mayo Clinic also indicates that people who use intrauterine 47 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: devices or i u d s should be aware of 48 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: the risks when it comes to a topics. Getting pregnant 49 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: while using an i u D is extremely rare, but 50 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: if a pregnancy does occur with an i u D 51 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: in place, it's more likely to be A topic. White said, 52 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: I wish people knew that a topic pregnancies are common 53 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: and that there's nothing you can do to cause it 54 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: or to prevent it from happening. We also can't move 55 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: the pregnancy from the abnormal location into the uterus. Patients 56 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: ask me that all the time. Because a topic pregnancies 57 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: cannot be saved and can endanger the life of the 58 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: pregnant person. It's important for anyone who can get pregnant 59 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: to be aware of the early signs and symptoms. They 60 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: include vaginal bleeding or spotting after your period has ended, 61 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: a lower belly cramping, and or intense constant pain. As 62 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: Literally wrote on her blog, the week after my period 63 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: should have been finished, I was still spotting and cramping. 64 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: I found this unusual and thought I'd just connect with 65 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: my O B G y N to be safe. We 66 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: chatted pandemic style over the phone, and she suggested I 67 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: come in for some testing, and then if I had 68 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: a pregnancy test at home, I should use it. The 69 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: test confirmed that Literally was in fact pregnant, and, as 70 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: she wrote, we were so happy, but also knew that 71 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: things weren't adding up, so we shouldn't get too excite it. 72 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: Laterly went in for blood work and an ultrasound that afternoon, 73 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: and the tests confirmed that something was off. Her blood 74 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: tests indicated the presence of human choreonic gonadotropin or hCG, which, 75 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: as we've talked about in previous episodes, is a hormone 76 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: that's released during pregnancy, but there was no sign of 77 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: a pregnancy on the ultrasound. Although her hCG levels continued 78 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: to rise over the next two days and she began 79 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: experiencing the symptoms of early pregnancy like extreme bloating, acky legs, 80 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: painful breasts, et cetera, the ultrasound was still mysterious clear. 81 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: She wrote, I was officially diagnosed with a pregnancy of 82 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: unknown location. It will likely be the strangest diagnosis I 83 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: will ever receive in my life. It turns out I 84 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: was pregnant. They just couldn't find out where. Ectopic pregnancies 85 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: aren't just concerning and confusing again, they can be life threatening. 86 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: A White said, the biggest risk with an ectopic pregnancy 87 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: is that the site of the ich topic will rupture 88 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: your fallopian tubes and those other non uterous locations were 89 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: not designed to allow a pregnancy to grow safely. When 90 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: rapture occurs, you can bleed so much that you can 91 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: need blood transfusions, and sometimes a patient bleeds so much 92 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: that they die. So it's critical to treat an ectopic 93 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: pregnancy when it's found, either by surgery to remove the 94 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: pregnancy or by medication to dissolve it. Because it's so serious. 95 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: Let's talk about those emergency symptoms. If a rupture of 96 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: an ectopic pregnancy does occur, the sim TEMs may include 97 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: severe abdominal or pelvic pain, along with vaginal bleeding, extreme 98 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: dizziness or fainting, and pain in the shoulder. Unfortunately, Laterally 99 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: experienced these for herself after she felt a sharp jab 100 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: following early treatment for her topic. She was rushed to 101 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: the emergency room and underwent surgery, which resulted in the 102 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: loss of her left fallopian tube. Although all a topic 103 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: pregnancies inevitably and in pregnancy loss, most people who experience 104 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: of topics can go on to have healthy pregnancies later on, 105 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,479 Speaker 1: and people who have had one topic pregnancy are, however, 106 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: at higher risk of having another, and so it's important 107 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: to stay alert for those signs and symptoms that we 108 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: discussed earlier. The White said that based on her experience 109 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: in the clinic and having seen countless patients endure the 110 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: emotional fallout of the topics, she hopes the medical field 111 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: will evolve to cultivate more empathy and support for such patients. 112 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: Leadly says that her experience brought about profound grief, but 113 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: also immense gratitude. She wrote, while I would never wish 114 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: this experience on anyone, I am forever changed in the 115 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: way I view pregnancy and having children, and this perspective 116 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: I wouldn't change for the world. So now I'm in 117 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: this club I never wanted to be a part of, 118 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: but especially the ectopic pregnancy club, which has so few members. 119 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: I wish I had more women to talk to about this. 120 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: So far, I've had friends tell me about a friend 121 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: of a friend or a sister who went through this experience, 122 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: but no one who I know personally. My hope with 123 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: sharing this post is not only to help me heal 124 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: from my experience, but also to connect with other women 125 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: who have gone through it too. If you think that 126 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: you are someone close to you may be experiencing an 127 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: ectopic pregnancy, get in touch with the medical professional right away. 128 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: Many clinics and organizations provide financial and logistical support for 129 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: pregnancy losses like these. There has been concerned since the 130 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade that states now 131 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: banning abortion ending ectopic pregnancies will become more difficult. That's 132 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: because abortion bands sometimes use vague warding that could prevent 133 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: healthcare providers from ending even a dangerous unviable pregnancy, as 134 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: poll ectopic pregnancies are before a patient is in immediate 135 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: danger of death. However, even if you live in a 136 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: state with abortion bands, treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is 137 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: considered life saving, so although it may be more difficult 138 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: to access care, medical professional will be able to help 139 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: you obtain it. You can also turn to the National 140 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: Network of Abortion Funds for assistance. Today's episode is based 141 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: on the article what is an ectopic Pregnancy? On how 142 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com written by Michelle Konstantinovski. The brain 143 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:50,839 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of I Heart Radio and partnership with 144 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,839 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler 145 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: klang A. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the 146 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 147 00:08:58,920 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.