An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. This happens in roughly 2% of pregnancies.
As a nurse midwife and reproductive health researcher, Amy Alspaugh, assistant professor of nursing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, thinks it is critical to understand this relatively common pregnancy complication.
Normally egg and sperm meet and combine inside a uterine tube. The fertilized egg travels through the tube and into the uterus, where it implants in the uterine lining and grows. But sometimes the fertilized egg doesn’t make it all the way to the uterus, implanting in the tube instead. The egg can also end up in an ovary, the cervix or the abdomen. Fertilized eggs have even implanted in scars from previous Caesarean births or other surgeries. But more than 90% of ectopic pregnancies are tubal. Read the full article on The Conversation.
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CONTACT:
Lindsey Owen (865-974-6375, lowen8@utk.edu)