Ask Your HCP, Not The Internet

Tuesday 24 January 2017

I’m on a million and one different pregnancy and parenting groups and one question that I see cropping up time and again is “Is this normal”?  It comes up in relation to all sorts of things – children’s behaviour, bed time routines, temperatures, feeding difficulties and pregnancy aches and pains.  It’s the latter that I’d like to expand on today.  I like to advocate for women.  I’m a huge believer in listening to our own instincts and trusting our own intuition and I truly believe that parents are the experts on our own children.  I’ve been that late-night internet poster asking for opinions and others experiences but in doing so I’m acutely aware that this isn’t medical advice and shouldn’t be taken as such.  I think there’s a danger that in soliciting advice from other’s we may trivialise the presenting problem. 

On a pregnancy forum this week, a lady asked about a pain that she was having in her abdomen.  Lots of people assured her that it was normal, her ligaments starting to stretch to make room for her expanding uterus and it’s quite possible that it was just that.  I took a different approach than those offering reassurance, and though I tried not to be alarmist I suggested that she contact her healthcare professional as soon as possible and have it checked out.  Us Irish, as a nation are sometimes very concerned that we are being a burden or that we may be wasting the doctors’ time but pain in pregnancy always merits a chat with your Midwife or GP and in their absence, the Early Pregnancy Care Unit or indeed the hospital Maternity Ward.  I’ve learned this from my own experience. 

My fourth pregnancy was ectopic, an unviable pregnancy, which, left undiagnosed and untreated can be fatal.  An ectopic pregnancy results when a fertilised egg implants anywhere outside the cavity of the womb.  It affects 1 in 80 pregnancies. Most ectopic pregnancies develop in the fallopian tubes but some cases occur in the ovary, cervix or abdominal cavity.  As the fallopian tube is not large enough to accommodate a growing pregnancy the thin wall of the tube will stretch causing pain in the lower abdomen and often vaginal bleeding.  There is a danger that the fallopian tube will rupture, as it did in my case, causing internal bleeding and requiring emergency surgery. 

In many cases, it is not known why an ectopic pregnancy occurs. There may be damage to the tube due to pelvic infection, endometriosis or previous pelvic surgery.  Those also at risk include women using the coil and progesterone only contraceptives or those undergoing assisted conception. 

The symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy can vary, but commonly include sudden abdominal pain, feeling faint, dizzy, nauseous, paleness, increasing pulse and falling blood pressure.  There may or may not be vaginal bleeding.  If discovered in the first few weeks of pregnancy, medication can be given to end the pregnancy.  More advanced pregnancies will require surgery to remove the foetus and or the damaged fallopian tube.  For more information on symptoms, treatment, recovery and support visit www.ectopicireland.ie and please, if your symptoms cause you to ask a question on a pregnancy forum, believe that they are enough to warrant a quick call to your health care provider too.