Many will know Dame Laura Kenny for her record-breaking sporting prowess as Britian’s most successful female Olympian. However, recently she candidly shared with Stylist that in 2022, while capping the year with a Commonwealth Gold, she was enduring “the darkest period” of her life, recovering from a shattering ectopic pregnancy. Laura’s raw account brings forward many of the crucial topics we as a charity campaign tirelessly for:
- Accurate diagnosis and improved awareness of ectopic pregnancy
- Support for women and their families
- Grief and pregnancy loss
Every year nearly 12,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy (according to the MBRRACE-UK 2024 report)– a devastating, sometimes life-threatening, condition. Yet despite onein80 pregnancies being ectopic, many women like Laura are misdiagnosed with miscarriage as they experience associated symptoms. In the interview, Kenny remembers:
“I became really ill: I could barely stand up without feeling like I was going to collapse, I was being sick all the time… bleeding, stomach pain, shoulder pain”
When turning to the emergency department, Dame Laura was quickly diagnosed correctly, allowing for lifesaving, emergency surgery.
Read the full article here: Dame Laura Kenny opens up about a life-changing ectopic pregnancy
Think Ectopic
A key part of our role at The EPT is to work with professionals to “Think Ectopic” – a campaign designed to ensure women the general public and healthcare professionals are aware of the typical symptoms of ectopic pregnancy, which include:
- Unusual period
- Usually a positive pregnancy test
- Unusual vaginal bleeding
- Abdominal/Pelvic pain
- Bladder/bowel problems
- Rectal pressure
- Shoulder tip pain
- Shock or collapse
There remains vital work to be done in raising awareness, improving timely diagnosis, and caretaking those so painfully impacted, both physically and emotionally, by ectopic pregnancy.
We stand beside Dame Laura Kenny when she asks:
“Ectopic pregnancies are the number one cause of maternal deaths in early pregnancy, and deaths are rising because symptoms are being missed. Why are we letting women die?”
Emotional impact
Laura’s important article may strike an emotional chord with so many women and families affected by ectopic pregnancy. She recalls the fear she felt heading into surgery, and the complicated trauma associated with experiencing a life-threatening emergency. Laura speaks with candour of loneliness, and isolating depression.
Laura also highlights the pure grief associated with the loss of a baby – often painfully overlooked during the medical emergency of an ectopic pregnancy. She reflects on the myriad of emotions fertility and future pregnancy can bring, but supportively writes:
“I wanted to show the world that losing a baby is nothing to be ashamed of and make sure no woman ever felt the loneliness I felt.”
Here at The EPT, we send our biggest support and thanks to Dame Laura Kenny for this vulnerable, vital conversation with Stylist. Our thanks also go to Stylist Magazine and Meena Alexander for crafting such a powerful and impactful piece. Sharing lived experience will forever help other people experiencing ectopic pregnancy, and together we can save lives.
