How has ectopic pregnancy shaped your life?
It had a big impact on my life. What started as a normal day at work led to me rushing home to my wife, who was having stomach pains, and then rushing to the hospitals emergency department after more than one 111 call.
With it being COVID, I had to leave her at the doors and wait, not knowing what was going on, until she rang to say she was pregnant – shocked, as we were using contraception.
With confirmation it was an ectopic pregnancy, she was rushed to another hospital for emergency surgery.
All of this she had to do alone, and I had to pack a bag for an overnight stay. I managed to just see her before she went in for surgery, and then I had to go home.
The medical staff rang near midnight to let me know the surgery went well and she was recovering.
Her recovery was slow, and she needed a lot of support to get back on her feet.
It’s hard to know how this has shaped my life, as I was so removed from any of it that it doesn’t feel real – and still doesn’t, to some extent. I know the bond between me and my wife grew stronger from this experience.
Since then, we have had a wonderful rainbow boy who is amazingly resilient and surprises us every day with what he can do.
What do you wish more people knew about ectopic pregnancy?
Everything, really. I never knew how many people experience ectopic pregnancy or that it was even something that could happen.
An interesting thing I learned was that, even with a removed Fallopian tube, you can still conceive from the same side. The wonders of the human body.
Thank you to Dave for sharing his experience for Ectopic Pregnancy Awareness Day. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
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