I’ve been with my partner for nearly three years and, after 18 months, we finally conceived. The month prior, my GP (general practitioner) had referred me for fertility tests, as I’d previously suffered two miscarriages with my previous partner.
When I found out I was pregnant, we were both over the moon. However, it was short-lived. Two days after I got a positive pregnancy test, I started spotting. Having gone through miscarriages before, I automatically assumed it was happening again. My pregnancy symptoms had stopped, the sickness, sore breasts, etc.
An ectopic pregnancy didn’t even cross my mind. I just stayed at home and hoped the bleeding and pain would subside in a week or so.
I knew something was different with this pregnancy, though. Four weeks later, I was still bleeding, which prompted me to go to my GP (general practitioner) for advice. She asked if I’d done another test and whether it was negative. I lied and said yes, as I just presumed it would be, and that my body was getting rid of any remaining tissue.
However, later that night, the pain started getting progressively worse. The doctor’s comments earlier about taking another pregnancy test worried me, so I did one, and got a clear positive straight away. The lines were stronger than they were when I initially tested four weeks earlier. I knew at that point this was an ectopic pregnancy.
I went straight to the hospitals emergency department, where I was referred to gynaecology. They didn’t want to admit me, as they didn’t think it was an ectopic pregnancy – despite the fact I had been bleeding for nearly five weeks and had left-sided pain. They insisted on repeating bloods to check whether my pregnancy hormone levels were dropping.
After seven long days of excruciating pain and going back and forth to the hospital, they came to the conclusion that the pregnancy was in an unknown location because my hormone levels weren’t dropping, which I knew from the start.
They decided to admit me overnight. In the morning, I was rushed for an emergency ultrasound, where they found internal bleeding. My left Fallopian tube had started to rupture. Within an hour, I had five doctors standing around my bed telling me the only option was to remove the Fallopian tube. Four hours later, I was rushed to theatre for emergency surgery.
I’m now six months post-op, and the sense of grief still haunts me. I worry, will I ever get the chance to be a mum? It took me so long to conceive with two Fallopian tubes. Now I feel like my time will never come with only one.
The whole experience has completely traumatised me, to the point that I am not emotionally ready to try again any time soon.
If I could say one thing, it would be: please listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right, get it checked. I can’t help but feel that if I had known it was an ectopic sooner, I might have avoided losing my Fallopian tube.
Sending love and prayers to any woman that has to go through this – and just know, you’re not alone.
Thank you to our contributor for sharing or choosing to share her experience for Ectopic Pregnancy Awareness Day. If you would like to share your experience of ectopic pregnancy, please visit our guide for more information.
Please remember our support services are available at any time.