Rare Types Of Ectopic Pregnancy

In about 0.2 percent of ectopic pregnancies, an embryo will attach within one of the ovaries — because the egg never left the ovary and ended up being fertilized there. You may be surprised to hear that the common caustive factors of tubal pregnancies, infections and a history of pelvic surgery, don't seem to be responsible for causing ovarian pregnancies, though there is some indication that woman who previously had IVF are at a higher risk. Ovarian pregnancies don't typically develop beyond four weeks. An extremely vascular environment, the ovaries are prone to bleeding, and it's abdominal pain and bleeding that give the problem pregnancy away. 

 

Treatment can involve removing the entire ovary or a part of it — and in the latter case, it may still produce eggs later on. Methotrexate, the "abortion pill", can also be a viable treatment if the ovary hasn't started rupturing yet. 

 

Yes, ectopic pregnancies sometimes even implant within the cervix — again, we're talking about approximately 0.02 percent of ectopic prenancies, so it's exceedingly rare, but it can happen. Because the cervix, like the ovaries, is a very vessel-rich environment, this type of pregnancy is especially prone to hemhorrage when medical professionals attempt to remove the attached placenta. Though these pregnancies can be treated with Methotrexate or potassium chloride now, an emergency hysterectomy is unfortunately still a realistic outcome. When rupture occurs, the mother will almost certainly require blood transfusions.

 

A heterotopic pregnancy is a complex situation in which a woman is simultaneously experiencing a normal, uterine, prenancy and an ectopic pregnancy. This type of pregnancy is also sometimes referred to as a combined ectopic pregnancy or a multiple-sited pregnancy. Women on ovulation-stimulating drugs are at a higher risk of experiencing a heterotopic pregnancy.

READ Tubal ectopic pregnancy

If such pregnancies are diagnosed in a timely manner, the ectopic pregnancy can be treated while the baby developing inside the uterus survives. This is successfully achieved in about 30 percent of all heterotopic pregnancy cases.

Finally, an embryo can implant within the scar of a previous cesarean section. Though technically part of the uterus, this tissue isn't strong enough to support a growing fetus, and will lead to uterine rupture if it isn't detected. The possibility of a pregnancy developing within the scar of a previous c-section is one reason why women who previously delivered surgically require a higher level of care. As in the case of other types of ectopic pregnancy, surgery or Methotrexate are treatment options.