| Ectopic Pregnancy - A Complication Of Pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the fertilized ovum is implanted in any tissue other than the uterine wall.
Ectopic pregnancy, also known as a tubal pregnancy, is a potentially life-threatening form of pregnancy in which implantation of the fertilized egg occurs outside the uterus.
An ectopic pregnancy can happen to any sexually active woman, but certain women are more at risk than others. Your odds of having an ectopic pregnancy are higher if:
• You get pregnant despite having had a tubal ligation (surgical sterilization).
• You've had surgery on your fallopian tubes to correct a problem or to reverse a tubal ligation. (Your risk is also higher, though to a much smaller degree, if you've had other pelvic or abdominal surgery, such as the removal of an ovarian cyst or fibroids, an appendectomy, or a cesarean section.)
• You had a previous ectopic pregnancy.
• Your mother took the drug DES while pregnant with you.
• You have an intrauterine device (IUD) in place when you get pregnant. Although IUDs are close to 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, if you do get pregnant while using one, it's more likely that the pregnancy will be ectopic. An IUD doesn't cause an ectopic pregnancy, it's just better at preventing an egg from implanting in your uterus than outside it. (Having used an IUD in the past won't raise your risk for ectopic pregnancy.)
Woman With Half An Ovary Gives Birth to Baby Boy
A woman with just half an ovary, who had all but given up on having a baby, has given birth to a baby boy, according to Britain's Daily Mail. Trudi Siviter, who was left with just part of her left ovary after suffering cancer of the cervix as a teen, had two ectopic pregnancies as an adult and three failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization. Doctors said what was left of her ovary was not functioning properly and believed her womb was not strong enough to carry a child. But three months before having a complete hysterectomy, the 39-year-old discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth naturally to a son at Staffordshire General Hospital in the United Kingdom on Dec. 7. Alfie was born eight months into the pregnancy and weighed just 3 pounds, 8 ounces, but doctors say he is healthy.
Twins adopted as embryos: 'Living proof' stirs stem cell debate
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. When President Bush vetoed a bill June 20 that would have provided federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Mike and Nicole Bell of Traverse City, Mich., were among those Americans rejoicing. The Bells have two children, 17-month-old twins Michael and Paige, born via a relatively new method called embryo adoption. Michael and Paige once were so-called leftover embryos, stored frozen in a lab -- the same type of embryos many scientists want to use for research. They very well could still be there, if not for Mike and Nicole. "They were orphans in a different sense of the word," Nicole, 35, told Baptist Press. "Embryos are not just cells. They're little people. "We are opposed to embryonic stem cell research but we are in favor of other types of stem cell research -- adult stem cells, [umbilical] cord blood stem cells.
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