What causes ectopic pregnancies?
In: Biology
Ectopic pregnancies occur where the fetus is attached to the Fallopian tubes, so it doesn’t get down to the uterus, where it could form a viable fetus. Once it is attached, it can’t move. It also cannot grow to full size in the fallopian tube, so it normally either self terminates, or a medical termination is needed to save the mothers life (a bad ectopic pregnancy can be fatal, and the fetus has no chance of survival in any case).
There can be various causes of this, and certainly, some are unknown.
Injury to the fallopian tubes can certainly cause it. Endometriosis can cause it (it can cause stagnant ‘menstrual blood’ to accumulate and block the tube). An unusual shaped fallopain tube can also do it. Certain diseases can cause it, particularly those that cause inflammation or obstruction of the fallopian tube, as if it’s inflamed, or filled with pus from a bacterial infection, then the ovum is likely obstructed on its passage.
We would suspect that low but inadequate doses of contraceptives can cause it (causing delays to ovum release, but not preventing it), while I’ve yet to see solid research demonstrating this, the theory is sound.
And sometimes, the sperm just gets up there before the egg has finished its journey, and the attachment process gets activated too early. In other words, just unfortunate timing.
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