Heterotopic Pregnancy Treatment

A woman experiencing a heterotopic pregnancy may or may not have symptoms. This is especially concerning since half of these pregnancies are only diagnosed when the fallopian tube ruptures.

If symptoms are present, they may include:

Abnormal vaginal bleeding

• Bloating
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Mild-to-severe abdominal pain or cramping
• Nausea
• Pain in the side
• Vomiting

If you are experiencing severe pain, heavy bleeding, feeling faint, or have any other worrisome symptoms, go to the emergency room, as a ruptured tube can be deadly if untreated.

Quite simply, it is difficult for doctors to diagnose heterotopic pregnancy in its early stages. Women may have vaginal bleeding and cramping, but these are symptoms that can occur even in a normal pregnancy.

At the same time, it is easy to miss a heterotopic pregnancy during a routine ultrasound since the technician may only check the developing fetus in the uterus and not think to look beyond that. If there is a suspicion of a heterotopic pregnancy, it usually is only by week four or five that it can be confirmed or ruled out by ultrasound.

Until then, the pregnant person would need to be monitored closely with blood tests until a definitive diagnosis can be made. The same should apply to people who have undergone an assisted reproductive procedure if experiencing any of the above-listed symptoms.

Any fetus located outside the uterus cannot survive, and its presence could cause potentially life-threatening bleeding in the mother if a tissue spontaneously ruptures. As a result, these pregnancies must be terminated.

The good news is that it is often possible to do so without terminating the healthy intrauterine pregnancy. This process typically involves surgery, which may or may not require the removal of the affected fallopian tube.