What Causes Ectopic Pregnancy?

I need to know howectopic pregnancyoccurs. How does it happen or when?

Ectopic pregnancyispregnancyin a place other than in the womb (uterinecavity). It usually takes 3 or 4 days for the fertilized egg to travel to the uterus from the fallopian tubes, and 3 more days for it to implant. In ectopic pregnancy, something either blocks or holds up the process of the embryo traveling to where it needs to be, ie: implanted in the uterus.

The vast majority of cases of ectopic pregnancy are tubalpregnancies, where the pregnancy is in the fallopian tube. Usually, this occurs because of a pastpelvic inflammatory disease(PID). About 5% of women who have PID will later develop ectopic pregnancy's sometimes years later. Sometimes the woman will not even know she had a prior PID long ago and will be surprised to find this out. The PID infection causes inflammation that can block the embryo from its required travel through the fallopian tube into the uterinecavity. Known causes of ectopic pregnancy besides PID includeendometriosis, prior ectopic pregnancy ortubal ligation,infertility,cigarette smoking,intrauterine device, andprogesterone-basedcontraception, congenital abnormalities, diethylstilbestrol exposure.

Thank you for your question.

Medical Author: Carolyn Janet Crandall, M.D.