Uterus and Ectopic pregnancy
Uterus
A hollow organ, the uterus is shaped like a pear and is normally about three inches long. The lining of your uterus, known as the endometrium, is velvety and rich in bloody tissue. Sitting right in the middle of your reproductive organs, the uterus, or womb, can hold only about a teaspoon of liquid ordinarily. When you are pregnant, it expands to the size of a watermelon to hold your growing baby. the amniotic fluid, and the placenta. Continually being renewed, the lining of your uterus builds up in response to messages sent by your hormones and then sheds itself once a month during your menstrual period when you don’t get pregnant. During the first half of your menstrual cycle, estrogen makes your endometrial lining thicken. As your ovaries release eggs midway through your monthly cycle, progesterone takes over and helps your body get ready for a possible pregnancy If no fertilized egg finds its way to your womb, the endometrium falls apart and you have a period. Your hormone levels are at their lowest during that very first day of your period.
Ectopic pregnancy
When the fertilized egg doesn’t travel all the way to the uterus for implantation in the endometrial lining. the result can be what is called an ectopic pregnancy. Trying to grow outside the womb, this ‘wayward egg can end up in your abdominal cavity. your ovary and even on your cervix; but mostectopic pregnancies occur in a fallopian tube. This is why they are often referred to as tubal pregnancies.
A dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation, an ectopic pregnancy ‘will give you warning signs of trouble. The three most important signs, according to New York obstetrician-gynecologist Howard Berk, M.D. are: “Bleeding, pain, and a positive pregnancy test.” You may experience severe cramps that begin on one side of your abdomen and travel to the other. This is a sharp, stabbing pain and it may hurt to move. You may start to bleed, be nauseous,
dizzy, fatigued beyond the ordinary and you must seek emergency medical treatment immediately. Go to a hospital. Don’t wait for the pain to pass. If the fertilized egg ruptures in your fallopian tube, you may bleed throughout your abdominal cavity. Surgery might be scheduled immediately. However. ultrasound and blood tests nowadays can help determine the diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy. New technology has given practitioners a variety of warning signs so the large majority are detected before they reach crisis proportions.