My Ectopic Pregnancy & Miscarriage Scare.

By Esther Rachel Lai. - 5/28/2015

Many of you have asked if I was hospitalised the other time due to my pregnancy. So since I think things are more or less stable now, I've decided to share more about what happened. But before I get to that, I thought I'd share more on how I found out about my current pregnancy and what happened after.

We found out about my pregnancy on the 15th of March through a home pregnancy test kit. Prior to that we'd already suspected that I might be pregnant cause I was having severe mood swings (like really damn bad) and I was constantly feeling fatigued. So we were just waiting for a missed period as a clear indication and when I missed my period by a week, that's when we decided to take the test. And as expected, it came out positive!
(yes, double lines indicate a positive pregnancy)

Shane was excited about the news but I was troubled. One was because we were in the midst of planning our wedding, the other which was the main thing that worried me, was because I'd been having slight pain on the right side of my pelvis the past couple of weeks and I was starting to believe that this was an ectopic pregnancy. Especially since I had a previous medical condition last year that increased my risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

What is an ectopic pregnancy you ask?

Well, it's when a fertilised egg gets stuck in the fallopian tubes instead of travelling all the way down to the uterus. It's also known as a tubal pregnancy. In some cases, the egg might even attach itself onto the ovaries or cervix instead. (See below for illustration)


& while a normal pregnancy is a usually a cause for celebration, an ectopic pregnancy is not. Because it means that your life is in danger and the pregnancy NEEDS to be terminated. Why so? Because if the egg is "alive" and it continues to grow inside of you, it'll end up rupturing your fallopian tubes which can cause severe bleeding and complications which might even be fatal. Often, ectopic pregnancies go unnoticed until there's severe pain or bleeding. 

& to make things worse, I felt a little lump on the side where my pelvis was hurting so I was utterly convinced it was an ectopic pregnancy. It was a Sunday when we found out about my pregnancy and that meant that all the Gynaes were closed. I couldn't get my mind off it so I decided to head down to KKH's A&E inspite of Shane telling me to wait till the next day. When we got there, I did an ultrasound and was told that she couldn't see anything in my womb! At that point, I just knew it was an ectopic pregnancy since the egg wasn't in my womb. Two tests proved that I was DEFINITELY pregnant, that meant the egg had to be somewhere else in my abdomen. OR that the embryo's still too small to be seen on the ultrasound.

I had my blood test taken and was told to go home and sleep on it. The doctor told us that should I receive a call that night or the next morning, it would mean that the results show that my hormone levels are really high and they should be seeing something in my womb if that's the case but since they're not, it would mean that something's wrong. If they didn't call me, then all I had to do was go back for another ultrasound to see if the embryo's grown and visible.

I was scared & convinced it was a tubal pregnancy but still I prayed for divine intervention. Shane and I were preparing for bed that night when at 11pm, I got a call from the hospital telling me that my hormone levels was really high and that I had to go back to get it checked. Since I wasn't in any severe pain, the doctor suggested I come in the next morning & so I did. That night, I cried myself to sleep with Shane holding me in his arms.

Shane accompanied me to the hospital that day and I had an internal ultrasound scan done alone with an external ultrasound. We waited for about an hour for the results and to our relief, there was the embryo in my womb! I was 6 weeks pregnant then! Apparently, the thing that was causing the discomfort on the side of my pelvis was a small blood clot but it was nothing to worry about. We were so relieved and majorly excited to tell the good news to our friends and family who were also extremely happy and relieved for us! Thank God!!

About, 12 weeks into my pregnancy however, I got the biggest scare of my life. 

I went to work that day as per normal albeit the slight cramping I felt (I reckon' it was normal because light cramping in early pregnancy is pretty normal). The evening before though, I actually felt a very sharp pain in my lower abdomen as I was using the toilet. It lasted for a few seconds and it hurt so bad, I almost let out a scream. I also remember texting Shane about it and telling him how I thought the baby was gonna come out. However the next day when I went to work, I noticed I was bleeding. It was fresh red blood & it wasn't merely light spotting, it was the kind of bleeding you get when it's the very start of your period. 

My mind ran wild at that moment & I couldn't hold back my tears, I kept thinking to myself that this was a miscarriage. I told my manager I had to rush to my gynae and I sobbed my way there in the taxi.

After contacting my gynae, I immediately phoned for Shane. But because he's on course and couldn't have his phone with him, I had to get hold of him through one of his sergeants. I think I sounded really panicky and flustered (technically I was) cause I could sense that his sergeant was really worried for me as well. Really grateful that he managed to release Shane from his classes and have him meet me at the clinic.

I knew I had to inform one of our parents too. I didn't want to call my mom cause I knew she'd panic and it wouldn't help me calm down either so I dialled my mother-in-law's number and informed her, thereafter, I called my dad who informed my mom on my behalf and like any other worried mother, my mom flew to Gleneagles quicker than Shane did (hahaha).

I was really hoping for Shane to be with me when I went in to see my gynae but I knew it'd be impossible for him to reach the clinic so quickly. I did the ultrasound alone cause nobody was there to accompany me yet & again, to all of our relief, our baby was doing fine. I however, had a ruptured blood vessel in my womb.

This was a snapshot of the ultrasound I had that day, it was such a relief seeing my baby inside of me, hearing his/her strong heartbeat. I couldn't help but break out a smile. 

My gynae ordered that I be warded and on bed-rest for two days at least so that the blood vessel will seal on it's own. That meant I had to do everything in bed, including peeing. He also told us that this shouldn't affect the baby and that it's actually pretty common - 10% of pregnant women has had a ruptured blood vessel. The fact that the baby and I were not in danger, was all that mattered.

I had a week's worth of rest at home after getting discharged. The bleeding stopped on the third day but it came back (this time not fresh red but old blood) & I was told that it should clear up within two days. The 5th night however, I suddenly had a surge of brown blood. Still I thought it wasn't anything to worry about and that it was just the blood clot clearing up. I decided to call my gynae the next morning to check if it really was normal (I still went to work for half a day the next morning) cause I was experiencing cramping again so he told me he'd better check me.

When Shane & I got there, we were told that my cervix was slightly open and that probably means that I haven't been resting enough. he gave us the option of being warded again or staying home BUT making sure I'll be on complete bed-rest, so we chose the latter. I went in for another checkup two days later and my gynae found out that this time, the bleeding's caused by my cervix being inflamed. I was given 2 weeks of MC and adhered to the bed-rest policy at home as I tried not to wiggle around or walk around too much. By the 10th day, all the bleeding cleared up and things are looking up again!

So right now, things are more or less stable and I'm trying to take it easy at work and home. I can't carry Kylie for fear I'd end up bleeding again although I miss having her close to me all the time. Thankfully, she's a really sensible little girl and she knows I can't carry her so she wouldn't demand to be carried. Praying that the rest of my pregnancy will go really smoothly & that I'd give birth to a healthy baby! Also, I should be knowing the gender of this little one next month! We're all really excited! I'd definitely be sharing it with you guys so stay tuned!!

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