Ectopic pregnancy and pregnancy test. Does the test show an ectopic pregnancy? What can be the test results for an ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy symptoms test

According to medical statistics, one out of 100 pregnancies is ectopic, and the vast majority are tubal. This condition is detected early. Doubts about whether the test shows an ectopic pregnancy are present in women quite reasonably. The pathological condition is quite dangerous, and with prolonged inactivity it can lead to irreversible consequences. Therefore, it is important to find out as soon as possible where the fertilized egg has attached itself.

What is dangerous ectopic

An ectopic pregnancy is a pathological condition that poses a danger to the life and reproductive health of a woman. In all cases, it has only one outcome - interruption. How this process will take place depends on the timeliness of seeking medical help. In the early stages, an artificial medical abortion is possible, and for a longer period, surgery will be required. If you do not seek medical help, then the growth of the embryo will stop on its own, but at the same time it will provoke massive internal bleeding.

In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg is attached outside the cavity of the reproductive organ. In 9 cases out of 10, the embryo gets stuck while passing through the fallopian tubes. Less commonly, localization is observed in the abdominal cavity, on the ovary or in the cervix. Predisposing factors for the development of this condition are:

• inflammatory processes and diseases of the genital organs (including those of an infectious nature);
• diagnostic and surgical interventions in the uterine cavity;
• operations on the peritoneum;
• adhesive process;
• anatomical features of the structure of the uterus and appendages;
• intrauterine contraceptives;
• hormonal disorders;
• tumors.

Symptoms

Whether the test will be positive during an ectopic pregnancy can only be discussed after a delay in menstruation. It is then that most manufacturers recommend doing a home study. The first symptom of this condition can be attributed to all those that accompany a normal pregnancy that develops in the uterine cavity: drowsiness, slight malaise, nausea, sensitivity of the mammary glands. Later, the symptoms are supplemented by more clear signs:

• pains (occur due to displacement or stretching of the organ to which the embryo is attached);
• breakthrough bleeding (inadequate synthesis of a supporting hormone becomes a provoking factor);
• a change in the structure of the blood (an increase in leukocytes occurs due to the fact that the body perceives the fetal egg as a foreign object, therefore, the body's immune defense is turned on);
• a negative test gradually becomes positive.

Positive or negative?

An ectopic pregnancy test can be positive or negative. It all depends on the time of the home study. The level of chorionic gonadotropin increases even with unnatural attachment of the fetal egg. A unique substance produced in pregnant women begins to be synthesized immediately after the fusion of the sperm with the egg.

In the first days after attachment, it is still very small, so a pregnancy test determines a negative result. Further growth of the hormone occurs slowly, which does not allow to establish the fact of conception a few days before the expected menstruation, even with a highly sensitive device. A gradual increase in human chorionic gonadotropin leads to the fact that a few days after the delay, the pregnancy test shows two strips.

Sometimes these are full-fledged clear strips (if the test is sensitive), but in some cases their brightness casts doubt on the accuracy of the result. The question of whether the test will show an ectopic pregnancy can be answered both positively and negatively. The device will establish the fact of conception by detecting the presence of hCG in the biomaterial, but at the same time, the device cannot reliably determine that the pregnancy is developing in an unnatural place for it. That is, the test does not care what kind of pregnancy it is - normal uterine or ectopic. He "says" either "yes" or "no", regardless of where the egg is attached.

However, it must be borne in mind that the level of hCG (chorionic gonadotropin) with an ectopic grows more slowly than with a “healthy” pregnancy. Therefore, the second strip may be weak.

How the test helps to suspect an ectopic

A pregnancy test for an ectopic pregnancy shows a negative result before a missed period. Later, the home diagnostic device gives a weak positive response, which makes the woman think about the health of the system. After diagnosing, the potential expectant mother sees a clear control line, painted in saturated color and a weak test strip, which may be barely noticeable.

A repeated procedure, carried out with a break of several days, also does not give a convincing result. The test line becomes brighter, but does not match the color saturation of the control line. This suggests that the level of human chorionic gonadotropin for some reason remains low.

Whether the test will show an ectopic pregnancy in the early stages depends on its sensitivity. The lower the mIU range number on the package, the more likely the scan tool will return an early result. When using the test at the earliest possible date, one must be aware of their inaccuracy and the likelihood of receiving a false positive response.

Electronic pregnancy tests with improper attachment of the fetal egg can make a woman think about the normal development of a new life. If standard flatbeds and strip strips give a dim second line, then the digital device will show an exact positive answer. When choosing an electronic test for research in case of suspected ectopic, preference should be given to devices that indicate the period. Such devices determine the level of gonadotropin in the urine, as a result of which they show a lower value in weeks, which does not correspond to women's calculations.

hcg in the blood

With an ectopic pregnancy, the test shows a clear positive answer, leaving no doubt, only if the test is highly sensitive, or for a longer period. Often at this time, a woman already feels unpleasant symptoms that report a pathological condition: pain, weakness, bleeding and fainting.

The volume of hCG produced during unnatural attachment of the fetal egg increases, but its amount does not double every 1.5-2 days, as in uterine pregnancy. It is definitely impossible to talk about how fast the unique hormone will increase, since a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the female body and the place of implantation of the embryo.

Statistics show that tubal pregnancy is terminated earlier than intra-abdominal or cervical. Based on this, we can conclude that the probability of obtaining a positive test in the latter cases will be higher.

Many women with a history of gynecological problems are afraid of an ectopic pregnancy. The test will show whether or not the pathological condition depends on the duration, sensitivity of the device and the time of the study. If doubts arise, and the result of the study is fuzzy, false positive or doubtful, then the right decision would be to conduct a laboratory analysis. You can donate blood for hCG in a paid clinic or in the direction of a gynecologist for free.

Blood testing is carried out in several stages. This approach, taking into account all the criteria, will allow, with the maximum probability, to establish an ectopic pregnancy, which will be reliably confirmed by ultrasound.

The first blood test shows a low level of hCG. The second analysis is scheduled in 2-3 days. Its result is evaluated according to two criteria:

• how much hCG is present in the blood (usually it is below generally accepted standards);
• how much the level of gonadotropin has increased since the last study (with an ectopic pregnancy, it increases no more than 1-1.5 times in 2-3 days).

A table that establishes the normal growth of hCG will help to assess the growth of hCG in more detail.

So, you can answer the question of whether the test determines an ectopic pregnancy as follows:

• the device gives a positive result, but in the early stages the second line is weak or barely noticeable;
• re-diagnosis may show a more accurate line, but it will still remain dull;
• the diagnostic device casts doubt on the result and suggests an ectopic, but it does not reliably show it;

it is possible that the result of the study will be negative even after a delay.

Every woman expecting a baby wants an easy and trouble-free pregnancy. However, often the expectant mother is embraced not only by joyful feelings, but also begins to overcome anxiety for the unborn baby. Is everything in order with my health, is the baby developing well and is it attached in the right place? These and other questions are asked by many women as soon as they see a positive test result. The fear of an ectopic pregnancy is one of the most common. Let's see if we can identify it ourselves.

The concept of pregnancy outside the uterus and its symptoms

An ectopic pregnancy is an extremely life-threatening condition for a woman that requires immediate medical attention.

During the normal course of pregnancy, during ovulation, the egg enters the fallopian tube, where it is fertilized, and then pushed into the uterine cavity. The whole process takes from 5 to 12 days, on average - 7-10. Then the process of implantation of the fetal egg into the uterine membrane begins. The place of attachment of the embryo will not change after the chorionic villi are introduced into the endometrium, where the baby will develop until the very birth.

Sometimes it happens that the egg does not have time to enter the uterine cavity and implantation occurs in the tube, neck, ovary, and even on the organs of the peritoneum. This pathology is diagnosed in 2.5% of all pregnancies and is called ectopic. Such a complication is very dangerous because the tissues of other organs are not adapted for bearing. Therefore, penetrating into their walls, an ectopic pregnancy causes abundant internal blood loss. The fallopian tubes, which account for 98% of all ectopic (outside the uterus) attachments of the fetal egg, do not have such elastic tissues, and do not stretch if the embryo begins to grow in them, they break. Without emergency medical attention, this condition can lead to very serious consequences.

Sometimes the cause of pregnancy outside the uterus remains unknown, but it often occurs if the woman has a history of:

• hormonal disorders;
• operations and curettage;
• inflammatory diseases of the uterus or appendages;
• adhesions in the organs of the peritoneum;
• abnormal development and structure of the reproductive organs;
• tortuous or impassable fallopian tubes;
• tumors in the abdomen.

What does a woman feel during an ectopic pregnancy? At first, there may not be any special sensations, or these are the usual symptoms that accompany pregnancy. These include toxicosis, lack of menstruation, breast enlargement and soreness, slight pulling pain in the lower abdomen, which women mistakenly take for the work of the corpus luteum or the growing uterus. At a period of 7–8 obstetric weeks, when the fetal egg reaches a certain size and internal bleeding or rupture of the tube occurs, the symptoms change:

• the pregnant woman begins to feel severe pain in the abdomen, often radiating to the anus, which is permanent or cramping;
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever may begin;
• spotting blood discharge, but since the blood loss is internal, this symptom may not be observed or it may appear even before the onset of pain;
• a feeling of weakness, loss of strength, low blood pressure indicate the onset of internal bleeding;
• no period and a positive pregnancy test.

The long-awaited pregnancy of a friend turned out to be ectopic. She did not experience any pain, there were the usual manifestations of toxicosis and an increase in the mammary glands. The complication was discovered during an ultrasound examination. The pregnancy was tubal, and the fetal egg was so large that it almost led to a rupture of the tube. It is already dangerous to leave the ultrasound room in this condition, and the girl was urgently hospitalized in the gynecological department for an operation. At that time, it was possible to remove an ectopic only by surgery, while the tube and ovary were removed. Currently, such interventions are performed using laparoscopy. This operation is more gentle and allows you to save the reproductive organs, thereby increasing the chances of a subsequent natural pregnancy.

It is important not to miss the development of this pathology and, if dangerous symptoms occur, immediately consult a doctor. An important element of diagnosis is ultrasound using a vaginal probe. The disadvantage of such an examination can only be a very short gestational age, but with modern equipment and with a good doctor’s qualification, it became possible to notice a fetal egg at a period of 4-5 obstetric weeks or 2-3 weeks from conception.

Do routine tests show an ectopic pregnancy?

The principle of operation of pregnancy tests is based on the detection of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin.

Standard tests respond to the content of a certain hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This substance is produced by the fleecy membrane (chorion), with its help, the fertilized egg is attached to the walls of the uterus. The chorion is formed regardless of whether the process of implantation into the uterine membrane occurs or not. Therefore, with a pathological location of the pregnancy, the test will give the same result as with the implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

How to use a pregnancy test

There are different types of tests to determine pregnancy.

The usual tests for home use are very simple. To find out the result, you need to collect morning urine and immerse the test strip in it to the indicated level for a few seconds. After that, the test must be left to lie down on a horizontal surface for as long as the manufacturer recommends. This time can vary from 2 to 10 minutes. Then we evaluate the result, if only one strip is clearly visible - the test is negative, two - mean pregnancy.

Evaluate the result of the test strips is not difficult even for those women who use it for the first time

There are also inkjet tests. For them, there is no need to collect urine in an additional container. You just need to urinate on the test and wait a certain time to get a reliable result. Manufacturers claim that inkjet tests are more sensitive and can detect pregnancy earlier than test strips.
Inkjet tests do not require urine collection in a separate container

There are also more modern options - electronic tests. Their principle of operation is the same as that of test strips, only they give the result on a small electronic display. Also, these tests write the estimated period from conception, which is very convenient for women who have a floating cycle length. Electronic tests should be done only after a delay in order to avoid a false negative result.
Modern digital tests help not only to detect the presence of pregnancy, but also to determine its duration.

Does the test show pregnancy before the delay

On the packaging, manufacturers usually indicate how long it should be tested. Most of them are recommended to be used from the first day of the absence of menstruation. However, some contain information that you can find out the exact result from 5-7 days after conception.

If you can't wait to do the test before the delay, then you should pay attention to its sensitivity. Sensitivity is considered the lowest - 10 mIU / ml, followed by tests marked 15, 20, 25 and 30. The term for the hCG hormone to enter the bloodstream may vary, it depends on the rate of implantation of the egg. Usually, pre-delay tests are used by women planning a baby. In this case, you need to be prepared for the fact that the result will be weakly positive, that is, the second strip will be very pale. This only says that the level of hCG in the blood is still low and it is worth redoing the test in a couple of days.
More sensitive tests can show the presence of pregnancy before the delay and allow you to track the growth of hCG

During the long planning of the second child, a friend began to do tests from the 10th day after ovulation, using regular test strips. On the first day, the second line appeared so pale that it was visible only in certain lighting conditions. But even so, the test could not be called non-pregnant. From experience, the friend knew that the reagents were gray and the pregnancy strip was pink. But, even having this information, it was also not possible to say with certainty that this was a manifestation of pregnancy, and not a reagent that had come out. A few days later, the test already showed a clearly visible, albeit slightly colored, second stripe.

If we talk about electronic tests, they do not always respond to pregnancy before the delay. Simply put, they will give a positive result when pregnancy is already clearly shown on ordinary test strips.

Sometimes it happens that the test begins to show a barely noticeable, but already clearly visible second strip, but the menstruation still comes on time or with a slight delay. This situation is called biochemical pregnancy. It is most often caused by genetic abnormalities in the formation of the embryo. Such a pregnancy is spontaneously interrupted as soon as it begins.

What will the test show in the early stages

Gynecologists recommend doing pregnancy tests after a missed period to get a more accurate result.

Starting from the first day of the absence of menstruation or two weeks after ovulation, the level of hCG in the blood and in the urine is already quite high. Thanks to this, any tests, regardless of their cost and company, will show the presence or absence of pregnancy. The stripes will be clearly visible, and the electronic test will write how long the woman is from conception. It should be noted that the intensity of the staining of the strips should not affect the interpretation of the result, if two stripes are clearly visible, then the test should be considered as positive.

The reasons for a negative test in the absence of menstruation can be:

• hormonal disbalance;
• late ovulation, in which case the probability of pregnancy is not excluded and it is necessary to repeat the test in a few days;
• late implantation of the egg, it is necessary to wait a couple of days for the hCG concentration to double and repeat the test;
• drinking a lot of fluids or urinating frequently before the test.

Unfortunately, pregnancy tests can also give a false positive result:

• if there are tumor formations or cysts;
• when taking hormonal drugs, which include the hCG hormone;
• some time after a miscarriage, until traces of the hormone leave the body;
• defective test, expired expiration date, violation of storage conditions.

Although the brightness of the bands does not affect the interpretation of the result, however, there are nuances. If, in the presence of a delay, the tests continue to give out a very weak second strip, or the electronic test does not increase the number of expected weeks of pregnancy, or even gives out “not pregnant”, in this case you should be wary. Such results may appear with the threat of termination of pregnancy, when the concentration of hCG drops during detachment of the fetal egg, as well as with a frozen or ectopic pregnancy. You should seek the advice of a doctor, conduct an ultrasound examination and, possibly, follow the dynamics of hCG in the blood.

Are there specific tests to detect an ectopic pregnancy?

Inexsreen pathological pregnancy test Inexsreen pathological pregnancy test Modern pharmacology produces tests that can detect an ectopic pregnancy or a threatened miscarriage

As we have already found out, the presence of pregnancy can be determined using conventional tests. What about the issue of an ectopic? And what to do in the case when the tests show a positive result, but the fetal egg is not found on the ultrasound? Special tests will come to the rescue, which will help not only to determine whether there is a pregnancy, but also with a high probability will show whether the embryo has attached to the uterus.

Overview of the Inexscreen Special Test

Medicine and pharmacology do not stand still, and one of the latest innovations in the gynecological industry is the Inexscreen test for determining pathological or ectopic pregnancy. The accuracy of this device is very high and is 90%. To obtain a reliable result on the pathology of gestation, the study must be carried out for a period of 5-7 obstetric weeks, and Inexscreen can be used as a regular pregnancy test from the first day of the absence of menstruation. For analysis, you will need to take a few drops of fresh urine and follow a simple procedure:

• warm the cassette with the dough to room temperature and then unpack;
• drip 3-4 drops of the freshest urine possible into a special compartment;
• wait 5 minutes;
• evaluate the result.

Inexscreen gives a result with a high probability - more than 90%

How is Inexscreen different from regular pregnancy tests? Standard tests respond to the presence of total chorionic gonadotropin, and the Inexscreen system allows you to detect a modified isoform of this hormone, determining the presence of an ectopic pregnancy or the threat of spontaneous miscarriage.

When evaluating the test result, there are three options:

• if only control bands appear in fields A and B, then there is no pregnancy;
• a test line appeared in field B, but not in field A, or it is pale, or test strips of the same intensity appeared on both fields - pregnancy is and is developing normally;
• if a test line appears in field A, and no or pale in field B, then there is a high probability of a pathological pregnancy or miscarriage.

As you can see, it is quite simple to conduct a test and interpret its result. The Inexscreen system is widely available, and it can be purchased both in regular pharmacies and through online stores. The price today fluctuates within 700 rubles, which is several times higher than the cost of a conventional test, but when it comes to such a dangerous pathology as an ectopic pregnancy, you should not save on health.

If you suspect that you are pregnant - in any case, you should consult a doctor. Of course, now there are many tests of various types that have a very high sensitivity and show. But, unfortunately, they do not give a 100% guarantee of the correct result. Only a gynecologist can say with certainty whether you are pregnant or not, and, as a rule, only after an examination. But this is necessary not only to make a “diagnosis”, but also to exclude development, which can be very dangerous for a woman.

In the case when the pregnancy test is negative, and you feel and worry - you just need to run to the doctor! It is better to undergo a gynecological examination and be calm that everything is in order.

However, it should be said that in the early stages, even (and even more so a gynecologist) does not always determine the presence of an ectopic pregnancy (since the fetus is still too small, or the fetal egg may not even be formed yet). Can a test show an ectopic pregnancy? It depends how you pose this exciting question. If you ask several people (including specialists) whether the test can detect an ectopic pregnancy, you will get several different answers: it can’t, of course it can, it doesn’t always, it can’t in any way, and so on. Whom to believe? Let's try to figure it out.

First you need to understand for yourself what a pregnancy test is and how it works. Any such test is aimed at determining in the urine of a woman (human chorionic gonadotropin) - a hormone that is evidence that pregnancy has occurred. This hormone is localized in the placenta that begins to form, and not in the uterus. Therefore, if there is a pregnancy (any, including pathological), the test should show this. Another thing is that with the help of a conventional home test it is impossible to determine whether a pregnancy is normal or pathological. For this, it is necessary to undergo an examination by a gynecologist as soon as possible in order to exclude such a possibility.

Doctors say that in the event of an ectopic pregnancy, the level of hCG is significantly lower than during a normal one. Therefore, tests may not recognize such a pregnancy, that is, they may not show it. So whatever one may say, but in the absence of menstruation at the right time, it is better to go to the gynecologist. The same applies to the situation when your test is positive, but you observe spotting spotting. Your doctor will refer you for a transvaginal ultrasound with a transducer inserted into your vagina. And if there is a need for this - and on the corresponding blood (he will definitely show everything).

However, there are tests that not only determine the presence of a fetus, but also recognize an ectopic pregnancy or the threat of spontaneous abortion at the earliest possible date. Among these is the INEXSCREEN test cassette. It is used both for early diagnosis of pregnancy from the first day of delayed menstruation, and to determine the likelihood of a pathological pregnancy. This test is based on an immunochromatographic assay. What does it mean?

All tests are based on determining the level of the hCG hormone in a woman's urine. The INEXSCREEN test for pathological (ectopic) pregnancy reveals the ratio of two isoforms of this hormone: modified and intact. With a normal pregnancy, about 10% of the modified chorionic gonadotropin is in the hCG structure. In ectopic pregnancy, the content of hCG is significantly lower than 10%, which is a diagnostic criterion for pathology. Such a test is an innovation, it is quite complex in scientific terms, but it is easy to implement in practice by every woman at home. The only thing to keep in mind is that the diagnosis of physiological pregnancy can be carried out from the first day of the delay, but the test determines an ectopic pregnancy 1-2 weeks later.

With regard to reliability, the test for a pathological course of pregnancy is 90% reliable for ectopic pregnancy, and 65% for spontaneous abortion. And it should be noted that these are quite high figures. And in order for the result of the test to be as accurate as possible, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules:

1. Urine for testing should be used as soon as it is received. During storage, the transformation of chorionic gonadotropin from one form to another occurs, and the result cannot be sufficiently reliable.
2. An opened test cassette must be used immediately.
3. Before conducting the test, you must carefully study the instructions and use it when interpreting the results.
4. In case of warning symptoms ( , ), regardless of the test results, you should seek medical help.

Specially for- Elena Kichak

Quickly and with high reliability, pharmacy express tests are able to show pregnancy at an early stage. But they give false results if the pregnancy is ectopic. Why is this happening? Let's figure it out.

How is the process of conception in the female body

The birth of a new life does not begin in the uterus, but much earlier, even in the fallopian tube. The whole path from the fertilization of the egg to its attachment with the help of the chorion to the uterine wall can be divided into several stages:

• At the moment of the meeting of the egg and sperm, the genetic codes merge, and a new genotype is formed, which the unborn child receives. The fusion of male and female sex cells occurs inside the fallopian tube. In this, the earliest, period, a pregnancy test will not show anything, and the woman will only feel signs of past ovulation.
• 3 days after the fusion of the spermatozoon and the egg, the embryo, which has 10-16 cells, begins to move under the influence of contractile movements of the fallopian tube towards the uterine cavity. If the contractile movements are weak or the patency of the tubes is impaired, then the embryo will not be able to reach the uterus and will attach itself to any mucosa rich in blood vessels. As a result of improper attachment of the embryo, an ectopic pregnancy occurs. If the process occurs without pathologies, then the embryo is attached to a small section of the uterine wall with the help of the chorion.

Regardless of the place of attachment of the fetal egg, the female body receives a signal about the upcoming motherhood and begins to prepare for bearing the fetus. Normal pregnancy and ectopic are felt by the reproductive system in the same way, and as a result, the production of the hormone hCG begins, which contributes to the full bearing of the fetus. It is the presence of this hormone in the urine that helps to determine pregnancy in the early stages with the help of a test.

As a rule, the test shows a positive result in 2 strips on the 10-14th day after fertilization.

Unfortunately, the test can show two strips both with the development of an ectopic and with a normal pregnancy. It is important to know: with an ectopic pregnancy, the second strip may be weak or not appear even in the third week after conception.

But if the test does not detect an ectopic pregnancy, then how can it be recognized?

Additional signs of improper attachment of the embryo

Although the test does not determine the exact location of the embryo, it will show that fertilization has occurred. An ectopic pregnancy can be suspected if, after 2 weeks of delay after the expected date of menstruation (4-5 weeks from the moment of fertilization), the woman has two or more of the following symptoms.

Low pressure

It is accompanied by frequent dizziness, sometimes reaching fainting, especially if such health disorders have not been observed before. If these symptoms suddenly appear, even if the test result is doubtful or weakly positive, you should immediately visit a doctor. Sometimes, with pathological fixation of the embryo, the production of hCG is so small that the express method for detecting conception simply does not detect this hormone.

Pathologically low level of hCG hormone

Sometimes, when a fetal egg is attached outside the uterus, the production of hCG is so small that the test shows only one strip or the second one appears very pale, and the fact of fertilization of the egg can only be assumed from the results of blood tests.

Scanty spotting

They are very different from the usual menstruation. Many women, when such a “daub” appears, are often sure that menstruation began after a delay, especially if the test was negative due to a small production of hCG.

They may be accompanied by a slight tint or pass completely without discharge. As a rule, few women associate such pains with the fact that the embryo has attached itself not to the uterine wall, but to a completely different organ, and they seek medical help only when the pain becomes too intense (the growing fetus stretches the organ that is not adapted for childbearing, provoking severe pain syndrome).

Minor subfebrile temperature

An increase in temperature is often accompanied by signs of a mild cold. Such a syndrome also occurs in the early stages with a normal location of the fetus, but in combination with other signs, it is advisable to undergo a medical examination that determines whether a woman is pregnant or not.

Other signs

Reliable medical signs of the development of the embryo outside the uterine cavity are the following indicators:

• The presence in the blood test of the hormone hCG, even in a small amount. This hormone is produced only during pregnancy. A false positive result can only occur if the woman has recently had an abortion and her hormonal levels have not yet returned to normal.
• An increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood. Often, an organ that is not adapted for childbearing perceives an embryo attached to it as a threat and activates protective immune forces. The degree of production of leukocytes depends on the genetic characteristics of the male germ cell that fertilized the egg, and on the resulting fetal genotype. For example, an Rh-negative mother will have a violent reaction to an abnormally located Rh-positive fetus, and the leukocyte count may indicate the presence of a serious inflammatory process.

• During a gynecological examination, the uterus does not correspond in size to the expected term of conception.
• Ultrasound data does not confirm the presence of an embryo in the uterine cavity. But if there is a suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy, then with the help of ultrasound, the entire abdominal cavity of the woman is examined, paying special attention to those places where pain is noted. As a rule, with the help of ultrasound diagnostics, it is possible to accurately determine not only the pathological location of the fetus, but also the period of its development.

With the help of ultrasound data, it is possible not only to determine the term and location of the fetal egg, but also to choose the least traumatic method in order to help the pregnant woman.

So can the test determine the onset of an ectopic pregnancy? Unfortunately no. But its result can serve, in the presence of concomitant symptoms, as an indirect sign of the pathological location of the child and serve as a reason to consult a doctor.

Women should remember that it is impossible to eliminate an ectopic pregnancy on their own, but going to the doctor at an early stage will make the removal of the embryo less traumatic for the female body.

In a normal pregnancy, after ovulation, the egg is released into the fallopian tube. Here it meets with the spermatozoon, fertilization occurs and the embryo is formed. After that, within seven days, the embryo moves through the fallopian tube into the uterus, and attaches to its wall. Thus, fertilization does not occur in the uterus, but in the fallopian tube.

However, it happens that for some reason the embryo remains in the fallopian tube and on the seventh day it is attached not to the wall of the uterus, but to the wall of the tube. This is a tubal, or ectopic, pregnancy.

Many women are interested in whether the test detects an ectopic pregnancy. The fact is that if the fetal egg is attached outside the uterus, the usual pregnancy test will still be positive. That is, just like a normal, ectopic pregnancy is determined by a pregnancy test.

However, sometimes with an ectopic pregnancy, a pregnancy test shows a faint second line. This is due to the fact that the level of hCG in the case of an ectopic pregnancy usually does not rise as quickly as in a normal pregnancy. If you do not intervene in time, the ectopic pregnancy will terminate itself at 7-8 weeks, and all this will be accompanied by significant blood loss, pain and serious problems for the woman's health.

Signs of an ectopic pregnancy

In order not to lead to a dangerous development of events, you need to know the signs of an ectopic pregnancy - a pregnancy test may not give a result in the first days after conception, and even during a delay it may show only a weak second strip.

An ectopic pregnancy has the following symptoms:

• pulling pains down in the abdomen,
• spotting on the background of a positive pregnancy test.

If you notice these symptoms in yourself, immediately go to the gynecologist. He will conduct an ultrasound, and if the pregnancy is ectopic, then there will be no fetal egg in the uterus, but there will be an overgrowth of the epithelium, as in a normal pregnancy. If you are at risk (adhesions, inflammation of the appendages, an ectopic pregnancy has already occurred), it is better to do a quantitative blood test in the laboratory. The doctor will determine the exact level of hCG in the blood and monitor its dynamics. Normally, the level of this hormone in the first weeks of pregnancy increases one and a half to two times every other day. With an ectopic pregnancy, the hCG test shows a low growth rate. By the way, it is also necessary to make such a pregnancy test if you suspect a missed pregnancy in the early stages. If the embryo freezes in development, the level of hCG stops growing, which will be seen in this analysis.

How to determine pregnancy without a test

A modern woman wants to know about the onset of pregnancy as early as possible. Now there are pharmacy tests for this, so you can do it quickly, simply and inexpensively, but our mothers and grandmothers did not have such an opportunity, but there was a desire. Saved people's pregnancy tests. The experience of their use was passed from mouth to mouth and, even if their reliability was low, women always had high hopes for them. Now there is no point in using them, but we will give an example of one such popular pregnancy test. A small container was filled with urine and a drop of iodine was dripped into it. If the drop began to blur, then there was no pregnancy, and if the iodine remained on the surface, then most likely the woman was pregnant. No doctor today, of course, will recommend focusing on the result of such a test.

Theoretically, there are several more ways to determine pregnancy without a test. We pay attention - it is theoretically, since their reliability is quite small. The fact is that early pregnancy has a number of manifestations that can sometimes also be present in a woman who is not expecting a baby. Therefore, the signs that we list are absolutely relative:

• delayed menstruation,
• nausea,
• soreness of the mammary glands,
• pulling pain in the lower abdomen,
• more frequent urination
• irritability, tearfulness, drowsiness.

As you can see, all these manifestations are also found in women during premenstrual syndrome. Therefore, they can be guided only, for example, to confirm two strips on a pregnancy test. But in no case should all these states be “written off” for the onset of pregnancy.

There is also a method for determining pregnancy by measuring basal body temperature. To do this, a woman must regularly maintain a special schedule and monitor all temperature fluctuations. During pregnancy, the basal temperature does not drop below 37ºС. This means that if menstruation has not occurred, but the temperature is kept elevated, then, most likely, pregnancy has occurred.

For some women, the plots they see in a dream are a kind of pregnancy test. They know the dream book almost by heart and can always say that a fish seen in a dream, swimming in clean water, or the image of a married couple with a third living being are harbingers of a positive pregnancy test. How seriously you take this is up to you. Free online pregnancy tests can also be attributed to the same category of more entertaining than reliably informative pregnancy tests.