What are the risks for ectopic pregnancy?
Up to 50 % of women diagnosed with ectopic disease don’t have any risk factors. However, few of the conditions increasing the risk for ectopic gestation are:
- Previous ectopic pregnancy
- Tubal damage from infection or surgery
- History of infertility
- Therapy for in vitro fertilization
- Increased age
- Smoking
- Prior pelvic infection
- DES exposure
- IUD use
- Pregnancy conceived by assisted reproduction.
Is IVF a risk for ectopic pregnancy?
Risk of EP is more in women undergoing IVF treatment. This may be due to:
- The reproductive and medical characteristics of the woman
- Embryo quality and implantation potential
- A history of infertility in relation to age and duration
- Tubal factor infertility is associated with a two-fold risk of EP following IVF
Assisted reproductive technologies constitute a risk factor for EP, as 2–5 % of pregnancies from assisted reproductive technologies are ectopic.
Following are the factors contributing to this increased risk:
- Cycles triggered with gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists may have high risk of EP due to poor endometrial receptivity
- The more number of embryos, more the EP risk
- Transfer of embryo in mid cavity is safer than a fundal transfer
- The transfer of fresh embryos is associated with a higher EP risk than cryopreserved cycle due to hyperstimulation and hyperestrogenic environment affecting receptivity.