Cover
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2013)

Published: July 31, 2013

Pages: 38-43

Research Article

Studying the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy among spontaneous and assisted conception

Fakhir S. Al-Ani 1 Huda M. Mohammed
1Department of Clinical Reproductive Physiology, High Institute of Infertility Diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technology/Al-Nahrain University
History
  • Received: April 1, 2013
  • Available Online: July 1, 2013

Abstract

Background: An ectopic pregnancy, or eccyesis, is a complication of pregnancy in which the pregnancy implants outside the uterine cavity. Theoretically, differences between conception via ART and natural conception may affect the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Data on the risk factors for developing ectopic pregnancy after IVF are still inconsistent. There is controversy whether ART increase or decrease the ectopic pregnancy. Objectives: To describe the occurrence or risk factors of ectopic pregnancy following IUI, IVF and spontaneous pregnancy. Patients and Methods: The recorded cases of ectopic pregnancy in the period between January 2010 to January 2011 in four teaching hospitals and two private hospitals were surveyed. New cases in the period between July 2011 to July 2012 in two teaching hospitals were also included in this study. The data was collected from medical records and interview. Results: A total of 86676 pregnancies were recorded during the period of the study with, the number of ectopic pregnancy out of total pregnancies in Baghdad was 408 during the period of this study. It was found that the type of conception was significantly associated with infertility (P < 0.001), ovulation induction (P<0.001), dilatation and curettage (P = 0.016), and history of contraception (P =0.002). Conclusion: Although several risk factors for ectopic pregnancy are known, the causes of increasing incidence of ectopic pregnancy remain unknown. The risk factors of ectopic pregnancy following IUI, IVF and spontaneous pregnancy included history of infertility, medication used for ovulation induction, history of contraception, and dilatation curettage as these factors are tightly linked with the types of conception. Increasing knowledge of risk factors for ectopic pregnancy may improve understanding of the causes of infertility.

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