SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Ectopic Pregnancies Rise
A government study says the number of ectopic pregnancies, a leading cause of maternal death and fetal loss, continues to increase in the United States, showing more than a fourfold jump in 15 years.
The study, published recently by the federal Centers for Disease Control, reported an estimated 78,400 ectopic pregnancies in 1985, the latest year for which statistics are available, compared to 17,800 in 1970. The latest figure represents 15.2 ectopic pregnancies per 1,000 reported pregnancies in the United States, compared to an average of 10 per 1,000 for the period from 1970 to 1985.
An ectopic pregnancy is the abnormal deposit and subsequent development of the fertilized ovum in the Fallopian tube or elsewhere outside the uterus. It is a leading cause of maternal death and fetal loss, the Centers for Disease Control said.
The rate of ectopic pregnancies remained unchanged for white women and the increase “appears to be driven by the increasing rate among women of black and other races,” the report said. The increase in ectopic pregnancies was blamed on several factors, including a heightened awareness of the condition, better diagnostic techniques and possibly the higher prevalence of risk factors, such as sexually transmitted diseases, and salpingitis (inflammation of the Fallopian tubes), the centers reported.
