A woman who suffered from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy says a doctor sent her home, a decision which delayed crucial treatment.
Sarah Nolan, 26, who lives in Los Angeles, began experiencing some lower abdomen pain in May this year. Sarah had an IUD, and so never imagined she could be pregnant.
But when she sought medical advice, she discovered the contraception had failed.
Advert
Writing for HuffPost, she explained she was 'devastated' when she learned the news and despite trying to get excited about the prospect of becoming a parent, she explained that she and her husband weren't ready.
The following day, Sarah visited her doctor who confirmed the pregnancy but there was nothing on the ultrasound of her uterus.
"Given the date of my last period, the doctor told me, there was probably something growing outside of it," she said.
Advert
When a pregnancy occurs outside of the uterus, it is known as an ectopic pregnancy. This means the fertilised egg has implanted somewhere else, usually in a fallopian tube.
Having an IUD can also increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, but speedy treatment is essential to prevent the tube from rupturing which can be life threatening.
But instead of immediate treatment, Sarah was sent home.
Advert
"I suspected he sent me home to create time, to delay further procedure, just in case the pregnancy that I did not want turned out to be viable," she wrote. "In looking for a baby, he did not see me."
Sarah says the doctor told her to come back on Thursday where he could 'determine the kind of pregnancy'.
"If it is ectopic, we should be able to give you some methotrexate and you'll pass it," Sarah claims he said.
But by the time Wednesday had come around, Sarah was vomiting and cramping.
Advert
"My head began to float, my hands shook, my stomach dropped," she wrote.
To her shock, doctors told her the ectopic pregnancy had ruptured her tube and that the ultrasound she had had previously even indicated internal bleeding.
"I'm going to be honest, I don't know how anyone sent you home after seeing this," she says the doctor said.
Advert
"I had been bleeding internally for five days before anyone figured it out."
Sarah underwent a procedure where the ruptured tube was removed.
"Now more than ever, I understand that a womb can be a terrible burden. That there will always be those who will only see me in terms of reproduction," she wrote.
For more information on ectopic pregnancies, visit the NHS website here.
Topics: Health
Lucy Devine