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Pregnancy of Unknown
Location (PUL) and
Ectopic Pregnancy
A positive pregnancy test means that you are pregnant but if the pregnancy is very early it may be difficult to detect it with an ultrasound scan.
This is very common as a pregnancy test only requires a hormone level of 10MUI to show a positive result. Scans through the tummy/abdomen need a hormone level of around 1500 for the pregnancy to be found. The earliest pregnancy/gestation found using scanning equipment is around 4 weeks and 6 days, nearly 5 weeks. Treatment cannot be offered until the pregnancy is detected by a scan.
In some cases the pregnancy may not be found by a scan due to it being outside of the uterus. This is known as “ectopic”. Ectopic means “misplaced”.
An ectopic pregnancy occurs in around 1 in 100 pregnancies so is, therefore, quite rare. It is most likely that the pregnancy is too early/small to be found by a scan. You should always, however, visit A&E if you think that you have an ectopic pregnancy.
What are the symptoms of an
ectopic pregnancy?
Symptoms may develop at any time between 4 and 10 weeks of pregnancy.
T: 0333 004 6666 T: (01) 874 0097 (Eire)
