Ectopic Pregnancy

You cannot prevent ectopic pregnancy, but you can prevent serious complications with early diagnosis and treatment. If you have one or more risk factors for ectopic pregnancy, you and your doctor can closely monitor your first weeks of a pregnancy.

If you smoke, quit to lower your risk of ectopic pregnancy. Women who smoke or who used to smoke have higher rates of ectopic pregnancy. The more you now smoke, the higher your risk is.^{Reference 1}

Using safer sex practices, such as Reference using a condom every time you have sex helps protect you from Reference sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Opens New Window that can lead to Reference pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) Opens New Window. PID is a common cause of scar tissue in the fallopian tubes, which can cause ectopic pregnancy.

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