Emotional support
Thorstensen (2000) suggested that of the 25% of women who were bleeding in the first and early second trimester of pregnancy ‘about half of these will have a miscarriage or, more rarely, ectopic
or molar pregnancy loss’. A molar pregnancy is when a hydatid mole develops from the
trophoblast in the early embryonic stage of development. In cases of ectopic pregnancy the
woman may have missed one or two menstrual periods and may experience tenderness and
tingling sensations in the breast, but in some cases the woman may not realise that she is pregnant.
Ectopic pregnancy, therefore, is usually diagnosed early in pregnancy. However, with pregnancy
comes the expectation of delivery of a baby, and this has implications for the way women and their
partners may deal with this event.