The ultimate goal for nursing intervention is prevention of complications that can cause tubal or uterine defects. These complications set the stage for an ectopic pregnancy. If an ectopic pregnancy develops, the goal is to prevent complications during the treatment. Therefore efforts are best directed at prevention of future impairment of fertility through patient education. Education should include information for self-detection of signs of infections contributing to ectopic pregnancy. Efforts should also be directed at detecting and reporting early signs of an ectopic pregnancy so that diagnosis before a rupture or abortion can be made. Thus the complication of hemorrhage, which is the major cause of maternal death, can be prevented.