The pregnancy tests said Charlotte Groombridge was pregnant – so why were midwives telling her there was no baby?
She first learned she was expecting a child after taking a pregnancy test at her home in Aberdeen in September 2019.
But the next day, and for around a week after, the 38-year-old noticed she’d started bleeding.
“I was thinking it was maybe just implantation bleeding,” she explained.
“So I booked in a scan and they got me into the early pregnancy unit because I was spotting.
“At that point they said there was no pregnancy, no baby there.”
Once Charlotte had arrived home, she took another test. She added: “The way my brain works, I had to see for myself.”
“It was positive and I left it, then the spotting had stopped and what I guessed was my period arrived.”
The following month Charlotte took another pregnancy test – also positive – and noticed her spotting had returned so went to the doctor.
‘They found the pregnancy in my tube’
It was a difficult time for Charlotte, leaving her unsure what to believe.
“I didn’t know whether I was coming or going,” she said.
“It was very confusing because the home pregnancy tests are telling you one thing and the hospital’s telling you another.”
She was booked in for a series of blood tests, which found the levels of pregnancy hormone HCG in her body were doubling each time.
When she got the results, she was told she’d had an ectopic pregnancy – where a fertilised egg attaches outside of the uterus. Left untreated, it can lead to life-threatening bleeding.
The next day, Charlotte had her right fallopian tube removed.
She said: “It wasn’t what we were expecting, that’s for sure, having never really heard of ectopics, we had to do our research and read up about it.
“When somebody says they’ve lost a baby, you immediately assume miscarriage.
“It’s only when you experience it, you realise the grand scope of different types of baby loss.”
‘I was second-guessing every twinge’
After the procedure, Charlotte thought she would never be able to get pregnant again.
But she was proved wrong and is now mum to a three-month-old daughter.
However, she admits she was anxious throughout the entire pregnancy that something would go wrong as a result of her previous ordeal.
“I was second-guessing every twinge, I was analysing every time I went to the toilet just in case there was spotting,” she explained.
“Every small pain you get you go: ‘Oh my goodness, is it happening again?’
“But we’re fortunate because we weren’t expecting to get pregnant.
“We’re just really fortunate that we did, the body is a wonderful thing.”
Charlotte has also received support from UK charity Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, which works to raise awareness of the condition throughout the country.
It estimates around one in 80 pregnancies are ectopic, and offers a range of resources to help people through a difficult time.
If you’ve been affected, you can contact the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust on its support line 0207 733 2653.
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