Kerri Stedman from Oylegate in Wexford is vowed to raise awareness about the symptoms and reality of suffering an ectopic pregnancy.
We spoke to the Wexford mum today, and she had this to say:
“Ectopic Pregnancies, which occur when the embryo grows outside the womb, affects 1 in 80 pregnancies and can be life threatening. But so little is known about the symptoms, and many women who are experiencing an ectopic, don’t know what it is, and it can be fatal.
When you go into a doctor’s surgery here, there’s never anything on ectopic pregnancies, about the symptoms. I thought I was having a miscarriage, and I rang the hospital and they suggested I waited until my scan which was supposed to be in a few days. While I was on the phone, my husband was massaging my shoulder because I had shoulder pain, which is actually a symptom of an internal bleed, which I never would have been aware of.
By sharing my story and fundraising, I hope to raise awareness of the symptoms experienced during an ectopic pregnancy, which I know a lot of the time pregnant women ignore.
“Over a 12 month period, I am undertaking a 1,000km challenge to raise money for the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, which supports women who have suffered an ectopic pregnancy and their families.
I decided to take on the EPT1000 challenge because in December 2015 I suffered a cornual ectopic pregnancy when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Not only did we lose our baby and our future plans but my family nearly lost me too.
This is a video I made to raise awareness about a topic that is rarely discussed and since I posted it, I’ve had hundreds of women from all over the world contact me who had similar experiences. Let’s get people talking about so women know the symptoms before it’s too late.”
You can support Kerri on her Just Giving page or follow her story as well as read all the wonderful comments from supportive women who have experienced ectopic pregnancies on her Facebook page.
