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Having a baby is one of the most natural things in the world. You’ve probably heard people say this, or entertained this thought yourself. However, acknowledging the truth of this statement does little to help you relax when you are pregnant. Pregnancy can be a time of great joy, expectation and bliss. It can also create anxiety and stress in your life, especially when symptoms arise that may signal a problem with your pregnancy. The March of Dimes warns that severe abdominal cramping during pregnancy requires a call to your health care provider.

The recent H1N1 swine flu virus was certainly deadly for the population as a whole, killing 305 Americans, but pregnant women were at a disproportionally higher risk for death. Pregnant women, even if they were healthy, were more likely to develop severe disease after infection with the virus. They were four times more likely to be hospitalized, with a much higher death rate. These facts were cited by researchers in their effort to correct what they believe is an urgent need to perform clinical testing on pregnant women (from a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine). They claim that pregnant women are virtually excluded from medical research. Because clinical testing poses potential risks for participants, is it safe for pregnant women to be a part of this group, possibly risking not only their own health, but the health of their fetus?

A tubal pregnancy, also medically called an ectopic pregnancy, is the result of an embryo resting in the fallopian tube, rather than the uterus. Tubal pregnancies cannot safely be carried to term and can also create potentially life-threatening medical situations for the mom, according to the Mayo Clinic. Catching tubal pregnancy early can reduce the risk of severe medical complications and make it easier to have successful pregnancies in the years following your recovery.