An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a baby grows somewhere other than your womb. Most often, it happens in one of your two fallopian tubes. An ectopic pregnancy is life-threatening for the mother and can’t result in a live birth.
You may have mild cramps followed by sudden, sharp, stabbing pains on one side of your lower belly. The pain can get so severe that you also feel it in your shoulder and lower back.
Before the cramps, you may have had typical pregnancy signs, like nausea and sore breasts, but not all women with an ectopic pregnancy have those. You might not even know you’re pregnant.