Bristol woman running 100 miles for charity after ectopic pregnancy

Maria Mcmenemy is raising money for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust

A woman who suffered an ectopic pregnancy is running 100 miles (160km) throughout January to raise money for charity.

Maria Mcmenemy, who lives in Bristol with her husband, became pregnant in November 2023.

However, roughly three weeks into the pregnancy, she was told that it was ectopic and the foetus would not develop full-term.

"The first few weeks were really tough - it all became very real," she said.

"But our bodies are brilliant and can survive these things."

Although the 33-year-old was experiencing typical symptoms and displaying a positive test result, medical staff concluded that it was a pregnancy of unknown location because the foetus could not be found via ultrasound.

She said: "You're kind of still holding on to a bit of hope at that point."

The foetus was located in Mrs Mcmenemy's fallopian tube, which eventually ruptured and required surgery to remove it.

"There's so many things being thrown at you at that point that you have to digest and get your head around," she said.

'Wave of emotions'

"Coming to terms with what actually happened was a real wave of emotions.

"The first few weeks were really tough - it all became very real. Then the uncertainty of what trying to conceive will then be like."

She credited the "amazing" NHS, the early pregnancy unit and The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust for helping her and her husband through the experience.

What is an ectopic pregnancy?

According to the NHS, around 1 in every 90 pregnancies in the UK are ectopic.

They occur when the fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, often in one of the fallopian tubes.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to save the pregnancy, and the mother's health may be at risk if left untreated.

"[Ectopic pregnancy] is something that could happen before you're sat in the doctor's chair being told that it is happening," Mrs Mcmenemy said.

"It's not something to be ashamed of. It's happening all the time and I don't think there is enough conversation around it.

Mrs Mcmenemy is documenting her month-long challenge on social media, in a bid to increase awareness of early pregnancy losses.

She added: "You can feel like your body has failed you a little bit. It might have been a speed bump in the journey of fertility, but hopefully, things will be brighter.

Mrs Mcmenemy is documenting her progress on social media

"I like running, and I like exercise, and it's something that I do quite regularly anyway but it's a way that I can show myself that my body can still do these things.

"Yes, we've gone through some rubbish time recently but doing something like this and challenging myself kind of shows me that we can come back from this and hopefully inspire other people that have gone through the same thing."

She is being joined by friends, family and colleagues on her runs and said that they talk a lot about mental health in general.

"I wanted to kind of bring some community into it if I could and therefore raise awareness for ectopic pregnancy.

"But also give support to people that might just need to talk about anything."