Barrhead woman shares heartbreaking personal reasons for taking on Ectopic Pregnancy Trust’s 80-in-1 Challenge

She initially set herself a fundraising target of raising £80, but she has already greatly exceeded that figure with more than £400 pledged on her JustGiving page.

So Jennifer is now aiming to raise as much money as possible to help the Trust in its efforts to support people who have gone through the same devastating experience as her and her family.

Ectopic pregnancy is a common, life-threatening condition that is the leading cause of death in early pregnancy.

It affects one in 80 pregnancies in the UK and women who suffer have to face the physical trauma of major invasive treatment, their own mortality, the impact on their future fertility and the sad loss of losing their baby all very quickly. This can be a very frightening and distressing experience.

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust supports people who have experienced an early pregnancy complication and the health care professionals who care for them.

Jennifer has twice suffered the horror of an ectopic pregnancy.

In 2015, after many years of trying to conceive, Jennifer and her husband Colin were delighted when they found out she was expecting, but their joy was short lived.

Jennifer said: “Having only found out I was pregnant one week prior, I had to endure tremendous pain throughout my 30th birthday celebratory meal, unaware of what was wrong.

“I first had pain on the Friday, but it wasn’t until the following Wednesday, after numerous visits to hospital that we finally discovered the source of my pain.

“By this time, the pregnancy had ruptured and I was very unwell. The rest is a bit of a blur, but the end result was emergency surgery, blood transfusion and loss of my left fallopian tube.”

Fortunately, after a few months, Jennifer fell pregnant again, and after a very stressful and anxious nine months, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Nancy.

However, history was to repeat itself again in June 2019, when she suffered a second ectopic pregnancy.

“The difference being this time that I knew what was happening, and despite being given false hope by various fluctuating blood tests, I knew our fate was sealed,” she said.

“Another emergency surgery later, we were left devastated at our grim prospects for conceiving again in the future.”

Jennifer added: “It took me much longer to come to terms with what had happened to us the second time round, and I now feel at a point in my journey that I want to do something to help raise awareness and support the charity that helps people in similar devastating circumstances.

“I’m not exactly a fitness enthusiast, so this is taking me out of my comfort zone.

“My primary focus is to raise awareness and I will share my journey throughout August. I initially set a small target of £80, as this seems a significant number in this challenge, but any donation will be welcomed.”

Donations can be made at Jennifer’s JustGiving page and more information is available at the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust website.