Discussion Forums

I have found this site really helpful and it has been a blessing to speak to people who really understand what you are going through and feeling. As much as family and friends try and help, I think the feelings we have can only be understood if you have been through this. I found it helped because you realise that any of the feelings you have are normal and lots of people have had the same, you are not alone, we are all here when you need us.

Through this confidential online community, you can connect with others and share experiences. It can help to know that your feelings are not unusual because others often express similar thoughts. The discussion forums provide a private space to reach out to others and read other people’s posts. For confidentiality, you can register with a username and express yourself in a safe environment away from social media platforms. If you suspect you are having or have had an ectopic pregnancy, you can access information about the condition and a community of support. The forums also provide for those preparing for pregnancy, those who are pregnant after ectopic pregnancy, those taking alternative routes to parenthood, and spaces for men and members of the LGBTQ+ communities

If you are new to our site and/or have not read our guidelines before, please take the time to read them before visiting our forums. If you are familiar with our guidelines, you are welcome to go ahead and use these forums.

Visit our discussion forums

If you have questions about how to use these boards (e.g. how to register and post), please see: https://www.phpbb.com/community/help/faq

Guidelines, rules and information on the safe use of our forums

While our forums are moderated and medically overseen, we are not an emergency service. If you have an urgent problem, you should contact your health care provider or visit your medical emergency services. To obtain medical advice at any time in the United Kingdom, you can telephone the NHS 111 Service on 111 and can find information here. 

Detailed general information can be found here on our website. Please remember that online medical information is no substitute for expert medical care from your own healthcare team.

We welcome you and aim to make using these message boards a useful and supportive experience for all. You are welcome to express your opinions and disagree with others but please do so with mutual respect and comply with our guidelines below when posting. Please note that the views expressed on our message boards are not necessarily those of The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.

Who may use the forums

Anyone who has had an ectopic pregnancy, their partners, family, and friends may use the forums to write about their experiences of ectopic pregnancy and gain information and the support of others who may have been through similar situations. Medical professionals or those wishing to make contact with others who have the experience of ectopic pregnancy for research purposes, please email ept@ectopic.org.uk instead of using the boards. If you are a journalist, please see our Press section. We have an extensive list of volunteers who may be able to help you.

Moderation

To maintain a friendly, supportive and safe atmosphere, and to ensure that medical information is accurate and safe, The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust retrospectively and manually moderates messages submitted. Messages that violate our guidelines will be moderated and posts may be locked or deleted. The following types of post may undergo moderation:

  • Threatening, defamatory or discriminatory posts – you are welcome to discuss, agree and disagree but please respect other users and do not attack those whose views you disagree with. Personalisation of posts which may be considered as threatening, defamatory or discriminatory will always be moderated. It’s a really good idea to think about how a message might be received before you post it

  • Obscenity – the use of uncensored swear words, obscene, offensive, discriminatory or indecent language and images is not permitted and will not be tolerated

  • Political and religious discussion – please do not use these message boards as a forum for discussions on political or religious matters unrelated to ectopic pregnancy

  • Spam – spamming of the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust boards is not permitted and all spam, including posts written for financial gain or to promote events or services, will be removed. People who use the forums for this will be permanently blocked from using the message boards

  • Personal information – for your own safety, please do not post personal information in the body of the text on any post you might leave on the message boards. This includes your email, home address, telephone or mobile number. Do not post the venues for meetings on the boards. If you wish your email address to be available to other users, please adjust this permission in your profile. The EPT does not exchange email addresses on your behalf

  • Links to web pages – Please do not post links or specifically direct people in any other way to external websites. This includes naming websites and pages, even if the link is not provided in your post. As a health information provider, we link only to approved information. If you would like to make reference to another site which is not in that section, please contact the EPT for advice prior to posting to ensure that our guidance on advertising is not breached

  • Advertising – please do not mention, endorse or discuss brand names on the message boards. If you would like to make reference to a particular product, please contact us for advice prior to posting, to ensure that our guidance on advertising is not breached

  • Fundraising – please do not advertise your fundraising event. We warmly welcome people approaching us to raise funds for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. We do not, however, permit individuals to promote their fundraising activities on the message boards. If this were to be permitted then, due to frequency of events taking place throughout the year, the forums could become fundraising tools rather than a supportive environment for those bereaved. Instead, we provide fundraisers with a detailed fundraising pack when they contact us to register their event. You can visit our fundraising page and register here

  • Discussions about clinics, hospitals, doctors and healthcare providers – the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust does not endorse any particular clinics, hospitals, doctors or healthcare providers. Any mention of, or discussion about, individuals or establishments should not be viewed as a recommendation. Please do not mention the names of medical practitioners or other individuals in discussions, other than in a positive light, as this could jeopardise the future of the message boards

  • Legal and confidentiality issues – please do not post illegal, unlawful, confidential or trade information, injunctions or content relating to pending or ongoing legal proceedings. Please do not post admissions to, or encourage others to participate in, criminal activities

  • Copyright – if posting material written by other people on the forum (particularly “poems, prose and words of remembrance” section), please ensure that you write the name of the author in the text of your message. If you do not know the author, please write “author unknown”

  • Alternative therapies – while we understand that many people are interested in the use of alternative and complementary therapies, we do not endorse these on our site. We therefore remind you that, should you wish to make use of these therapies, you exercise caution and also refrain from recommending them to other users of the EPT forums. Many complementary medicines are quite powerful and can have harmful side effects if misused. They may also interact with medicines that someone is taking

Reporting Abuse

In the top right hand corner of posts is a triangle symbol with an exclamation mark in it. To report any abusive post please click on this and the moderators will be made aware of the post and will moderate the message accordingly.

Please contact us if you have any questions about this message board or to report abuse.  There is a combination of in-house and external moderation.

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