Woman skydives for ectopic pregnancy charity

March 30, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

A British woman has skydived to raise awareness about a potentially life-threatening condition called ectopic pregnancy.

Earlier this year Helen Tedman, of Fordham, England, lost her baby to ectopic pregnancy, a condition when a woman’s fertilized egg is implanted outside of the womb.

With many questions and concerns about her future fertility status, Tedman turned to the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust to get answers.

“The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust helped me, through the forums and information on the Web site, and made me realise that it is actually quite common, and that all who experience it feel the same way,” Tedman told The Ely Standard.

Through the site, Tedman found that the condition occurs in around one in every 80 pregnancies and kills around five women a year in the U.K. “For many it involves considerable emotional and physical pain, surgery or powerful medical treatments,” said the trust.

Thankful for the information provided by the trust, Tedman took to the sky on February 27, with hopes of raising at least 450 pounds for the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.

“It was my first ever sky dive. It was a tandem jump, and the experience was absolutely incredible,” said Tedman, 23. “I am now looking forward to another challenge, perhaps a bungee jump in the future.”

In all, Tedman was able to raise 550 pounds for the trust. The trust’s service and support manager, Izzie Oakley, was thankful, telling The Ely Standard, “In the absence of government funding, it’s entirely due to the efforts of people like Helen that we are able to continue to deliver the information, education and support that our service users ask us for.”

For more information about Tedman’s efforts, please visit her donation page on the trust’s Web site.