Experiences with natural M/C? Deciding for or against a D&C

cala09 · January 2011

I'm new here. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that I had a missed M/C (no heartbeat two weeks after we first detected it in our last U/S. Now, I am trying to decide if I should let it pass naturally or do a D&C. Can you help me? The thought of passing naturally scares me but I also don't know that I want a surgical procedure done. Please share your thoughts and advice. Thank you.

clarks415 · January 2011

I had a D&C the day after Christmas. My hubby and mother were the ones who helped me come to that decision. (They had good reason not to want to take me home from the hospital) I am glad they did. I felt like it helped me heal both physically and emotionally. I would recommend it, I know they talk about the risks, that can be scary. But in my experience having a natural miscarriage can be scary and have risks too.

lavril · January 2011

I am so sorry for your loss How far along were you? I think that might make a difference on whether or not to get a D&C.

As for me, I kind of did both. I found out I had a missed m/c on a Monday, scheduled my D&C for that Wednesday, but started m/c naturally on the Tuesday in between. I was a day shy of 12 weeks. I know surgery is scary and comes with risks, but going through it naturally was downright awful. The pain was really intense and basically felt like you were going through labor. I would have really sharp contractions that were so awful. Not to mention the emotional side of having to see all the blood/tissue/clots. It was really horrible. Everytime I would go to the bathroom I would end up hysterically crying. It was hard for my DH too to see me in such physical and emotional pain. To some extent, it helped me with closure. I personally would chose the D&C to not have to go through that physical and emotional pain. After my D&C I felt so much better.

Either way you go - I hope you have a quick recovery.

WifeyWynn0626 · January 2011

I also had a D&C, and I felt that it helped me emotionally heal quicker than a natural m/c would. Going under wasn't that bad and it wasn't long, only about 20 minutes or so. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me or check out my blog in my siggy, I have my experience written out there. Either way, I hope you get through it quickly and safely so you can start the healing process. ((hugs))

Whitbell · January 2011

I had my 2nd m/c today after waiting for a over a week for it to happen. I am thankful it happened so soon because it could take a while. The waiting is the worst in my opinion. I had decided to go on with the D&C for emotional reasons and had planned on setting it up today. It was seriously messing me up waiting for it to happen and not knowing when it would happen.

I do know there is some medicine that you could also take, my dr mentioned it but can't recall the name.

One thing to think about. With a natural miscarriage, if your body doesn't pass everything it is spposed to, you might need a d&c.

So sorry for your loss.

michellecaster · January 2011

First of all, I am so sorry you are going through this.

I have had two miscarriages and I passed both naturally. I am not saying one is better than the other, but for me, I wanted the privacy of my own home for this very personal experience. I wanted to be able to grieve without concern of strangers being around. I also didn't want to put my loss on a timetable that I had to decide a date/time. I felt better letting my body make that decision for me.

There is pain with passing naturally, but I felt that the emotional pain far exceeded the physical pain so truly it made no difference to me.

Wishing you comfort at this trying time---

tdmd09 · January 2011

I opted for a D&C as well because I wanted to start healing right away and I didn't want to wait around for things to happen naturally. I started a blog last week in my siggy where I talked about my experience. I did have a minor infection after my procedure that was treated with antibiotics, but my doctor doesn't expect that to effect my chances of getting pregnant in the future. After my D&C I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I could start to heal. Best of luck with your decision.

Ginkeez · January 2011

I lost my baby at 16 weeks and I did have a natural miscarriage. The baby was only measuring 12 weeks. I had already started spotting so I decided to let my body do what it was already doing. The next morning I started to cramp and contract. It was painful and pretty emotional, but it didn't take too long before my baby, placenta, and umbilical cord all came out at one time. The size of all of it was pretty significant. I did not need a follow-up D&C. I got to be at home with my husband. I really recommend the natural way if you can hold out for it, especially if you have already started spottiing. I was glad that I did not have to recover from surgery and anesthesia, and I could start the emotional healing process right away.

I had a lot of pressure to get a D&C and "get it done and over with", but I am so glad I did not listen to them. My body did what it was supposed to do, and I trusted it I admit I did freak out early and schedule a D&C just in case, but I would not have used it. You do what works best for you.

KJsbabe · January 2011

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your situation sounds similar to mine. DH and I went in for an u/s at 8w4d and saw a heartbeat. We went back two weeks later and the baby was gone. A missed miscarriage with a blighted ovem, I guess you would call it. My doctor really pushed to wait for the natural MC, so that's what I did. It took 3 weeks from the time we found out till the MC actually started. The "limbo" waiting time was defiantly the hardest part. I was nervous waiting for the natural because my first MC had hurt like hell. I was afraid this one would be the same. My SIL, who is a PA, told me that because of my situation with the BO, my body had basically already absorbed the baby and would take care of most of the sac before the MC even started, so the physical pain wouldn't be as bad. That made me feel better and she was right. It felt like a normal period. If I had been given the choice when I first found out between waiting and doing the D&C, I probably would picked the later. I just wanted to get it over with so I could move on. Looking back, though, I'm glad I waited for my body to take care of it's self. My doc told me that there's less risk and recovery time that way. It's not for everyone, though. I hope you find peace in whatever decision you make.

Manderlin923 · January 2011

(Warning DS ticker/pics below)

I'm so sorry for your loss I have had two natural miscarriages. First was at 7 weeks and I began bleeding/cramping (that's how I found out I was miscarrying) but it didnt' get worse than a period. Not bad at all, physically.

This time I had a missed miscarriage diagnosed at 12 weeks (baby stopped growing at 6 w 1 d) and so since it had been 6 weeks they thought I'd need either a D&C or the meds (neither of which sounded great). I was concerned about the possible scarring with a D&C though my doc said it is rare. Four days later I began spotting and cramping and we pushed back the procedure(s) for another week or so to see if my body would complete it on it's own. I basically a couple days later, went into labor & had to go to the ER the pain was so bad (and I've already had a med-free childbirth and this was wayyyyyyy worse and I never thought I'd experience anything more painful than that). I spent 6 hours in the ER, the first few of which I was screaming in pain. I finally got some drugs which took the edge off a lot and was able to pass everything on my own while waiting for the doc to get there. I had decided on the D&C to get it over with b/c the pain was so bad but by the time he got there I didn't need it.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't need any further treatment. That said, the idea of having a natural miscarriage in the future would scare me. If nothing else, I'd ask for a pain med prescription to have on hand at my home just in case the pain got that bad again. I'm sorry you have to make this decision and I hope you can feel comfortable with whatever you decide!

88eve88 · January 2011

It's a hard decision to make.

I think I would've gone with a d&c (and I had one booked!), but my body decided it would finish the m/c process the day before my appt.

I was originally diagnosed with a missed miscarriage, but now I'm being told it was a blighted ovum. Either way, I found out mid-December and by the time all the diagnosing and u/s were done, it was the holidays and my d&c appt. couldn't be made because the gynecologist couldn't be reached. I started spotting on Dec.9 and I continued to spot all through the holidays, sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter. I was so sure I passed tissue with my clots. But apparently not.

Fast forward to the first week of January. I finally get my d&c appt. for Jan.10. By this time, I've actually stopped spotting/bleeding, so I think I've passed everything with no pain, and only a moderate amount of blood. Boy, was I wrong.

In the early morning (12am) of Jan.9, I started cramping and then I started bleeding bright red blood. The cramping wasn't SO terrible, but bad enough that I never fell asleep. I was bleeding heavily and passing huge clots. By 7am, I hadn't stopped bleeding and while I wasn't "gushing" (TMI, sorry!), I was dripping rather badly. By 7:30am, I was in the ER with significant blood loss, filling pad after pad within minutes. I was pale and a tiny bit lightheaded. There were others waiting in the ER, but I was put into a room immediately, so I knew it was serious. It turns out I was passing the placenta and sac at that moment, but my uterus was not contracting back into shape, which was causing all this bleeding. I was given meds to open my cervix and meds to help my uterus, and saline to help me recuperate from my blood loss. About 6 hours later, I was deemed okay. They kept saying I was probably going to surgery, but it never happened. I passed everything I needed to pass, with the help of an ER doc.

So, in my humble opinion, I say a d&c is the way to go. If it weren't for the holidays, I'm SO SURE I would not have gone through all this trauma. My poor body hung onto that empty sac for 10 weeks, even though there was never really a fetus inside. My body was absolutely CLUELESS on what to do. It's been the longest drawn out process ever, and just feeling (TMI again) all that blood stream out of me was horrific, not to mention passing the clots (yuck!). I'm not saying this situation will happen to you (I don't wish it upon anyone!!), but it's something to think about. I sure wish my d&c appt. was just a couple days earlier.

You're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I guess you're choosing the lesser of the two evils that's right for you. Sending you thoughts and prayers!!

cala09 · January 2011

Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. I sorry you all had to go through so much yourselves. I was 12 weeks when we did this last U/S but the fetus had progressed to only about 7 weeks before it stopped growing (heart must have stopped shortly after my second U/S). Thank you for sharing your very personal experiences. It was very helpful for me to hear to prepare myself. I've decided to schedule a D&C for Tuesday. I'll give my body a full week (from when I found out about the M/C) to see if it works out naturally but if not, I will do the D&C to move on and begin the healing process. I'm scared about what might happen between now and the D&C but feel this is a good compromise for me.

Thank you again for all of your support. I'm glad to be in the company of some really great people.

MrsAtch · January 2011

I took Misoprostol (the medication that several pp's mentioned) and it was a good compromise for me. I didn't want to wait for a natural miscarriage (they can take a lot longer and some women end up having to have a D&C anyway because they don't pass everything) and I didn't want a D&C because of scaring concerns. Misoprostol worked for me, and I was able to pass most of what I needed to in the first week. I still bled for about another week and a half but if I had to make the choice again (and I hope I never do) I would go that route again.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

HadleyS · January 2011

cala09:

Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. I sorry you all had to go through so much yourselves. I was 12 weeks when we did this last U/S but the fetus had progressed to only about 7 weeks before it stopped growing (heart must have stopped shortly after my second U/S). Thank you for sharing your very personal experiences. It was very helpful for me to hear to prepare myself. I've decided to schedule a D&C for Tuesday. I'll give my body a full week (from when I found out about the M/C) to see if it works out naturally but if not, I will do the D&C to move on and begin the healing process. I'm scared about what might happen between now and the D&C but feel this is a good compromise for me.

Thank you again for all of your support. I'm glad to be in the company of some really great people.

I think that is a good compromise, I didn't get to share my experience, I was hangin with hubby all last night, but I asked the same thing on here and just wanted to let you know that after I asked, the replies were really heavily weighted towards a D&C, which I was terrified of. Here's what happened:

Called and went in to the clinic emergently for red spotting and cramping on Dec 31 (had been barely spotting brown since Dec 24 but at the time no one was worried about this). Saw only the gestational sac and was scheduled for a 1wk follow up on the 7th to confirm no new growth and then decide from there. Didn't make it that far, had severe cramping early morning Dec 5, then had to go to the ER because I almost passed out (felt extremely dizzy). Over the next few hours, the pain greatly subsided and I ended up passing nearly all of the tissue at once while waiting for the doctor. The day after that I had some cramping like regular AF, and today is (so far, fingers crossed), the first day I have had no spotting or bleeding. I am happy that my body passed it naturally and the doctor was extremely lenient with us about TTC again soon. I was really scared too, scared of the pain, and though it was bad, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle (really just severe cramps). The cramping is what you are feeling when your body is trying to miscarry naturally, the tissue is dying. Passing the tissue is not necessarily the painful part. I just took one tylenol when I was really hurting and a second one 4 hours later. The nurse gave me two tylenol when I was there, but I didn't really need it at that point. If you do get to cramping, you can probably take two tylenol, but I would call the nurse or doctor now and just ask them as a just in case and you will have the info before it happens (if it happens). Sorry for rambling, it's just that the whole process is sucky and I latched on to all the bumpers' experiences I could get my hands on. (((hugs))) and good luck in these next few days, I will say some prayers for you.