Before my first miscarriage, I was woefully ignorant about what happened when you had a miscarriage. I incorrectly assumed that one moment, you were blissfully pregnant, and the next, you were bleeding, and there was no longer a baby. I had no idea that miscarriage was a process, that could sometimes take days, or even weeks, to complete.
I also had no idea that there were two general ways one could have a miscarriage: a miscarriage could be medically induced, or it could happen naturally. I have had four miscarriages. Two happened naturally, without medical intervention, and two happened with medical intervention. How I proceeded with each loss was the correct decision for me, but the decision was made (in three of my four losses) with the support of my doctors. When my pregnancy losses were confirmed, we explored each option carefully before deciding how to proceed.
If a pregnancy loss has been confirmed, here are a few things for you to consider and speak with your doctor about.
1. Have I already started miscarrying?
This was one question I was surprised the doctor asked me in my second miscarriage. Later this week, I’ll be sharing the story of my second miscarriage (stay tuned!), and you’ll read that once the pregnancy loss was confirmed, I thought I was miscarrying the moment I started spotting. That was not the case, and in fact felt a bit scolded by my doctor when I went in a week later when I told them I was miscarrying, when in fact the gestational sac had grown. Just because a pregnancy loss has been confirmed does not mean you have started miscarrying. If your body has started the miscarriage process, medical intervention might not be necessary. In fact, if you have started miscarrying, your only option might be to have the miscarriage naturally.
2. How far along is my pregnancy?
According to the American Pregnancy Association, women can miscarry naturally on their own, safely, up until they are 10-weeks pregnant. After 10-weeks, medical intervention is required, such as a Dilatation and Curettage (D&C). A D&C is a surgical procedure in which the cervix is dilated, and the uterine lining is scraped with a curette, a spoon-shaped instrument, to remove the pregnancy tissue.
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