D&c

Hi Aleisha I had a D & C done when i miscarried at 8 weeks, and i did not have any problems! In fact we got pregnant 2 months later!!!!!!!! Now we have a beautiful 19 month old! i still think about that last pregnany sometimes, but then i look at my little girl and think it was probably meant to be!

I had a D&C when I was 6 weeks pregnant. I had no short term or long term side effects. It had no impact on me getting pregnant again. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

I've had 3 D & C's and 2 healthy babies. There was no complication from them. I hope that you are OK. Miscarrying is very hard.
J. A.

I was further along at 10 weeks (the baby had only developed to 8 weeks). I was hemorhaging and in a great deal of pain. They did the D&C. This was in 1998. The thinking at the time was that D&C could actually help with later pregnancies. But their opinions in the medical world go back and forth.

I have since have 2 beautiful children.

Hang in there. Don't beat yourself up. What's done is done and can't be undone. Grieve the loss of your baby and take time to heal your body and mind.

Ok well it seems alot of doctors are D&C happy. I have been pregnant with 23 babies and only had 2 live births the rest were all miscarriages. Anywhere from 5 weeks clear up to 5 months. I had a very good doctor at the time. And the way it was explained to me was that if and only if there is an incomplete discharge of the embryo or fetus whichever you choose to call it. Should a D&C be preformed. Usually it is a couple days after the fact that it is done. As explained by my doctor. And as advised by my doctor I should give my body a rest after a miscarriage. It is a personal choice for you to make. It is advised that the further along into pregnancy you are to wait a little longer. Was an ultrasound preformed to determine there was an incomplete discharge? The bleeding is the bodys way of purging a pregnancy. Yes with all the miscarriages I had only 2 resulted in a D&C having to be done. If it ever happens again and I pray it doesnt. Let your body guide you. Unless there is severe pain and there is excessive bleeding would I ever allow anyone to talk me into a D&C. Like you I went to the ER and once the doctor said I needed a D&C and my words to him was ....... I dont have excessive pain and the bleeding isnt any worse than a heavy period. Why can't we try something for the cramping and see in a few hours what is happening. If nothing has changed I want to go home and see my doctor who knows me better. And it worked for me. When I was 18 I had my first miscarriage. I thought quickly because I had not been told and confirmed I was pregnant so I took the ball to the er with me and that helped them to determine there was complete discharge. I know it sounds gross but sometimes it helps the doctor care for you better. At 4 weeks that is what you would discharge. Because I was 7 weeks with that miscarriage. I hope this helps you out some.
Two of my miscarriages were with twins so that was a little different. Always trust what your body tells you. And never let anyone talk you into anything like a D&C without another opinion. One being your doctor. If you trust your ob/gyn you will be able to make best choice for you. If not find another doctor you do trust.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss- I know that no words can ease your pain.
I miscarried at 6 weeks and did not have a d&c. It was like a heavy period, cramps etc. It was not painful for me though and I had no complications. I then got pregnant the next month and now have a healthy baby girl. I did have a DC 10 years ago at 9 weeks and I now have 2 kids, so it shouldn't affect you having children. I'm not a doctor, but here is what happened to me; After my most recent miscariage, the MD insisted on a blood test to confirm my pregnancy the next month, then had it repeated exactly 48 hours later- it tracked my hormone levels. Should they begin to dip it would indicate another miscarriage. That happened to me, but my MD gave me a vaginal supository of estrogen or progesterone until 12 weeks and that sustained the pregnancy- it was the little girl I just delivered. Have the MD check your thyroid levels too- TSH, Free T4, T4 and T3, and thyroid anti-body and thyroglobin. You coud have Hashimoto's disease which can cause difficulty in carrying a preganacy until you are treated for it. That was my issue too. Good luck- and insist on excellent medical care. When in doubt get a second opinion.

First let me say that i'm sorry for your lost. Secondly i had a d&c performed at 5 weeks last February..it was very hard experience, but it was not complicated at all i slept that whole day and had a little cramping. But i'm very happy to say that it did not complicated me getting pregnant again...i became pregnant only 2mons later and am the very proud mother of a 8wk old baby girl...so I know it is very hard right now if you're trying...but just wait for your time. What God has for you it is for you!

First, let me offer my condolences on your miscarriage. I've had two of them (one at two months pregnant and one at about 17 weeks pregnant), and I know they are difficult to go through. A book that brought me comfort was "I'll Hold You in Heaven" by Jack Hayford. Next, whether or not to have a D&C with a miscarriage is an issue that the medical community (my mom is a women's health nurse practitioner and a college women's health nursing professor at Malone College) is divided upon about whether it's the right thing to do or not. I had a "natural" miscarriage with my first miscarriage, and I can confirm what your doctor said in that it is very painful and messy and it's not unusual to have some bleeding for one to three months afterward which made it difficult for me to conceive again because my hormones got all off balance. It took me over a year to get pregnant again after the first miscarriage. With my second miscarriage, I had to have a D&C, and my hormones and my fertility returned to normal MUCH quicker than when I had the "natural" miscarriage. I was pregnant again, with my now healthy baby girl who is 5 months old, within 3 months. Additionally, I have two friends who had miscarriages when they were only 5 to 6 weeks pregnant. They both had D&Cs, and they both were pregnant within two months afterward. I hope this news encourages you. That said, since I've been in your shoes twice before, I encourage you to give your body and your emotions a month to heal before trying again. But that advice is just based on my personal experience. I am a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom of a 3.5 year-old boy and a 5 month-old girl, and I thank God for them all the time. Good luck to you on your journey.

Did your doctor test your blood to see if your hormone leaves had gone down. That is the only way to know if you are miscarrying.

Hi Aleisha. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I had 3 miscarriages, I guess, technically, I had 4, but I had 3 D&C's. I had other issues that prevented me from getting pregnant naturally, but the D&C's didn't do anything to me. They actually gave me piece of mind, knowing everything was taken care of and I could start healing, mentally and physically. Hope things go well for you.
K.

well i really can't say i know how you feel,everyone handles these things in a different way, i can say that i have had similar expiriences, i have been pregnant 7times, 3 miscarriages and 4 babies.my last miscarriage was with twins, one was in the birth canal the other inutero. i was told if i didn'thave a D&C that after 3-4 days it becomes toxic to your body and if it doesn't expell itself on it's own it could cause me to be very ill & need one anyway or die.i have never had "easy" pregnancies, i finally went to a specialist and he said that my body wasn't meant for babies. i would say if your doc has checked you out & says you need it, then chances are you do and as far as complications go..there's risk in EVERYTHING in life, some just greater than others.

I had a miscarriage between our first two children - it FINALLY ended with a D/C. Thank you Lord for a Dr. who decided to do that!

I thought I was done bleeding and got a huge gush! I couldn't go anywhere because that GUSH could happen anytime it decided to - I bled for 2 months!!!!!!! Not going any where the last month for fear of making a huge embarassing mess! That happened in the store after about the first month - I had a huge list of things to do - things to return and things to buy - went into a Hill's store - their computer was down at the return desk - so I went to get the greeting cards I needed. Had a gush - thought I was done or I wouldn't have been out shopping! Went to the desk to get my return things back that they were holding til the computers came back up - told them that I needed to go . . . they said the computers are back up - I said I am having a miscarriage... they said it will only take a minute - when I wanted to scream - but said as calmly as possible "I need to leave - I'm having a miscarriage - showed them my croutch and asked for a bag to sit on in the car... then they understood a tiny bit of what I was going thru - got my stuff and left --- headed home and stooped in the tub --- God blessed me with sending my hubby home early from work - he got home just after I did - and helped me with everything.

Be glad that you had a doctor that did the D/C before you had to go through what I did.

why did I keep bleeding? -- when I miscarried some didn't discharge and it kept telling my body that I was pregnant - creating more cushion (blood) for the baby and then discharging it cause it was confused.

was it hard to get pregnant again???? NO WAY!

I think we tried maybe two months before it worked... then we thought we were done and 9 years later were surprised to be pregnant AGAIN! What a blessing our little guy is!

Have a great day!

No, you will be fine. I've done both, a D&C and let the baby naturally pass. I would never advise anyone to let it pass naturally. It was difficult and emotional to pass the baby naturally, more so than a D&C. My natural miscarriage was just like labor with contraction type feeling. I did not have any problem getting pregnant after the D&C. Just let your boby heal.

I am so sorry....best wishes for a future healthy pregnancy!

I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks and chose to have the D & C because I felt like I was in limbo, pregnant and not pregnant all at the same time. I had some minor complications with excessive bleeding afterwards, which required medication for a few days. But after waiting a month or two, "just to be safe," I got pregnant again with no difficulties or complications at all, and now I have a wonderful boy who will turn three in a month! I hope that helps.

I am 38-years-old and have a two-year-old boy. I've been married for seven years. My husband and I both work full time. K. H.

Aleisha,

I wrote to you before about early testing. I just saw your new post, and although I have no information for you, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Any small amount of comfort my words can carry are sincerely meant for you. Take good care of yourself and your baby, and good luck with everything in the future.

Best wishes,
K.

Hi, Aleisha! I had 2 miscarriages early and now have 3 beautiful healthy children. I didn't have a D&C after my miscarriages but I know several people that have had them after miscarriages. I am a RN and worked in a hospital and unfortunately it can be quite common. I don't know of anyone that has had complications but that's not to say that someone can't have complications. There is a lot that goes into someone having complications. Genetics, lifestyle (ie:smoking,drinking,drugs,sex), stress, environmental exposure (ie: chemical) and the list goes on. It's usually a very individual thing. I know that it's never a good thing to lose a baby but one thing that I was very glad of (after much time had passed) was that I had miscarried very early in my pregnancies. I also know of several women that the baby has died when they were 5 or 6 months along. I don't think I would have been able to handle that. Also, all of the women that I know that have had miscarriages now have children without any complications. No problems getting pregnant and no problems during their pregnancies. Hope this helps! Jen

Aleisha, my name is D. and I had a miscarriage followed by a D&C with no problems at all. I ended up having 2 children later on in my life.I think it is really a good thing to have a D&C done so they can get anything out that doesn't need to be in there after a miscarriage. Hope this will help u. Just relax and don't put so much thought into getting pregnant and it will happen.

Aleisha

I've had two miscarriages that were in the first trimester, I'm sorry for your lost pregnancy. The first time I had one, the miscarriage was already well underway when my doctor finally returned my phone call. (The front office staff didn't want to "disturb" her with an inconsequential phone call.) It took a couple of days and there was lots of cramping, but with ibuprofen it was tolerable, and I didn't know any better.

The second time (with a different doctor needless to say) it was a complete surprise that I found out about through a regular ultrasound. She recommended a D/C, but was willing to let me make the choice to let the miscarriage take it's own course, and it did.

My sister-in-law had two miscarriages followed by D/cs and was able to get pregnant after each one.

Karen

Hi Aleisha,
I'm very sorry about your miscarriage. I had two miscarriages and I had D&C's with both of them. My first was around 9 weeks and was very different from my second at 14 weeks. My first miscarriage was very spontaneous, involved ALOT of bleeding and LARGE amounts of clot and tissue discharge. My body expelled nearly everything, but the doctor did a D&C anyways. Did I need it? Probably not. I can't imagine there was much left inside of me. My second miscarriage was different. The baby had already had a heartbeat and for whatever reason died in utero. When I went to the appointment that confirmed the baby was dead, I was the one who asked for the D&C because I did not want to go through the messy spontaneous abortion again. It was two days before Thanksgiving and I wanted everything cleanly expelled. Since having those D&C's I have had two more children. The first was a perfect textbook pregnancy, labor and birth. The second was delivered emergency C-section at 26 weeks. Do I think it was because of the D&C's. No, I don't. I think you will be just fine. Give your body a little rest and soon you will be ready to try again. I hope soon you have another little precious baby in your arms!

I was 6 weeks along with my second child when i found out that the babys heart beat had just stopped and i was told i had a choice to either let nature take its course through the miscarriage or to have a d&c and be done with it, I chose to have the d&c.My doctor told me we could try again after a month and we did and i was pregnant right away and he is a healthy 9 yr old today along with 2 others to follow so I had no complications. Good luck D.

Sorry to hear of your loss. I too, had a miscarriage 28 years ago followed by a D & C. There were no complications after. I got pregnant 3 months later, normal pregnacy and had another baby normal pregnacy 15 months after.

My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at about 6 weeks and I had a D&C a few days later because I hadn't passed all of the uterine contents. I had absolutely no trouble getting pregnant 2 months later and ended up having a very healthy
(8 lbs. 14.5 oz.) baby girl who is now almost 7 years old.
If you trust your OB, don't let this take up any more of your time and energy. Concentrate on recovering and moving forward!

I had 2 miscarriages and the second one i ended up having a D&C also. My doctor told me that I needed one because my body was unable to get rid of it on it's own and would just cause infection and more pain. I am happy to say that I had no problems getting pregnant again & later had a girl who is now 10 and a boy who is now 7 and both very healthy kids.

I had a D& C done 2006 at about 9 weeks. I knew something was wrong and had scheduled an ultrasound where we found out there was no heartbeat. Dr. said I could schedule a D& C or just let nature take it's course. I decided on nature. BUT I was not prepared for the incredible pain and was rushed to hospital for emergency D&C. I am so glad I did have it because the procedure insured there was no residue, no complications, no regrets.

I got pregnant again had a healthy, happy baby in October 2007.

Trust your doctor did the best for you. If you don't trust your doctor, find a new one, right?

It was a very good idea that you had the d&c even though your body started to get rid of the iscarriage .this got the rest that didn't come out I haveo ne of these 19 yrs ago and then waited 3 mos beofre i got pregent again. per doctor thisway you could kinda heal is what they told me . I now have two childern one 18 and one 14. those time went ok and nothing went wrong. It does hurt iemontionaly but, with God helps and fmaily your can get through this and you will kow that one of these days you shall see the little one in heaven

have a good day D.

This is a very common practice. I've been pregnant twice and miscarried both times with a D&C to follow. My husband is an OB/GYN so I know a "little" about this. The reason the docs do a D&C is 1)to be sure that all the products of conception are removed and 2)to shorten the time of bleeding. My first miscarriage, I was 6 weeks along and there was no heartbeat on the ultrasound. The doctor told me I could wait until the pregnancy aborted itself (it could be up to another 4 weeks before that would happen) or I could have the D&C to not have to wait for the ball to drop, so to speak. Hope this info helps and I'm sorry for your loss. It's never easy to handle, but you do have a wonderful baby boy to love on.

I'm so sorry you had a miscarriage.
I had two. The first one started at 10 weeks there was no heartbeat, I had an ultrasound and it was confirmed. My
OB said a D&C was possible but if I didn't choose a D&C I'd have a period within a few days and pass it naturally. But - I bled so much! I ended up in the emergency room (now I know how to get taken care of immediately in the ER) was admitted to the hospital, and had a D&C. My OB, who came in to do it himself, told me it wouldn't have killed me, but I would have lost a LOT of blood and probably ended up anemic. I was told I could start trying again after a normal period which for me was like clockwork - 28 days later.
The second I did pass it like a period, no complications.
The third time was the charmer - vaginal birth no complications.
Good luck and keep trying!

Hello Aleisha,
I wrote to you with your fierst post. I am so sorry to here about your miscarriage. I have heard that they usually do a D&C when a woman has a miscarriage. I think that they basically clean ebverything so you don't end up with some kind of infection. I am sorry that I can't give you anymore information or help with your problem, but my email address is ____@____.com if you need a friend to talk too!
J.

i had 2 misscarrigaes in 2 years thank god i have a beautiful 6 mo old now but my first m/c. i was 6 weeks and the second time i was about 8 weeks and never did i have a d&c there is nothing wrong with not getting a d&c but there are times where it could be medicaly nesscery..in my case i was fine..

Hello,

I also have a baby boy 18months and VERY energetic!

I've had two miscarriages back to back and each time I did have a D&C. I had no problems getting pregnant after the 1st one. As a matter of fact it only took me 2 months and it was really unexpected. Most doctors and people would say you could just wait out and bleed for a week or so. I am happy I did have the D&C to just stop the pain the bleeding. Although each time was devasting I know that the good Lord has a plan for me and my family.

By the way, the 2 miscarriages were caused by 6 large fibroids which I recently had taken out

Hi, I am 31 years old and have a 2.5 year old daughter at home. Well my story is, I had a miscarriage about three months ago and I was 6 weeks pregnant and kinda like you, I had gone in to see the Dr. because of my bleeding and they did an ultrasound and said that I was still pregnant and there was a heartbeat. The Dr. said that everything looked fine, but in my heart I knew everything was not fine! So I went home and continued to bleed for the next two days and then went back to my Dr. and he did an exam and told me that I was miscarrying. I did not have a D&C, but I was bleeding a lot, but my Dr. (at the time of the exam) told me that the fetus was most of the way out already, so nothing needed to be done! I recently got pregnant again too, rather quickly, I might add! I conceived the first week my husband & started trying. I am almost 11 weeks pregnant now! Also, just to let you know my twin sister got pregnant (a while ago) and had a miscarriage too, I believe she was around 5 weeks and she ended up having a D&C at the hospital. I really don't know what determines whether or not someone has a D&C or not? I think it might have to do with the amount of pain your in or amount of bleeding, not really sure. But I don't believe having a D&C will affect any future pregnancies. My sister got pregnant (twice) after the D&C and now had two boys. Unfortunately I know a few people who have had miscarriages and whom have had D&C's and all have gotten pregnant right away and are doing fine. I hope this helps! Hang in there, trust me... you will get pregnant again and it will happen quickly! Good Luck! H.

I am terribly sorry for your loss. I have been through 3 miscarriages and my second one was with twins. The d&c is a good thing to do even if you aren't all that far along because it will clean out all of the tissue that may not come out with just bleeding. I never suffered any complications with any of my d&c's I had them with all 3 of my miscarriages. It was not hard for me to get pregnant again but you do want to wait at least 6 mo. so your body has had time to heal completely. My kids are all a little over 3 yrs. apart. That is just how it happened with my husband and I. You will be fine. Just be sure to give your body time to heal completely before trying again. You will have some scar tissue of course but it shouldn't be too bad. Take care of yourself and again I am very sorry about your loss.
D.

I am 31 yrs. old. I have been married going on 12 yrs. in Nov. and my husband and I have 3 beautiful boys ages 10,7 and 4.

I had 3 miscarraiges and 2 dncs 1 set happened before I had 3 kids the other two happened about 5 years after I had my tubes tied! I was obviouly able to have kids after my first miscarriage and DNC I have 3 sons now 12, 11, and 10
Good luck and best wishes feel free to email me if you want to!

Aleisha, Sorry to hear of your loss. I used to work in OB and Infertility and the doc I worked for always said it is best to error on the side of caution. I agree with Stephanie M that the reason they did the D&C was to make sure all the "products of conception" (I know that's a tough term) were gone from your uterus. If you would have had anything remaining it could have eventually caused a serious infection possibly leading to fertility issues. Be careful with the internet. There is so much stuff out there that people can make look legit. The best source is your doctor or get a second opinion from another doctor. Hope you are doing ok. I know it can be really tough.

Hi Aleisha, I have been through 2 miscarriages with the same prognosis from the Ob of having D&Cs. 2 years later we had a perfect pregnancy & a wonderful son who is 2.5 now. So don't worry, my OB did the same thing & both my miscarriages were really early (5 weeks & 8 weeks). It was very heartbreaking but I was totally fine & had no complications. I do hope this helps you

Hello. My name is S. and I had a miscarraige in December of 2006. When I first found out that I had miscarried, I was completely devastated. My husband and I had tried to get pregnant for over a year and I believe that life begins at conception so I really struggled with it. My OBGYN recommended the same procedure I got but also stated it may not be necessary because my body may be able to "finish" the miscarraige on its' own. However, she did say that it can be very dangerous to not have the procedure because the longer your body retains the remains of the baby, the higher your risk becomes for complications and infections. I was already bleeding some (hence why I went to the doctor in the first place) so I decided that I would like to try and wait. One week later they retested my hormone levels and they had plummeted but my body was still not getting rid of all of the material from the pregnancy so I did go in and have the procedure. It went very smoothly and I had absolutely NO complications. I had very little pain and a normal amount of bleeding. Also a month and a half later I was pregnant again...and it wasn't even planned! We just had a mishap so to speak and in December I had a beautiful baby girl! Now that is not to say that everything will go perfect for you and believe me I know how hard a miscarraige can be. I still struggle with it at times. However, I think you probably made the best decision (as hard as it is to make). After a miscarraige is confirmed you have to do what is best for you to make sure that you are healthy. As far as pregnancy is concerned, having the DNC can actually help you get pregnant again very easily. It is kind of like cleaning out all of the junk that may have prevented pregnancy before. However, my doctor did recommend that we wait a while for awhile after the having the DNC to get pregnant again...like a said our pregnancy was a surprise. So, I would check with your OBGYN about that to make sure. And..if you are nervous about the advice you're getting from your doctor, do not be afraid to get a second opinion. Things like this can be life changing and you want to make sure that you are doing what is best for you. Anyway, no matter how you are feeling about your miscarraige don't feel odd, many women experience severe loss and some are not affected that much. It is ALL NORMAL! However, if you are feeling a sense of loss you may want to look into a support group or even some temporary medication. You still are dealing with the hormones of pregnancy and can even experience some "pos partum depression". I hope what I have said is helpful. I will be praying for you and your family. P.S. If you would like I can send you my e-mail and we can talk more.

I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I too have been through this and regardless of the time of miscarriage there is always a sense of loss. As far as the D & C. This is a procedure that is actually the best for your future female health. When a baby doesn't fully miscarry on it's own then the body holds on to tissues that can cause female problems later on if not cleaned out. I do understand your concern, but sometime the internet information that we get (although good and useful) tends to look at the complications and the bad side of things more so than the good.

After I had mine, I was pregnant almost instantly after the doctor said we could start trying again. My OB/GYN advised to wait 3 months before trying again, which we did and I was pregnant again.

Do what your gut tells you to do, but listen to your doctor too. Best wishes. :)

Aleisha, first let me say how sorry I am for your loss. I went through the same situation. The only difference was I was 10 weeks along. Because of an earlier miscarriage my doctor recommended a D&C and also recommended genetic testing to see if they could find out why I was miscarrying. They found my baby had chromosone problems, but not anything to worry about for future pregnancies. Anyways, I'm not here to go on and on about that. I just wanted to reassure you with my happy ending. I was devastated since this was my 2nd miscarriage but was told by my doctor to let my body heal from the D&C for 2 months then try again. We waited the 2 months and got pregnant with my daughter the first month we tried. She's now 7 years old and when she was 3, we tried again and again got pregnant the first month with my 3 year old son. I hope this gives you some peace of mind and I wish you the very best.

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss.

I had a D&C after a miscarriage at 6 or 7 weeks. I didn't have it until a month later when my HCg levels kept rising even after the loss. I wish we would have done it right away because it ended up being a 2 month ordeal... it felt like the longest miscarriage ever.

I was pregnant with my son in 6 months. After he was born, I had to have another one at 6 weeks PP. My body seems to REALLY like to be pregnant and it retained some of the placenta.

If you trust your OB, then I would trust that she was looking out for your best interest. If they don't do a D&C and something is wrong, you could end up not being able to conceive again or with cancer if cells are left to mutate. If you had a large amount of bleeding she may have been concerned about the health of your uterus.

Aleisha,

I have had several miscarriages but they were mostly 2nd trimester I have never had a D&C I was told by my doctor they are only good if you are severly bleeding or the baby does not come out on it's own. He told me a D&C is an avasive proceedure which causes scar tissue and could take longer for you to get preg. again. he told me the body takes care of it's self and the D&C is to be used if there is a problem but at 4 weeks the baby is so tiny it would of came out it probably did and you didn't notice it. It would of looked like a blood clot at that stage. I hope this helps.

Aleisha, I am sorry to hear about your loss. I do believe that a D&C is a good idea in most cases. I have lost a few pregnancies before my son (six yrs old). 1 of them was at almost 5 weeks, because of how firmly attached to the uteris it was, it would have takes a long to to clean naturally on its' own. So a D&C was the best choice. But after having it done I took a month off "trying" to re-regualte my . - and got pregant a month after that. There is always hope! Good luck to you and your family!

Hi, Aleisha--I miscarried at 9wks and I also had a d&c. I had a really hard time with it because I was very much against having a procedure that someone would elect if they were having an abortion. My doc told me I had two choices, I could have the d&c or just let nature take its course and eventually the baby and placenta and all would come out. My problem with the "natural way" was that there was no way to tell when it would actually happen--the body will expel the miscarriage, but it doesn't have a timetable. It could have been another two weeks, or it could have been the next day. It was my first pregnancy, two months after my wedding and we were so excited--it was just so devastating, I don't think I could have made it two weeks! What ultimately helped me make my decision was a friend of mine telling me she'd had several miscarriages, and had done it both ways. She told me that when she tried it naturally, she actually went into labor, even though she was so early on. She labored at home, alone, on the couch for a full day, and afterward, she said she bled for days and the pain was terrible. She actually advised me to get the d&c because it was less painful and much less traumatic. I got pregnant again about 5 months later and my little boy is almost 19 months, and I'm pregnant with another one now, due June 7. I know everyone is different, but I can't imagine your doc would have insisted on the d&c if she didn't think it was best. Hope this helps you!

J.

Aleisha, I am sorry. :-(
I went through something similar in 1999.... I got a super early positive, told everyone and got excited. When the dr. ordered an early ultrasound (for dating) there was no heartbeat. I think the embryo had stopped growing shortly after my test, and nothing had happened yet. I opted to do the D&C also... just as much for psychological reasons as for physical. I couldn't bear the thought of the cramping and bleeding starting, when I still felt mentally pregnant. So I just let them do it.... I agree with you, it probably was unnecessary, but.. I had no adverse effects. I ended up getting pregnant about one year later. (We didn't try for quite awhile.. it had been a surprise pregnancy, and I wanted my body to get back to normal).

I have to say that since I've been through it, I wouldn't advise anyone to take a test that early. I can imagine before the tests were available this happened just as often, except that people didn't ever realize they were pregnant to begin with. I've had missed periods and irregular periods my whole life, so... who would really know, except for the tests. Again, it doesn't make it any easier. My condolences.

Aleisha,
I have no info for you about the D&C. I just wanted to tell you that I am so sorry to hear about the miscarriage. I will be praying for you.

Hi Aleisha. I had a miscarriage December of 2006 and ended up having to have a D&C. I didn't have any colpications from it and ended up getting pregnant 2 months later, by accident.

Hello - I'm so sorry for your loss. I just went through a miscarriage at 10 weeks and it was devastating (my first pregnancy). I can tell you what my OB said to me. She said that since I was farther along than most, she recommended a D&C since I had not started miscarrying yet, but the baby had passed away. She said that if I was earlier in the pregnancy, many opt to have a natural miscarriage but you could really do either one at that point as well. She said it could take weeks before a natural miscarriage could start and I didn't want to walk around knowing that my baby had passed away and waiting for it to happen. I can't tell you what was right or wrong, but in my opinion, I think you did the right thing. Hope that helps!

I had on about 8 yrs. And it was difficult, but it was worth it. There was no pain, nor did I suffer. I ended up pregnant two yrs later. I have a son that is 5 now. I always say that if it was meant to be then i wouldn't had to have on. I was 9weeks when i had mine,the sack was growing but something went wrong and the baby wasn't there but the sack was. the longer they made me wait the bigger the sack kept getting. so in my opion i believe it was for the best.

Hi Aleisha. I am really sorry to hear about the miscarriage. I also had miscarriages. I lost my first child at about 6 weeks and had to have a d&c. Then I was pregnant with my son who I had healthy, then I lost 2 more after him which I had to have d&c's for both of them and then I had my beautiful baby girl. My kids are 7 and 31/2. I didn't have any complications from my d&c's. Good luck to you and I hope things work out well for you. Whatever you do, just don't give up!

S.

I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. I chose NOT to have a D and C but there is a drug that my OB inserted vaginally that caused me to contract and pass everything. If this happens again, and i hope it doesn't, I would go this route because I was able to get pregnant 2 months later. I'm sorry for the loss and I truly hope there are no ill effects from this.

Hi Aleisha,
So sorry about the miscarriage. I also had a miscarriage at an early stage, although it was at about 9 weeks and I had a D&C at 10 weeks. I was living in Japan at the time and for them I guess it was routine to give a D&C for a miscarriage. I didn't know anything about it at the time. But looking back I think it was a good thing to do. I never had any bleeding or pain at all (they found out about it from an ultrasound which showed a placenta and sac but no baby and the following week the sac was starting to shrivel up) and there was no infection or anything because they were able to remove the entire placenta, etc. That would be your risk with going natural - that not all of the stuff would flush itself out and some would stay in there and cause problems. I actually had a friend who this happened to a couple years ago. She had an early miscarriage and was dealing with pain and spotting for several months before they ended up doing a D&C to clean her out. The other nice thing in my case was that as soon as the D&C was performed, all my morning sickness, fatigue, etc. went away. Who wants to deal with that any longer than necessary?
After the miscarriage, I didn't have another period for about 6 weeks, and then it was irregular for a while (my periods were irregular after resuming after having my 2 kids as well) and then everything stabilized. A year and a few months later I got pregnant again and had #2 with no complications. My other friend who I mentioned just above also waited about a year and then became pregnant again and also had a healthy baby. I had another friend, though, who only waited a couple months and got pregnant again and had a healthy baby (her first of five!!).
So anyway, I don't think you need to doubt yourself or your doctor on this one. Don't worry about it anymore. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to conceive again (God willing) and have a healthy pregnancy. My guess is that you're fretting over this as a way to deter your grief over the loss of the baby you were expecting so eagerly. So ahead and grieve your loss - you'll go through different stages of grief. I think it took me more than a year to fully grieve my miscarriage. I still think about it sometimes and have even named the baby in my mind (I haven't told anyone that!) and wonder what he would have been like. But don't necessarily expect your husband to grieve with you in the same way. They just don't grieve the same way. It's not as real to them since they didn't experience it physically.
Blessings to you -
J. B (wife of 6 1/2 years, mother of 2)

My first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 6 weeks... Keep in mind, this was 11 years ago... My doctor also performed a D & C and I had discomfort for a few days, but no complications in getting pregnant again. My oldest daughter was conceived six months later (first try), I had a normal pregnancy and she is now ten w/a younger sister (also no problems). I don't know if that is typical or not (and I was only 24 at the time of my miscarriage), but I wouldn't worry too much... If you have questions, call your doctor and ask her to explain everything to you. I'm sure that she would be willing to do that if you schedule time w/her. Good luck!

Hi Aleisha, I just read your request and wanted to tell you that I was sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Hope all goes well and you bounce back soon. Take care! ! :) D. R.

Aleisha,
First things first, i am sorry to hear of your loss. I have been thru this twice, once at 6 weeks and once at 4 weeks (strangely enough i had one miscarrage befor each of my boys). I did have a D&C for both of them. Other than the post op healing there were no complications. in fact after the first one we ended up getting pregnant quicker than expected,after 2 cycles we started trying again and boom, pregnant the first month after trying. After the 2nd one it took about 10 months but that could have been due to my emotions of being afraid to get pregnant again and going thru the same thing and having a 2 year old little boy around.
For me having the D&C done helped emotionally. I didn't have to fear going to the bathroom for weeks seeing if i was still bleeding. It is hard no matter how you go thru it and you do go thru many emotions but not seeing me bleeding was one less thing to remind me.
Good luck with everything and I hope i have offered a little help. :o)
Melissa

Hi Aleisha!

I'm a 32 year old mother of three. I suffered from numerous miscarriages after my second daughter was born. When my middle daughter was about three years old, I suffered another miscarriage and had to have a D&C as well. About a year and a half later, I found out I was pregnant with my third daughter. The pregnancy was normal and the delivery was too. I can't say that I have any complaints after having the surgery. In fact, I think that by removing the scar tissue, it lowered the risk of another miscarriage and helped my pregnancy to progress with no complications. I hope this helped!

I also had a miscarriage...my first pregnancy. I miscarried at 14 weeks...baby stopped developing at 8 weeks. Went to er and decided to stay and have doctor perform d&c next day. This decision was best for me and my family...I believe a d&c is best b/c it cleans everything out. It wasn't hard to get prenant again...my bundle of joy came three months after miscarriage (conceived). I hope this helps....take care of yourself and relax...another baby will come for you and your family. If you would like someone to talk to...email me at ____@____.com

Dear Aleisha,

Yes, I too had a similar experience. I was pregnant and miscarried. My doctor told me it was a complete miscarrage and that I could try again soon. I did get pregnant again and also miscarried that child and because of the amount of blood I was loosing a D&C was done (in both cases I was around 4 weeks or so along). Soon after I did again get pregnant and delivered a beautiful baby boy and then 12 months later a beautiful baby girl. My children will soon be 18 & 17 years old. I really believe that the D&C cleaned out all the junk in there and made a good place to grow the wonderful babies I was given. I know it's hard to loose a baby regardless of how far along you are in your pregnancy. My best wishes to you for your future little ones.

Aleisha,
I am so sorry to hear about your misfortune. Personally I have had 2 miscarraiges, one with a D&C and one without. From my experience, I recovered much faster from the miscarraige followed by the D&C rather than the one without (had bleeding for 8+ weeks without the D&C). I have had 2 children, one after each of the miscarraiges and am currently expecting my 3rd. I don't think there's any need to worry.
Good luck with the healing,
S.

Aleisha,
Im so sorry for your loss. I too had a miscarriage. Mine was in January of this year. I was 9 wks. I did not have a D & C though the doctor offered it to me 3 times. It took my body 10 days to actually miscarry completely. It was very stressful and I had to keep going to get ultrasounds to see if it was complete, (in a doc's office full of pregnant women) Having said all this, I don't know if I would choose D & C if this happens again, But after going thru it naturally I would probably elect not to do it that way again. When you elect to do it naturally you are monitored very close and ultrasounds are performed to make sure nothing is remaining in your uterus. My doctor told me that either way my future health would not be in jeopardy by electing to do it naturally. And that either way you can begin trying again as soon as your cycle returns to normal, or you have at least one cycle. When having a miscarriage it seems that it is really dependant on how your body is handling it whether or not a D & C is needed. In my case I had almost three weeks of going thru it and was told if I didn't complete the miscarriage at the end of the last week a D & C would be necessary. But the option was always there. Had I been in any danger I definatly would have chosen the D&C immed.Of course when this happens you find yourself reading all kinds of things. My best advice is find one or two good sources of medical information and stick to those or you can make yourself crazy.( trust me I know!!)As far as I have read a D&C poses no complications to becoming pregnant again and any difficulty to become pregnant would more likely be due to something other than a D&C.( A little info on where I am with it all now: My miscarriage was complete on Jan. 24, my cycle returned two weeks after and we started trying on Feb 15th. Right now I am awaiting a period as it was supposed to arrive yesterday,the test I took said negative. I hope that my answer has helped you in some way. I know this is a difficult time, I will keep you in my prayers. If you would like to talk sometime, let me know.
S.

Hi Aleisha
First wanted to say how sorry I am about your miscarriage. Its a hard thing to go through, and as you can see by the number of posts your received, you are not alone. Im sending good thoughts your way.
I also had a D&C when I miscarried at 16 weeks. Because I was so far along, there were a number of complications with my miscarriage and the D&C was something they had to do to make sure that the entire pregnancy was removed from my uterus. Although, unpleasant, I recovered and went on to have 3 healthy babies and am pregnant with number 4 now. Try not to worry to much about it. Im sure that when you are ready you will go on to have a normal healthy pregnancy. Trust your body. You will know when the time is right to try again.

Hello again Aleisha,

You'll be fine! My daughter miscarried her first pregnancy at 8 weeks, and they did a D & C. Her body hadn't expelled the baby yet, and that was a good thing, for her. Heather would have hemorrhaged had her body did it on its own. In fact, she did hemorrhage during the D & C, but that was alot safer than at home. We also found out she has a rare blood type at the same time, AB Positive, which is always good to know.

Anyway, she delivered a healthy baby boy a year and a half later, and is due with another on June 3rd. It is really hard to go through a miscarriage, emotionally and all. I am so sorry you had to go through this. Sending prayers your way!

T.

I also had a miscarriage but at about 7 weeks. I knew I was pregnant but wasn't sure when I had actually gotten pregnant so the doc did an ultrasound and found no heartbeat. I was told I could wait and let the miscarriage happen or I could have a DNC. I chose the DNC. I had absolutely no complications and was feeling better (physically anyway) within days. I had the surgery in January and was pregnant again in April. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl the following February. Hang in there and try to look at the positive side.

Hi Aleisha:
I am sorry about your loss. Please know you are in my prayers.
I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks and I had an option to have a D&C or just let nature take it's course. I had the D&C because I was going to be out of the country at the time that the miscarriage would have been complete and was concerned that if complications cropped up I would not get adequate care. Maybe because of your discomfort she suggested it. It seems awfully early in a pregnancy to have one but I am not a Doc. I am sure she had your best interest in mind. Were they going to do any genetic testing on the fetus? That was another reason for having the D&C. Mine came back with genetic abnormalities. Nothing more explained than that.
You are in my thoughts.
L.
PS. My husband and I planted a dogwood tree in memory of that baby and when we moved we brought it with us to our new house. It is a beautiful reminder.

Let me say i am sorry that you are here know and coming to terms with a miscarriage. I had one after my first son. I didn't even know i was pregnant, i to was less than six weeks. I spent the day at the hospital waiting for a blood test to say i was pregnant. In the end they said i had passed everything on my own and didn't need a D&C. I would say to wait and ask that later you just did have the i am and right away the not anymore. If it is a question of your ability to have more personally after my miscarriage i have had two more children and am six weeks from having twins. I have a friend that went through multiple miscarriages and had to have help to maintain term pregnancies but they are parents and she has said God was with her and she and her husband have a very strong marrage because of it. The feeling of loss is confusing and the questioning of your Dr's care or type of care is important but the emotional process today compared to two weeks may be a better time. Do take the time to decide latter before you try again if this Dr. is the one you want and trust to care for you and your next pregnancy, that can wait a few days if you really are concerned go see your Dr. and tell her what you think and have her explain why you needed a D&C we all have different bodies. Do you believe she was doing the best thing for you and your health? If not Say that to Her, that one person can help you more with what your body was doing. I pray that God come over you and heal your heart and body.

i am so sorry to hear that....my thoughts are with you

Hello there,
I want to tell you that I am sorry to hear of your loss. I too had a recent loss. On 12-28-07 we lost a baby boy at 15 weeks. I miscarried him at home and went to the ER. I was in there for a few hours and they contacted my OB. AN on-call OB wanted a D&C performed right away. I told the ER physician that I wanted to try and expel everything on my own first and asked to at least have over night to try. He went and talked with the OB doc who was there at the hospital and he agreed to let me try. I stayed over night and around 10:30 am the doc examined me and anything that I had expelled overnight and I did not expel everything, so he wanted to perform the D&C. I asked him if there were risks involved with scaring my uterus and causing complications for any future pregnancy. He told me that unless there was an accident and their tool poked through the uterus, that would be the only way scaring would be a problem. He also felt that not getting the remains out promptly it could lead to bad infection or hemoraging. So we did the procedure. He then told us after the surgery that during the procedure the remains had an odd odor. Now whether I had an infection in there before I lost our son, or whether it started to build up infection from the bag of waters rupturing and remains he couldn't tell me. So, I was glad I got the procedure done. We do want another child, so I hope and pray I do not have problems. I am having my second cycle since the procedure and it is a little heavy but not too excessive. I wish you the best of luck with everything.

First, let me offer you my sympathy for the loss of your baby. It is a difficult time for you and your family. Talking about it with your partner and discussing your feelings will help both of you. If your partner doesnt seem affected by it dont push the issue, he is grieving but may not be able to talk about it now.
Second, to help answer your question about whether it was appropriate for your doctor to perform the d and c, or not we need to know if an ultrasound was done prior to the procedure? If the ultrasound was done and determined that the baby had died, then the d and c was appropriate. There are many complications from not having a d and c. Retention of the tissue can cause infection, scaring and other problems for you later. There should be no fertility complications from the procedure. The term d stands for dilatation of the uterus, which is done with medication through your IV, the the c stands for currettage, which they used to scrape clean the lining of the uterus, now they use suction. I have had two miscarriages and three live births. Both miscarriages were inbetween my living children and with both I had the d and c. One miscarriage was at 8 weeks and the other at 12weeks gestation. I grieved with both of them, but the last one was the worst. I bought a special Christmas ornament with two little cherub angels that I get out and look at from time to time to help me remember them. I also think of them as angels in heaven that hopefully I will be able to meet someday. God Bless you and your family.

Aleisha:
Last April 1st, I found out I was pregnant. Went to the dr. at 10 weeks and was unable to detect a heartbeat. An ultrasound a few days later confirmed that the embryo was not alive. I had a 2nd u/s 2 days later to confirm. I should have been 11 weeks at that point, but my pole reading was 9. I opted to have a D&C. My dr. advised that abstain from sex for 30 days, which I did. After my follow up dr. appt, I was given the "go ahead". I am now 36 weeks pregnant with twins. I was concerned about scar tissue, etc, but it didn't seem to have an effect on me.

Hope this helps. Jenn

I had 2 D&Cs. One the baby stopped at 6 weeks and another at 8 weeks. Easy to get pregnant again (way easy). I didn't have good luck twice in a row. While I am aware that some say no need for a D&C, it is the safer way to go. That way you know there is nothing left in there. I did go on to have a little boy who is now 11 months.

It is hard. To go from excitement to such disappointment. Take care of yourself.

Hi Aleisha~
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Unfortunatly, I know how it feels to loose a baby. I lost one at 11 weeks along to a miscarriage, and another time lost my baby at 5 weeks along to another miscarriage. It's amazing how fast we come to love our children regardless of their age.
With the first time, the baby's heart stopped beating, and the dr told me that the pregnancy was ending, and was going to set up an appt for a d&c. I was in denial, and said no to the d&c because I thought that if my baby was still alive, I would be killing it. So the dr said it was alright to let it occur naturally, and that I'd have to come in for blood work every other day to make sure that my hormone count was dropping, and on it's way back down to zero.
When the second miscarriage occured, I told the dr that I was going the same route as last time.
I understand that the bleeding is far far far less with a d&c, and that would be nice!, but I didn't want it unless it was completely necessary and the only choice. I think a person's chances of getting pregnant and having a successful pregnancy are not related to whether they had a d&c or not after a miscarriage. Just my opinion.

Hi Aleisha!

I am soo sorry to hear of your loss! I know first hand what you are feeling right now but just remember things will get better.

I too had a so-called miscarriage! I was farther along but they told me that there was no longer a heartbeat and the pregancy was not viable! Of course I did not believe this and made my doctor do several more test to prove to me but it ended up with me having to have a D&C.
I was sore for a day or two but mostly I was emotionally hurt and devasted ( I waited 13 years for this baby) but...I survived all the heartache and then 6 months later came my little miracle! I was pregant again!
I had no complications and I now have a 2 1/2 yr old healthy onree boy!
Just remember- alot of what you read on the internet is not always correct and everyone's body is different so listen to your OB. If you don't trust them...find a new one!
Good Luck and again I am sorry for your loss!
T.

I don't have any experience, but I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry that you have to go through this!

I had a "non-viable" pregnancy nearly eight years ago. The baby just quit growing after six weeks but we did not know until at twelve weeks they could not detect any heart tones. I had a d&c, which was quite emotionally traumatic to me. We waited the length of time recommended by our ob ( I think 3 months) and got pregnant very easily and now have a 6 1/2 daughter and a 17 month old son. I'm so sorry for your loss. Hope this helps a little. Hang in there.

Aleisha - I am so sorry for you and your family to hear about your loss. It must be seem like a bad dream - first you figure out you are pregnant and then you are not. That is alot to go through in such a short time!!

A little about me - I have been an OB nurse for 25 years and a perinatal loss counselor. We care for moms who have miscarried on our unit alot. I would rather have them with us over the ER or Surgery Center because I think they get these questions answered more, plus the emotional support they need and deserve.

If you were having heavy bleeding (like on your period) and lots of abdominal pain (that Tylenol didn't help), then it sounds like your physician gave you the correct advice. Yes, it is somewhat common (but not normal) to have some spotting early on, but I am guessing you were doing a lot more than spotting. Maybe you could have waited awhile to see if you passed tissue on your own, but you were bleeding and in pain. That is not a good place to be for very long. It is normal to have these questions.

Typically, one in five pregnancies end in misscariage. That's 20%!! Most people are unaware of that statistic because women didn't use to talk about it. You will find out among your family and friends that many ladies have experienced loss - I hope they reach out to you.

You can easily get pregnant right away because your hormones are "in flux." Please wait for 3 months for your body to recover - and then try again when you are ready. Unless you had health or infertility issues, there is no reason at this time to think that you cannot successfully carry a baby to term next time. You will worry - and that is normal too.

If you email me privately, I can give you a list of good reading material you may find helpful. There are many support options available. Or any other questions, concerns?? Again, my condolences to you and your husband.

Hi Aleisha I was 4 weeks along when I had my miscarriage. I had a 2 year old son. Honestly I didn't have any physical problems after the D&C, it was the phychological that I had problems with. I am not a smoker or a drinker for me it was what did I do wrong, my doc and family it was nothing that I did it was something that just happened and that GOD may had protected me from a child that may have health issues and he knows the person that I am. It took me awhile to understand that concept. I am happy to let you know that within 2 mo of the D&C I was pregnant again and I had delivered a healthy boy along with 2 other healthy children 2-4 years later. It will be alright.