M/C - D

Today's ultrasound confirmed the baby died at 7w4d.  I'm supposed to be 9 week now.  The OB said she will call me on Monday to discuss what should I do next.  I'm not sure should I have D&C done or let it happen naturally.  Any suggestions?

[mChen]

It's gonna be hard to tell my mom I'm m/c.  She's really excited about me being pregnent :(.

[kbrownhh]

I would reccomend the D&C.  I had a friend whose baby died right around the same gestational age as yours and she waited for it to happen naturally.....well it took over 2 months and she still ended up with a D&C.  They gave her some medication which was supposed to help her naturally, and she thought it worked.  It made her so sick and she thought for sure she cleaned out everything inside.  She went back for a follow up and there was still some placental matter so she did the D&C.  She ended up getting a little infection on her cervix too because she took so long.  This was her second miscarriage.  The first one she automatically did a D&C, the second one was the one she waited for 2 months.  She said she would never wait again.  You can begin to heal both physically and emotionally much quicker once you have the D&C.  I am sorry for you loss.

[nalla]

I'm so sorry that you lost the baby. I have had 5 m/c and it's always hard.
Nobody can tell you what to do, but in my experiance I chose the D&C. I actualy just had one 2 days ago because of a m/c. From what some of these women have said, it could take a month or more for the baby to pass, then you would have to see it after is passes. Then you would have to deal with the physical pain of the m/c and the pain I have had before the D&C was really really bad. I was/am so focused on the pain that i haven't been able to mourn the baby. When you have the D&C the Dr. will just take care of it and you can begin to mourn the baby.It won't drag on. But the D&C is surgery...minor but still... And you might have some pain and slight bleeding for about a week after the D&C.
Like I said, nobody can tell you what to do, the D&C was what was best for me and my situation. I guess you need to figure out how you think you would do with either option. Are you prepared to have surgery? Are you prepared to go through the pain of possibly seeing the baby if you chose against the D&C etc etc. These are the things that I had to think of to make my decission with the other m/c. This time was a little different.
And again, I'm so sorry for your loss!!

[nalla]

kbrownhh is right. There is no guarantee that the baby will pass fully without a D&C. and then there is the risk of infection.

[4my3boys]

I have had 4 miscarriages and would much rather have a DnC, it was quick and not as painful.  One of the good things to consider is you get everything cleaned out sooner which I have been told allows your HCG levels to return to normal faster.  I am very sorry for your loss, I wish you the best of luck and try to get some rest.  

Check out this site, and maybe this might help you a little

http://www.storknet.com/complications/salafia/D&C.htm

[Momoftwogirls]

I am currently miscarrying on my own (found out Thursday it was an inevitable) - and it is moving along fairly quickly - shwew. My dr.'s office likes to wait a few days to see if your body will do this on its own. I'm so sorry for you - I was 8.5 wks - my heart goes out to you.

[emma10]

I had 2 mc's naturally and while the cramping is bad for a while it helped me to know my body knew what was going on, not some doctor with a labtest. My hcg went down quickly and I didn't have to wait because liining was not all scraped away like in d&c. I also hate hospitals, surgeries and am not too fond of doctors. Everyone's different.

[Luv4aila]

I based my decision on whether or not to have a D/C last m/c (in March, I was 9 weeks) on my busy schedule. Because every women is different with amount of pain/bleeding etc. that goes along with it. I couldn't really afford to take much time off of work. It worked out good.
My recent preg ended at 5 weeks...it's been 7 days and i am still bleeding. I guess the further along you are, the more envolved the process to get rid of what is inside you. I guess that makes sense
Sorry for your loss

[mChen]

Thanks everyone for your kind words.
I'm really scared of what's gonna happen.  If I wait for natual to take its course, I might still have chance need to have D&C done.  The D&C will probably be my choice.  But how is it done?  Does it take long time to recovery?

[MomofAlmostFour]

I'm so sorry for your loss. As far as having a D&C, it's pretty quick and painless (not emotionally, of course, but physically). I had one five weeks ago after discovering at my 11-week prenatal visit that our baby had died at 8 weeks.

Anyway, a D&C is usually done as same-day surgery at a hospital. You'll fast the night before, get admitted to same-day surgery the next morning, have an IV started and some info taken (you'll probably get blood work done the day before), meet w/ your doctor and the anesthesiologist, and then be taken to the O/R for the procedure. If you have general anesthesia or "twilight" anesthesia (which I had), you probably won't feel or remember a thing. Honestly, I remember laying down on the operating table, having the anesthesiologist tell me she was going to turn up the meds, and then waking up in recovery. The procedure was totally painless, and it took less than 20 minutes.

After an hour or so in recovery (you can eat or drink if you feel like it), you go home. I took antibiotics for a week afterward, along with methergine (anti-bleeding meds) for five days. I bled/spotted for nearly three weeks, but the cramping was relatively minor. My period resumed 4.5 weeks later (even though I haven't ovulated yet), and it was only a tiny bit heavier than usual.

Overall, a D&C is a very straightforward, safe procedure (yes, there are horror stories, but there are for everything). For me, any worry I had about the D&C itself was much less than the horror I felt at the thought of continuing to carry around my dead baby (three weeks after fetal death, I *still* had no symptoms of an impending miscarriage) and then watching it pass at home.

Good luck, and hang in there.

[thendricks]

I'm so sorry for your loss, I myself have m/c 5 times i'm on my 8th pregnasncy now, with 1 living child. With all my m/c I only did it naturaly 1 time. My doc always pushed for d&c and sdaid it was heathier this way, is that true? i have no idea I just went on what she said.   god bless and good luck

[mChen]

Thank you MomofAlmostFour for walk me through the process of the D&C.  No I know what to expect when the time comes.

[Tinye13]

When i had a M?C i had the d&C done, b/c my body was't taking care of it for me. I was on vacation when it happened, so that was my reasoning for that one. If i had to do it again I would prob do the D&C if my body wasn't taking care of it for me.

[SNORCHY]

I had a d&c on 9/19. I was really nervous abput it, but it was fast and physically painless. Literally, I was at the hospital for just a few hours, then left & went to McDonalds as I had been fasting all day. I only bled for a few days with mild cramping. I had been bleeding prior to the d&c for over 2 weeks and no m/c so given the option, I would do the d&c again.