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telling people about miscarriage

I was 8 weeks pregnant and I miscarried 7 weeks ago. It was my first pregnancy. My husband and I didn't tell anyone about the pregnancy yet. Should we tell people about the miscarriage even though they didn't know about the pregnancy?
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Avatar universal
It really is your choice to tell people or not.  I only told my family and very close friends.  It seems by telling those people I now have a lot of support from them vs. none at all.  However, I am sick and tired of everytime someone calls me asking how I am feeling.  It gets old so be prepared for those questions.  

I'm so sorry for your loss.  It is never easy.
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Avatar universal
From my experience, yes.  We did the same.  We got pregnant and was going to announce it at 8 weeks.  A girl in our family HIGHLY suggested we didn't because of the risk of mc.  So we didn't.  Then I misscarried at 9 weeks.  She got pregnant immediatly after, flaunted it in my face, and going to family events watching her belly grow, the baby showers, and birth have been incrediably difficult.  I wish now we would have told our family, and they could have been there for us.  You will need the support.  It is a very hard thing to go through.  It has been a year since we got pregnant.  I lost the baby in October.  It is still hard and even harder now since we can't get pg.  Watching this girl's pregnancy has broken my heart.  I could think was "I would have been __ far along..."  "our baby would be __ old now..."  and seeing her new infant for the 1st time Sunday was unbearable.  

Yes, tell your family.  I wish I would have.  Now I suffer in silence while everyone talks about her pregnancy and new baby.  they didn't know I was pregnant and don't realize how much pain I am in.  If I had told them, they could have supported me and it would have helped so much.  Suffering in silence is not good for you.  Loosing a baby is hard.  It is when you need your families support the most and it will be hard for a long time.

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Avatar universal
...and I am so sorry for your loss....  take care of yourself.  Put yourself first, do what YOU need to do to heal.  
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the support. It has been tough. I have several family members and friends pregnant right now, and sometimes it is really hard to be around them. One of my counsins who is pregnant is just two weeks ahead of what I should be. She's starting to show now and its especially hard being around her. I've been really struggling with the decision to tell anyone lately. I feel like I should at least tell my husbands and my parents so they know. I feel so ashamed that this happened sometimes, and I really don't know how they would deal with the news.
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Avatar universal
I understand.  I would tell your parents and inlaws for sure.  There is nothing to be ashamed of, there is nothing you could do to prevent it.  Their support will help carry you through.  It will be hard watching your cousin go through her pregnancy.  I do had to go through the same thing.  My husband's cousin's wife got pregant after me.  They weren't even trying until we got pregnant.  She is a spoiled, selfish, hateful person....  It is a long story and I must personally say that I can know not stand the mere sight of her becuase of how she acted after my loss and through her pregnancy.  I would also tell your cousin and talk to her about it so hopefully she can be there for you, if you were close.

I was very close to this girl. Her and her husband were two of our best friends and the very first people we told in the family after our parents when we got pregnant.  Just two weeks before we found out, I asked if her and mike we're trying and she said no - they weren't even getting along and she wasn't sure thier marriage was going to last though they had just gotten married 3 months earlier.  After we told them, the first thing out of her mouth was "I have to be pregnant NOW...".  There was another couple in our family that got married the same year and she said for sure she had to get pregnant before her...  We were going to announce it at a Sunday lunch at my husband's grandmother's house at 8 weeks.  she came over that morning to borrow my clothes and kept telling my husband and I repeatedly that that was a very bad idea cause I might have a mc....  So we didn't.  Then a week later, sure enough, I mc'd and all she could say was "see... aren't you glad you didn't tell everyone..."  And, the day I lost the baby, she wanted to come over to see chris about picking up some movies they wanted to watch.  She called me, I told her that day was a very bad and what was going on.  she offered no condolences and just said, we really need to come by...  when they got there I was in so much pain, was bleeding heavily, and had to stay in the bed and was crying the whole time.  Did she come in to see me, ask how I was doing, give me a hub??? nope.  I could hear her in there laughing and having a grand time while I was in the bedroom and she just couldn't uenderstand why I wouldn't come hang out with them... I was having a MISCARRIAGE!!  Now, you would think, a "nice" person would have brought us lunch, maybe even some flowers, or anything to show a gesture of sympthony, but nope.  I just got the cold sholder and not even a hug while she sat in my living room laughing as I lay in bed crying and hurting.  

THEN, she get's pregnant the next month.  All I get from her are texts, "when you were first pregnant did you have a lot of cm come out...."  "when you were first pregnant, when did you take a pg test?"  "when you thought you were pregnant...."  And she knew I was having a hard time with the mc becuase I bled all the way through November and develped an infection.  So I asked her if she thought she was and she lied to me and said no, those questions were for someone else.  To top that off, christmas eve comes and she calls me that morning at work wanting to know what time we were going to be at our grandmother's house.  I asked why and she said giggling, "We have a BIG announcement we don't want y'all to miss!!!"  I asked, "you're pregnant." and she said "YES!!  aren't you so excited for us!!"  My heart sank and fell in the floor.  I cried all the way home.  They announced it by giving embrodied baby bibs to the new great grandmother and grandfather...  What a great christmas that turned out to be.  I suck deeper into depression.  Then the following week after christmas I get a text from that says she thinks I am resentful of her becuase she is pregnant and I am not.  Seriously?  And she knew that I had to go for another ultrasound Jan 8 becuase I had retained product STILL and had to have an ultrasound with saline and a scope.  Did she ask about that?  Nope.  Did she offer any support that I was struggling becuase the mc may have created problems that might make it harder for us to get pregnant?  Nope.  

then the next visit to the grandmother's family luncheon she brings in her latest ultrasound pictures at 9 and 12 weeks.  We walk in the door and the FIRST thing she says to us is "Hey look, I brought ultrasound pictures!!"  Talk about a cold hearted b*tch....  Tears immediatly welled up in my eyes and I had to go outside.  it was unbearable.  then the baby showers... oh, and she did continue to send me text about HER pregnancy - like when they found out it was a girl...  but never asked anything about me, how was I doing, ....

oh, and the other girl got pregnant too - her baby is due October 11th, my mc was October 10th last year. So they had duel baby showers in May.  When I got the invite, again my heart sank.  Did she call me to talk about it, see how I was doing, would it be hard for me,... nope.  But 3 days after I got the invite I got an email asking if I got the email cause they wanted to make sure I was there....  

I almost didn't go.  But my husband insisted.  I only stayed a short bit.  Dropped off the presents then excused myself and said I had something I had to do that afternoon...

The baby was born Aug 2.  They brought the baby last sunday to his grandmothers for the family lucheon.  Boy that was hard and holding back tears was dang near impossible.  She didn't even speak to me once.  she just stood in the kitchen while I sat at the kitchen table and yapped away to the other pregnant girl about delivery, pregnancy, the new baby, .... bla bla bla.  cold hearted wouldn't you say?

Sorry for the rant.  I'm having a hard time with it. and I guess my point is that through all of it I learned it would have been much eaiser had we told everyone cause then it would have been out in the open instead of trying to hold back tears and hide it from everyone.  I wish everyone in my family would have know cause it would have been helpful for me to talk about it with them and then they would understand the pain I'm going through as these others have thier beautiful pregnancies and babies.  It's going to be hard forever.  All our babies would have been born this year.  Our's was due in May, she had her's in August, and the other due in October.  Now I get to watch their children grow and always have the reminder that we lost ours and our child would have been the same age.  

And you would think this girl could see this and offer some sort of empathy, but she doesn't it. Only a truly cold hearted person would act that way.  I hope your cousin is a much better person.  If y'all are close, talk to her, tell her how hard it is.  Maybe she can be there for you and lend a sholder to cry on.  The pain will never go away and mine just seems to get deeper.  It would have helped me tremendously had I had that.  You can't change what happened, but your friends and family's support can make a world of difference in your healing.

I wish you the best and you are in my thoughts and prayers.  I know it's hard.  
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927829 tn?1297268639
It sounds like you are holding onto a huge amount of hurt and resentment towards your friend. I understand how difficult it is to go through miscarriage (I'm enduring my 5th at the moment), but it's so much harder if you hold all the pain inside. Some people are very insensitive, I know. I think they often don't know what to say or do for you, so they pretend nothing happened. It's up to you to sit down and tell your friend how hurt and betrayed you are by her complete lack of compassion.

It's not too late to tell your friends and family what you've gone through. It sounds like you are really craving their support -- tell them how difficult it's been for you if that's what you need to heal.

I've chosen to tell a handful of people about what I've gone through, and I'm going to start a blog to chronicle my upcoming journey with IVF. I've found it really cathartic to be open about it. It's amazing how many other women I know have also gone through the same thing but kept silent until I shared my story.

Hang in there, and don't be afraid to tell people about your pain.

-Eirlis
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, I am holding in a lot of pain and resentment - not because she got pregnant and had a beautiful baby - I am truly happy for them, but I feel resentful because of her lack of compassion during a very traumatic, hard, painful time in my life.
I did try to tell her. Twice. First when she accused me of being resentful of her because she was pregnant and I wasn't. I tried to explain to her that was not the case but I was suffering a lot of grief and it was hard when she would ask me questions about her pregnancy. Second time after her shower. I sent her an email trying to explain how painful that was, she then bad mouthed me to the other pg girl and now they both give me the cold shoulder.
Honestly, I think she's just pure evil. She has a 13 year old daughter she had at 17 and this pregnancy was all about her cause she didn't get to enjoy her first one. She talks to her daughter terriably as well as her husband. Snaps at them in front of everyone, curses them dropping F bombs freguently.
I've thought about trying to talk to her again, but I'm now at the point I just want to let it go. She wasn't a true friend, and life is too short to waste time on people like that. It's going to be a painful journey for a long time watching her child grow.  
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Avatar universal
I'm so sorry for your loss too. :(  Some people are just huge jerks!!!  I do know a few people who would probably be with me the way your friend was with you, but I didn't tell anyone about the pregnancy. I would like it if my parents and his mom knew (his dad is an insensitive jerk most of the time--he is actually one of the reasons we decided not to tell people yet, we just got married in April and he would've said something about it being to soon or something, how much it costs, etc...).
Anyway---in my huge extended family (my parents are both close to their 5 and 7 siblings), there aren't many secrets for long, and I don't know if I'm ready for all those people to know. I'm sure that they would not tell anyone if I asked them not too, but then they would be holding it in just like I am now. This child would've been their first grandchild.
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Avatar universal
I'm so sorry for your loss.  I miscarried at 10 weeks about 6 weeks ago.  My family and best friend (who is also pregnant) knew of my pregnancy and of course my miscarriage/ d & c.  They have been supportive,  but no one i know has been through this, so it's hard for them to know how to help me.  I'm kind of a private person so they don't know all the times I've cried myself silly, and I really haven't talked to them about my fears, anger, etc.  I'm the type to attempt a happy face and tell them I'm fine.  On the other hand I'm really glad they know because I couln't imagine going through this totally alone.  I have a best friend who's pregnant and I had to give her a shower 2 weeks after my miscarriage and my family really rallied behind me to help and we had a wonderful shower for her (i cried for a while when it was done, but they don't know that!).  I also have a stepsister who none of us are very fond of, and she announced her pregnancy 2 weeks after my miscarriage and she is due 3 weeks after I was.  The family has been really protective/supportive of me in those situations.  They can't take my pain away, but they are able to help me with the situations I'm not feeling strong enough to handle right now.  I think I have received the most support from this forum. I'm sorry that all of these ladies have had to go through this kind of thing, but it is comforting to know you're not alone and have someone to talk to that really understands.   We'll get through this. Take care of yourself.  
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Avatar universal
It's a hard situation.  My dad's the same way.  All about money and kids aren't important if you don't have a ton of money in the bank.  I didn't want the lecture either.  I didn't tell him - my mom and dad are divorced.  We only told my mom, my husbands parents, his grandmother, and our closest friends.  My mom ended up telling my dad after I had the mc.

You just never know what to do in these situations.  And really, when the mc started, I was in shock, disbelief, confused, hurt, ...  and I first I thought "It's ok...It'll be ok... We can try again..."  That got me through the first couple of months, but now 10 months later and no pregnancy has really worn on me.  It's made dealing with the grief of the mc harder and my depression deeper.  We wanted a baby so much.  I'm 39 and my husband is 41.  We don't have a lot of time and I'm fearful we're pushing it now to have a safe and successful pregnancy and a healthy baby.

I was thinking about all this a lot last night.  It still makes me cry and I hate going to my husband's grandmother's house now.  I don't want it to be that way.  I love his grandmother.  She is the sweetest women.  My grandparent's died a number of years ago and having her in my life has really filled that void.  I've thought about calling her and talking to her about this.  Maybe she could offer some good words of wisdom.  I've held so much of this in and suffered silently.  The only person I talk to about it is my husband.  He sees it too and has also been hurt by this girl's actions.  The mc hasn't just affected me, it has deeply hurt him as well, and, we keep hoping month after month that just maybe it'll happen this time...  

I guess that's why you're post and question really spoke to me.  I would never want anyone to suffer what I have.  And it's not just the suffering and pain from the mc, that's bad in itself, but it's the suffering in silence.  I really didn't realize how traumatic this was going to be for me in the beginning.  As the days, weeks, months, pass, it doesn't get easier - it gets harder.  It is like a death, but there is no funeral, no condolonces, no support, no memorial... and no one knows what I'm going through - except my husband.  

Hang in there.  Give yourself whatever time to grieve and do whatever you need to do to heal.  

Take care.
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Avatar universal
I'm so sorry you have had to go through this.  I know there are no words to take the pain away.  I can't imagine having someone so insensitive/selfish around me at a time like this (my miscarriage was a month ago).  It's not too late to talk to your family.  They may really give you the support you need and shield you from these women.  I had  a stepsister announce her pregnancy and due 3 weeks after I was and a stepmother who is not sensitive to my feelings.  Without the support of my real sister and cousins at family functions I wouldn't be able to tolerate it.  They have helped me keep a distance from the ones that i can't face right now, without making me appear rude.  You might be surprised how much they can help.  Take care and good luck.  
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Avatar universal
Thank all y'all so much for your support. It has really lifted my feelings. It's been a tough road and I have felt so alone.
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Avatar universal
Should I try and say something to this girl or let it go? If I say anything, what should I say? Or would it be better to talk to our grandmother first?
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Avatar universal
It doesn't really sound like this girl is really going to get it, but it couldn't hurt to talk to her anyway.  I would definately talk to your grandmother.  Sometimes there are words of wisdom that can really help.  
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1430121 tn?1316180923
I'm so glad I found this forum. I was told at my 9 week appt on August 10 that I was having a m/c. My husband and I were devasted. We hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy at that point, we wanted to have our 5 year son old tell everyone. It took me about a 3 days to finally be able to tell my really close friend. Right now, only about 8 people know that I was even pregnant and had a m/c. If I didnt have my friend here at work with me to be able to talk to and to "ward' other coworkers off that would try to ask me what's wrong, I don't know if I would have made it this far, and I'm only two weeks out from my D&C. It feels like all I can think about is "when can I get pregnant again" and I know that sounds crazy when I'm still mourning the loss of this child. I feel like I'm going crazy!

At first I didn't want to tell anyone, but I have to say that I'm glad I did, but I only told those that were close to us. My husband needed someone to talk to too, so he told his brother. I think it helped us anyway. But everyone is different, so it really is up to you as to who and when you tell.

God Bless you and I will pray for all of you on here. I hate that all of you are going thru this. I have to say that I am grateful for your posts, even though they weren't directed to me; your words have comforted me. Thank you for that, because you all know that how little real "comfort" there is when going thru a time like this. Thank you


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Avatar universal
It is the hardest thing to go through.  I only wish we had told our family so that I could have had some sort of "protection" from this girl's insensitivity during her pregnancy.  Going through a miscarriage is a very private, personal event and I certaintly didn't want everyone to know, but these last 10 months have been incrediably difficult.  The only people that knew were my mother, my inlaws, and this girl and her husband - because I thought she was one of my closest friends.  She has hurt me deeply showing me no compassion and flauting her own pregnancy in my face while I've struggled with both the grief of the miscarriage and the frustration of not being able to get pregnant again.  

This forum has been my only source of support.  I still feel so alone everyday.  I'm heartbroken because I lost our baby and I lost who I thought was a good friend.  
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1293887 tn?1332702847
I am sorry about your loss.  I told my parents and brothers and sisters straight away.  I think we were about 5-7 weeks when we just told close family.  I was 12 weeks when I started telling extended family but haven't told everyone and I am now 14  weeks.  I am just waiting for my midwife appointment before I announce it to everyone else.

I miscarried earlier in the year at 14 weeks.  At 13 weeks and 5 days I announced it to all my friends on facebook only to say a few days later we had lost him.  I felt like utter crap but I loved the support of my immediate family.

It is all just a personal opinion.
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1430121 tn?1316180923
I'm really sorry you are going thru this m/c and the loss of who you thought was your best friend. I know that has to be difficult. I hope knowing that I say a prayer for you helps you feel less alone.
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Avatar universal
Thank you.
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Avatar universal
I went to dinner with a few of my closest friends the other night. They could tell something was wrong because they asked me if I was ok. I could tell they wanted to ask me more, and they could probably tell that whatever was bothering me was something that I felt I couldn't talk about. We (even me--most of the night) had a great time "catching up". We hadn't seen each other in over 4 months. I wanted to say something and I almost did a couple times, but every time I was about to, I almost started crying and I knew I wouldn't be able to get it out so I didn't. When I got home, I decided to text them to tell them, that way they wouldn't see me completely lose it. The news hit them like a bombshell--they told me they never would've guessed that it was something that horrible that happened. They were very supportive and we texted back and forth for a while. I felt a lot better once I told them. I want to tell my family, but I don't know if I will be able to get it out without completely losing it.
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Avatar universal
I know it's hard. I'm so sorry you're going through this. Sending you hugs but wish I could give you a real one...

I'm not good with advice and haven't been able to handle it myself. It's been almost a year and I still can't get over it.

I'm glad to hear your friends were so supportive. You need that more than anything right now.

It's not an easy thing to talk about at all.

I wish you the best. Stay strong and don't be afraid to rely on your friends and family for support. There's nothing that can help you more than their love and support. They love you and would want to be there for you.


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Avatar universal
Thank you. It really means a lot to me that you and everyone on this site is so supportive.

I think I'm going to tell my parents soon. We were thinking about taking both of our parents out to dinner or something and tell them all together. I know both of my parents and his mom will be supportive, its his dad that will probably be a jerk about it.

You're right its really not easy to talk about at all. Sometimes when I even think about talking about it I break down.

I'm sorry you are going through this too. Don't worry, I don't think this is something we'll ever get over. With time, we will hurt less, but the pain will always be there. I wish you all the best as well. Hopefully in the near future we will have some good news to post.
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1285850 tn?1291776435
So sorry for your loss :(

When I got pregnant in December I told my close friends and my family.
We wern't sure how his family would feel about it so we held off. I also told my work collegues too.

I then MC in January and it was DEVESTATING. I got much support from my family and friends that knew. I do belive you should tell someone close to you. Someone other then your husband, as he could be grieving himself.

The hard part was that I told everyone at work. They were very supportive but it was really hard to break the news to everyone.

Then i found out a good friend of mine was pregnant and she hadnt known for 3 months. She was due the exact same time as my baby would have been. I was REALLY upset, not at her, but that I have to be happy for her knowing that I would have to follow her pregnancy knowing that I would have been in the same time as her. It was really hard to cope with. I was happy for her really. She's my friend and I wished the best for her. But you can't help but feel upset. Any magazine with a pregnant Celeb would make me sad. I felt more depressed then ever. I even took it out on him sometimes.

So then I got pregnant again in April, I was so scared of mc again so I didn't tell as many people. Just my parents and best friends. You need to share the news with someone. If it means just your husband then that's ok. In my case I knew telling the closest people was good cuz they are there for you in case something happens. Thats what good friends are for.
I'm sure had I not gotten pregnant so soon after I would be still really upset over my friends pregnancy, expecially around the due date. I can just imagine the feelings of those like Moonflower that has to live through it with a smile on her face (and on top of that a bitter cold person too ughh)

We waited for the 12 weeks to pass since they say there's less probability of mc after and right after getting the ultrasound and seeing all was fine we told his family. They were really excited.

I don't regret not telling them about the first time, in fact, they still don't know about it. We just wanted to make sure all was ok first in case they did react bad of the news. Luckly that wasn't the case.

Anyway. My sugesstion is tell those close to you. Wait on the others. Tell people that you know will support you no matter what happens.

I hope all works out for you in the end and wish you a healthy pregnancy next time!

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1151328 tn?1284520345
I just read the whole thread about your m/c experience.  You said something that i have often said over the past year.  That the first couple of months you were really hopeful and that you thought you would get pregnant soon and it really helped carry you through for a while.  I know how you feel.  I m/c in august 09 and have been trying to get pregnant again since oct 09.  I had a chemical pregnancy last month at the beginning of august, in which i only knew i was pregnant for about 5 days before the preg finally failed and my period came.  Now that i've been TTC for almost a year, i'm very frustrated.  I really thought after my miscarriage last year i would become pregnant in no time and be able to move on.  It's been a tough year of disappointment each month as i'd learn i hadn't conceived.  I'm 28 and have no children.  Miscarrying your 1st pregnancy is terrifying because then you constantly wonder if you will ever be able to carry a child.  I am 28 and am worried that i waited too long to TTC.  Guess we are in the same boat.  Also, last year my cousin who is the same age as me found out she was pregnant a week after me.  I miscarried at 9 weeks and she now has beautiful 6 month old daughter.  She isn't mean about it like your relative but it is still not easy looking at her child and thinking that my child should be here now too.  Best of luck on your TTC journey.  And to hell with that dreadful woman.  I doubt you can get through to her, she is way too self absorbed.  
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