How long to conceive after MMC?

[Ladybird2021]

Hello,

I had a MMC in April followed by a D&C for retained products. Previously I’ve been lucky to get pregnant very quickly, but I’m now on my 3rd cycle TTC. I realise this isn’t very long but because it’s longer than the time it took to conceive my last two pregnancies I am worried that the surgery has affected my ability to get pregnant.

So I was just wondering if there was anyone else who had been through similar:

1. Did surgery affect the time it took you to conceive?

2. Did you have any scans/follow ups after surgery to check that everything was ok?

Thank you

Anyone?

Hey @ladybird2021 sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you are doing OK?
I miscarried Oct last year then had retained products removed in November and I'm still ttc. Its hard. The majority of stories seem to be people who have fortunately fallen straight away which is great for them, but makes every month feel even harder. It had taken me 11 months to get that positive so maybe for some of us it just takes that little bit longer. I have had another scan and everything looked good/normal. It's easy to lose hope, I am, but don't give up. Your body is just healing and preparing for something amazing 💪 (I have to keep trying to myself that!)

Sorry for your loss.

I had a missed miscarriage and surgery for it in May 2019. It'd taken me 8 months to conceive. I then conceived again in December 2019 - another 8 months later.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that say how fertile you are after a miscarriage and there is actually no medical research to support this.

It was so hard at the time after my mmc but now I have my daughter, I think now that she was waiting for the right time for her and I'd go through it all again to have her.

Hi I had a MMC in November at 13 weeks. I didn't have surgery but did have medical management. I had terrible heavy bleeding on and off for months and an infection which they gave me antibiotics for a few weeks after, but my cycles are back to normal now. It took me 6 months to get pregnant with that baby (I also have a 4 year old who was conceived in about a month!!) and it's now been 8 months since my miscarriage and nothing! I'm definitely starting to get worried! I've had blood tests and scans which have been normal. The consultant at the hospital did send my placenta off and I had the results in May which said I had chronic inflammation. She said this wouldn't show up on a scan. I was getting a lot of pain on one side which I'm presuming was where the inflammation was/is. They gave me a course of antibiotics which I took last month and the pain has improved but still no pregnancy! I am finding TTC with no success harder each month but then I also think that I have needed time to grieve and get over my loss. It's a horrible situation to be in but we have got to keep hoping we will get pregnant again and remember that it can take time. Sending love xx

@Snoopysnores Thank you so much for sharing your experience and I’m so sorry for your loss too. It’s so hard. I thought I’d just get over it by getting pregnant again but it’s so frustrating having no control over anything. Wishing you all the very best and hope you get a positive result soon.

@Chanel05 Thanks so much for replying and congratulations on your baby. It’s so hard to be patient but your experience is a reminder that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

@sazzle1685 Thank you - sending you lots of positive vibes too. I hope now that they’ve treated the inflammation you’ll get pregnant again quickly. I am just worried that the surgery has affected me in some way but I guess it’s a lot for our bodies to go through and they all take time to heal. How long did after your MC did you have the blood tests and scans?

I've had 5 miscarriages. The only one I quickly fell Pregnant again was my 4th one. I conceived within 2 weeks of having my 3rd miscarriage. It was also my longest Pregnancy too at 9 weeks. I didn't fall Pregnant again for around another 15 months after that one but miscarried pretty much straight away

@Ladybird2021 thank you. I had the blood tests and scans around April/May I think. Yes I definitely think our bodies need time to heal it's a very traumatic experience xx

Many moons ago now but I had quite different experiences both times.

MMC and D & C 1 - got pregnant 3 months later with DS (now 17!)

1 year gap

MMC and D & C - got pregnant 1 year later with DD (15)

All the very best x

Thanks @HopingForOurRainbowBaby and I’m so sorry for your losses. It must have been physically and emotionally draining. I really hope you get your rainbow baby.

I always fell pregnant the first cycle we tried. However after one of my MMCs (surgically managed) things didn't settle quite right. I stopped bleeding and got a negative test as normal. But then started bleeding again. It was only a little, but most days. I just waited for it to settle down, but it didn't. I eventually went to the GP who gave me a tablet to trigger a 'big bleed'. I didn't have a big bleed, but did pass a big bit of tissue. Then things went back to normal (and rainbow baby number 2 was conceived a month later 💜).

A cousin that had her 12 week scan at around the same time as mine had her baby about a month after my GP appointment; I left it far too long to seek help.

So, the moral from my story is, if things haven't settled quite right, do speak to your GP. Even if all the boxes were ticked for a complete miscarriage. Just in case.

I hope you have success soon. It is a stressful time, which won't be helping.

@Ladybird2021 you will get your baby . I understand the pain and frustration you are feeling. I saw a therapist in the end because I was extremely depressed. I was so so worried that I wouldn't be pregnant by the due date of the first pregnancy. Well the due date came and went. We released a balloon and wrote a letter to that baby and the very next month I fell pregnant.

I will say as well that my mental health was so impacted that I insisted that my dh and I had private fertility tests after 6 months. The clinic told me in no uncertain terms that it was a waste of money as I'd fallen pregnant naturally the first time. They found that both dh and I had excellent fertility and it still took us 8 months both times. They gave me a scan during this and all was well there too. The consultant put me on "expectant management" - I was overwhelmingly likely to fall pregnant within 6 months and I of course did. You too are overwhelmingly likely to be pregnant within 9 months. I know it sounds long and it is very a difficult concept to swallow but you are also overwhelmingly likely to have a successful pregnancy next time too .

Miscarried in Dec 2020, scan afterwards showed all fine. Not yet conceived again (but cycles highly irregular - were already before conceived last time)

Thank you so much everyone, your replies have made me feel so much more positive and hopeful. I’ve found it very hard to deal with but hearing all your experiences has made it feel less lonely and I’ll try and just be patient with myself. Wishing all of you who are still waiting for your rainbow babies lots of luck and positive vibes.

So sorry for loss 😢 it's absolutely heartbreaking to lose a baby, I've been there with a MMC at 8 weeks. I found it even harder that I couldn't conceive again straight away (I had also read all the stuff about being so fertile after and didn't find this to be the case, however it maybe did keep me calm and optimistic when it first happened so I can't complain!)
It took me 7 months to conceive the first time and exactly 7 months to conceive the second time. On what would have been our due date we also marked the occasion with some sentimental things for our angel baby and that was the very month we conceived again! My baby is asleep on my chest as I type this
I know it's so scary to wait it out (hardest thing I've done!) but I promise you will get pregnant again and no doubt the next pregnancy will be smooth and straightforward and will result in your healthy rainbow baby.
If you're worried about damage from the D&C just know it's so rare that anything like that would happen but if it makes this brutal wait any easier, you could pay privately to have it checked out with a scan or having tubes flushed or something. If it's something you could afford and it's really stressing you out then can't put a price on peace of mind. I wish you so much luck ❤️
And when you do have your rainbow baby you could come back and update this thread for the other ladies Googling over the years cos I know this sort of stuff gave me so much hope and reassurance in my darkest times!

MMC and D&C in December. We are still trying and have tried religiously (OPK and BBT etc) every cycle since the. Cycles are like clock work and definitely ovulating. Just not happening for us yet.

Thanks @oceanfruit I really hope that one day I’ll be able to come back to this thread with a positive update. Thank you for sharing your experience and giving me hope and congratulations on your baby.

@Rtmhwales sending you lots of positive vibes - it’s so hard to be patient and just trust your body but I hope we will both get there eventually.

@Ladybird2021 is there a positive update for us now going through the same horrible experience 🙏

I’m not the op but I had a mmc and then conceived DS three months after the surgery. Just to add a glimmer of hope.

I'm not the OP however, I had a mmc at almost 13 weeks, it was an awful time, so I'm so sorry your going through this! I hope my story helps. I did conceive again and had a lovely DS. It did take me another year though. I am telling you this because I felt so much pressure every month from reading how quickly people seemed to fall after a miscarriage and that wasn't the case for me. My body took a while to get back to "normal" and every month felt harder, so I tried so many different things. I should have just let my body have a bit of a rest but the desperation is intense! Never give up. You will get there. It's so hard but it will happen for you.

Hi @AnxiousPoster so sorry for your loss and I hope you’re taking care of yourself and have good support around you.

I actually became pregnant with my beautiful DD the cycle after writing my post. I realise how lucky I was but reading these posts reminds me of how bleak and endless the weeks after my miscarriage/ D&C were and how desperate I was to be pregnant again.

I really hope you have a positive update to your journey too and hope that this provides a little reassurance that despite my worries the surgery had no impact on my ability to get pregnant and carry to term. I appreciate all too well how it can affect you mentally/emotionally so do take care of yourself in the meantime 💐