40 and Just miscarried, when is safe to try to get pregnant

[fall08baby]

I´m 40 years old and started miscarrying (my first one) my second pregnancy (I have a 2 year old son - normal pregnancy) about 10 days ago. I'm still bleeding but had a scan today and they told me I've expelled everything and the bleeding should start to taper off soon.

I was advised to wait 2 periods before we try to get pregnant again. (I live in Spain and I expected a conservation recommendation. I've read that there doesn't seem to really be any physical reason to wait. I have read that one important reason to wait is based mainly on the emotional effects of miscarriage. Emotionally I feel okay and accept what's happened as quite natural, though of course we are both disappointed.

I would like to start trying again as soon as I stop bleeding. Would there be any risks to a potential pregnancy in doing this? I would greatly appreciate any comments, experiences or advice out there.

Thanks very much.

Sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

There is no reason why you shouldn;t start trying straight away - I became pregnant successfully just two weeks after my second miscarriage.

It's a very good sign that you have miscarried naturally and you don;t need any surgery - good luck!

Really sorry for your loss.

My miscarriage consultant said that unless you had a complicated or late miscarriage, there was no reason to wait at all. My son was the the result of not waiting to ttc after my 3rd mc

Fall, my details match yours almost exactly, except have had 2 mc (and don't live in spain!) I've chosen to wait one month before ttc, as I want to be sure of dates regarding ovulation & when to expect period. But I have heard of no medical reason (eg from EPU or GP) for waiting. I do think at our age waiting for 2 periods might feel counter-productive.
Good luck.

Hi,

I am so sorry for your loss, I understand how difficult it is when it happens far from home too. I live in Costa Rica and am getting pretty much the same advice as you. (in my case wait 3 cycles) and I have decided to ignore it. Since having my miscarriage I have read a LOT of stuff..

There is a very good argument for waiting for ONE period on this site. I am not even doing that though, as I believe I have found a loophole (see below)

www.pregnancyloss.info/trying_again.htm
and you have probably seen this article in the observer saying that the WHO's recommendation of a 6 month wait is unnecessary
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/06/bmj-advice-for-women-who-miscarry

Anyway, I feel confident I am doing the right thing for the following reasons.

1. I am no longer worried about further complications because I had a blood HCG test of zero and ERPC result analysed (not molar).
   If you cant get a blood test, keep taking home pregnancy tests until they come up negative.

2. I am using various methods to "know" the conception date (temping, ovsticks, checking CM and CP)

3. Its been 5 months since the start of miscarriage so I feel emotionally ready.

Re: number 3. In my case, my mmc became very long and complicated which actually gave me time to deal with the emotional side of it before I was physically over it all. Please dont underestimate what a massive impact an mc has for several weeks/months afterwards. Throwing yourself into a new pregnancy is a rollercoaster ride and can make things a lot harder. Make sure you have a good support network set up and consider adding to it with counselling.

Whatever you decide, take good care of yourself in the meantime. I find chocolate really helps xxxx

i had an early m/c when i was 41, TTc straight away and feel pg on 2nd cycle. had healthy baby at term. then another 18 montsh later

no good reason to wait if you are happy to try again

good luck

KristinaM I'm going to memorise your story to keep me going!

I read an old-ish article recently (can't find it now, sorry) which said that women who did not wait to conceive again tended to have more successful pregnancies on average. So it's absolutely fine to try again straight away and possibly even beneficial.

Good luck :)

Thank you all for your stories and advice. We're going to start trying right away. We've discussed it and it seems like the right thing to do for us. Fingers crossed.

Thanks again.

@fall08baby Sorry for your loss.

I had a miscarriage in April. First pregnancy. We were told to wait for one period by the doctors.

Mine was a missed miscarriage and I still had a lot of pregnancy hormones weeks after I bled so this seemed sensible advice.

My husband and I tried again in May and got pregnant straight away.

We found this article quite reassuring even though we read it after I was pregnant.

I'm now 19 weeks pregnant.

Good luck.

MummyAbroad,

Thanks for the articles. I have read the first one which made me worry a bit. I bought myself another pregnancy test today to check out if I have HCG still. So tomorrow morning I'll see and if it is negative we'll start making babies!

Thanks for your advice and good luck to you.

I'm so sorry - I know how awful that feels. I think you should start again as soon as you want to.

I miscarried at 40, got pg again two months later and successfully gave birth at 41.

Good luck xx

As far as I know you can try as soon as you want.

So sorry about your miscarriage...

I too had one going back about 8 years or so and we didn't wait long before we tried again (I think it was within a month or so) successfully this time. As long as you both feel ready again then go for it :)