Scan & heartbeat one day, miscarriage the next

[helenlouisey]

hi ladies

I can't believe what has happened to me over the past 48 hours, on Wednesday afternoon I had a scan, I was 6+5 days, the baby was measuring fine, all looked ok and there was a heartbeat, although I was worried it seemed weak compared to scans I'd had at a similar stage with my two previous pregnancies. I was reassured by the sonographef that all was fine, and saw my consultant afterwards (have very complex and high risk pregnancy history) and again was reassured the once a heartbeat was seen the odds were now very much in my favour, and I should try and relax till the 12 week scan, which was the next big hurdle for me, I previously had a baby with Edwards Syndrome.

Anyway less than 24 hours later I started bleeding big stringy clots, although no pain, I went back into hospital and had a scan which showed the heart had stopped beating and the pregnancy sac had caved in on itself and was surrounded with blood. My consultant and the hospital seemed really shocked, especially how quickly it had happened, although tried to reassure me that as my body has recognised the baby has died so quickly, and I am bleeding, although lightly, that hopefully I will be able to pass the baby naturally. I developed Ashermans Syndrome after a termination for Edwards Syndrome, so a D&C really has to be my last option.

So a few questions

• should I see my GP and ask for some strong painkillers? I'm not good with pain
• do you think I should get someone to look after my little boy today? Could things start happening quite quickly?
• would I be better off finding a hospital that will medically manage the miscarriage, will it be less traumatic being in hospital with a nurse to look after me and with pain killers on hand?

Any advise would be really appreciated

X

So sorry to hear of your loss. Although I have no medical training I am a recurrent miscarrier - 8 in total - and lost our id twin daughters at 21 + weeks. My miscarriages have been anywhere from 5 weeks to 12 weeks and all have been different. In my opinion it is a good thing (not the right words I know) that your body has already recognised that the pregnancy has ended and you hopefully will miscarry naturally. I think it is when the body holds on to a pregnancy and goes later in to the pregnancy is when you may require medical help.

My miscarriages at 5 and 6 weeks were not much more than a very heavy period and very crampy - but bearable. I do not think a visit to the hospital is necessary unless you are in extreme pain and suffer lots of blood loss.

I do hope it is all over for you as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Thanks Minmooch

So sorry to hear of all your losses.

I went to see my GP, she was very unsympathetic, which given my complicated history I thought she was a bit blasé about the fact I was miscarrying a baby which had taken 2 operations, a failed round of IUI and a failed cycle of IVF, and 18 months spent TTc naturally, to conceive. Anyway I came away with some painkillers, which was my main reason for going.

Things seem to be moving along very quickly, a friend is looking after my little boy, the bleeding is now heavy and cramping a lot, I just passed a very large mass about 7 or 8 cms long and about 2 or 3 cm wide, no idea whether it was the baby or placenta or blood clot, but am passing bits everytime I go to the toilet, so just praying this will be over quickly and my body deals with it naturally.

Thanks again for your message

X

Dear Helenlouisey,
I'm guessing you might have been through the hardest physical part of your miscarriage now, I just wanted to write to see how you are. I had a 12 week miscarriage last year, naturally at home in the middle of the night - in hind sight I wish'd the on call gp had told me to go into hosptial, it was very traumatic. Anyway the advise that I was given after this experience was that if your clots are bigger than 50p piece then you should go and get yourself checked out in the EPU. This may not be applicable to you now, but maybe others may be reading this and wondering. First time round for me I would have loved to have been given advise as I was petrified. Strangely last years experience has helped me cope with a more recent late miscarriage which was medically managed in hospital. Such a strange world I have entered. I thank my lucky stars for this place, where we know we are not alone. X