Fertility after miscarriage and related stuff...

[EthelredOnAGoodDay]

Hi all, I had a missed miscarriage in Feb at 8 weeks and ERPC a week or so after the scan. Lots of people have said that they got pregnant almost immediately after a mc and also that 'you are very fertile after a miscarriage'. Is this true?

On a related issue, I only bled filling the ERPC for 4 days and have had no bleeding since. Also, not had period since ERPC, but this last week, which would in my previous cycle have been my fertile time, I have had lots of 'stringy' egg white mucous (sorry if TMI) lasting several days. Is it normal that you would resume your previous cycle? Normally I only have a couple of days of the egg white, but there certainly seems to have been more than usual.

Apols if this has been covered before; i did a search and didnt find anything.

Hope someone with more knowledge/understanding can help! Thanks in anticipation.

Anyone??

Sorry for your loss. I had a mmc diagnosed 19/12/12, ERPC 5/1/12 (bloody great, it cocked up my xmas and new year). Anyway...

I'm not sure about this "very fertile" thing. Not sure of any evidence or even much anecdote.

First cycle (counting ERPC as day 1) I ovulated at the expected time then had a very short 9 day luteal phase.
2nd cycle I ovulated a little late but had a better LP of 10 days.
Now on cycle 3 and probably expecting to ovulate in the next week.

I think it's different for every one, but it is quite feasible for you to resume normal function, and if so, for you to get EWCM. EWCM is the result of oestrogen, and is a sign of impending ovulation. It does not mean you will definitely ovulate.

HTH

Thanks bonzo. I guess i will just need wait and see if/when AF makes an appearance.

Does anyone else have any advice? v

I have also heard you can be more fertile after a mc and am really hoping it's true as I am feeling desperate to start ttc again after my 2nd mmc in late fen. I have also read that sometimes you may not ovulate in your first cycle after mc so I think it really depends on each indv and there are no strict rules. I have been doing opks since I stopped bleeding and got negative pg test but nothing yet and it will be 4 weeks on thurs from the first day of bleeding so o am crossing my fingers that I will get some signs of ovulation soon. However, I think the best way to give yourself the best chance of conceiving is just to dtd every other day. As you can imagine hubby is quite happy with that!!!!!

Good luck!!

There is no evidence of being any more fertile than usual immediately after a miscarriage. However, many women have given up bad habits such as drinking and smoking due to the pregnancy that they miscarried so perhaps the fact that they have been having a healthier lifestyle helps.

It can take a few months for your cycle to get back to a normal regular pattern after a miscarriage.

My advice in your first cycle while you are waiting for a period after a miscarriage is not to put yourself under any unnecessary pressure to conceive. Your emotions will already be all over the place. You need to take this time to recover from your loss. Have unprotected sex and hope for the best, but ditch the opks until next month. When you have your first period after a miscarriage it is upsetting anyway. If you have put yourself under a lot of pressure to get pregnant right away, it will be even more upsetting.

Some people do get lucky and get pregnant again without a period in between, but expecting it to take 3-6 months is more realistic.

i've not found any hard evidence that its true. I agree with katandkit maybe couples are healthier, maybe they are more knowledgeable on how conception works so they get pregnant again quicker than they did before.

My erpc was 5 1/2 weeks ago and i've been testing for quite a while with OPKs- the cheap amazon ones, i was getting rather upset at never seeing a second line but wanted to know more about what my body was doing. I got a strong line 2 days ago on day 18 of my cycle and i may have ovulated yesterday as my temp has gone up this morning but i'll have to wait a few more days to confirm that rise. I don't think i ovulated the first month and my first period after ERPC came 3 weeks later which is quicker than most , however i had spotting and endless other bleeds to content with for weeks.

I read somewhere that a clinic ask for a 6 weeks to elapse after a MC or ERPC for them to test hormone levels as they can still be so all over the place. For some women takes even longer. MY CM is not a reliable indicator of fertility and changes, for some women it isn't , especially when you get older and i fall into that category. However don't worry if yours is being weird, Zita west and a couple of other online sources say not having fertile CM doesnt mean you aren't fertile/ close to ovulating and sperm come with their own lubricant so they can still get there!

i should add if i ovulated yesterday on day 19, that's late for me. I'm usually day 15.

also more fertile cm than usual is probably just a hormonal thing. I woudn't worry about that.

Thanks all. I don't really do ovulation tests and have just been DTD as and when, so think if we are pg it will be a miracle! Have taken the opportunity whilst not pg to drink lots of wine and eat lots of the 'banned' foods, so all in all, don't rate my chances this month! In any case, will probably give next month a miss as if I did get pg, baby would be born at almost same time as DD and being due in December brings its own challenges...

I'm very sorry for your loss. I don't want to upset you further and I believe I'm the exception to the rule, but my missed mc upset my system terribly. My hormones were totally haywire for months. I finally got some help and conceived a year later, but it certainly upset my cycles and stopped me from ovulating for a long while. Some people do fall pregnant very quickly after a miscarriage and others take a while for their cycles to get back on track, but I suspect you are no more likely to conceive than you are at any other time. In fact, it takes a lot of people a good three or more cycles for their body to recover, so it is probably less likely that you would conceive immediately after a mc.

Thanks glittery. My AF has arrived this week, in line and in a similar pattern to pre-pg/MMC, so am hopeful that things are settling down again now.

GlitteryBits if you don't mind me asking what help did you get to help your body return to normal ? I had MMC at 20 weeks in Dec and my body is still completely messed up - I was advised by consultant to wait for first cycle to pass before TTC. I eventually ov'd 3 months after I delivered my little boy and am now waiting for my 2nd ov. We are DTD every other night but even DP is getting fed up waiting !!! I have had several iterations of ewcm which builds up as if ov about to occur and then it dries up and starts again a few days later.. am temping so am sure have not ov'd.... such a painful waiting game as my due date is approaching and I sooo wanted to be PG by then .