Please or to access all these features

Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

Find support and share your experiences on our Miscarriage forum. See also legal rights and support after baby loss.

Make Partner seeks advice - missed miscarriage

12 replies

LloydP · 13/07/2021 13:15

My partner is 11 weeks pregnant and we have just discovered through a scan that we have a missed miscarriage. We have an appointment on Monday for further scan to confirm no heart beat but advised that it is very likely the pregnancy has not progressed past 5 weeks. My partner would prefer a natural miscarriage as opposed to a surgical or medication option but is really struggling with how long it could take. It's heartbreaking to witness her go through this torment. She wishes it could just happen quickly. Is there any way to speed up this process so as to avoid surgical or medication? NB, sincere apologies if my posting as a male partner is inappropriate- not sure if this platform is also for 'Dads to be' I'm just desperate to support and help my partner.

OP posts:
JandL2020 · 13/07/2021 20:41

Sorry for your loss. I’ve had one medical miscarriage last year and one natural. Both ivf so was on medication. I wanted natural miscarriage at home most recently so I did following things to speed it up

  1. stopped any medication was on
  2. warm bath
  3. brisk walking/exercise I miscarried naturally 6 days later. Have a hot water bottle handy for your partner, lots of heavy duty pads,old towels, chocolate, paracetamol. The cramping can be a bit intense but the worse of it was over in 12 hours.

You sound great and supportive. Wishing you both all the best

LloydP · 13/07/2021 21:44

JandL2020 I'm very sorry to hear of your loss and experience. As a fella, I cannot possibly imagine how this must feel and although us chaps try hard to understand we can never truly appreciate the full extent of how this must be for our better halves. I will get prepared with the items you've listed and share with my partner your tips on hot bath and brisk exercise. Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and for your valued advice.

OP posts:
Ell17 · 20/07/2021 21:38

@LloydP I just came to say you're a fab partner, and I'm so sorry you're both going through this. I hope the worst of it is over for your partner now. I'm currently going through my 2nd mc, 1st was in April and it is so very hard for the partners involved as well. My husband feels helpless but is doing all he can ♥️

newomums · 21/07/2021 09:27

I'm sorry for the circumstances in which you find yourself on this board and I'm so very sorry for the loss of your baby.

Firstly Tommy's is a baby loss charity - they have a telephone line you can call to speak to MW trained in dealing with baby loss. There's also a Tommy's fb group that's private where you can talk to others about baby loss. Incredibly amount of support on there for mums and dads.

I have had all treatments for baby loss sadly. I'm not going to lie naturally can take a while (sometimes months) sometimes the body retains elements which means a d and c is needed anyway. You might want to prepare for this. It is painful, depending on duration and size it can produce a lot of blood. Prepare of night time sweats as the hormones come down, towels on bed are good for this, hot water bottles and lots of comfy clothes. It can be very drawn out or over fairly fast (that sadly is luck of the draw)

The tablets they offer is like being induced. I personally think this is the worse choice for myself as it has all the pain of the natural route and then some and the duration can be the same with not being in hospital

Dc means your body heals faster which sometimes doesn't align with a women's mental anguish which is sometimes something people need to go through to heal. There isn't really any right way or wrong way in this game.

I'm sure your feeling pretty helpless right now right ? Remember partners will grieve at different ways and times. I have been raging with anger and my partner was stoic and then I was sad and he was angry ect . It feels unbalanced. Take it from someone who's been there, you guys need to keep talking (both of you) don't keep up appearances for her sake, it won't do either of you any good. Me and my ex split up because we had faced so many losses we just became some how in our grief too far away. Grief has no time line, don't rush her or yourself to get passed it.

Weather the storm together, this means talking, participating in rituals to grieve your baby together. I planted a rose for each of my babies, he bought elephants. This is a death, mark it and don't let anyone tell you how or what you should do. It's your choices.

Hot baths and I hate to say it sex can help speed things along (which is why recurrent mc like myself when pregnant has to go on pelvic rest aka no sex) - I really hesitantly suggest this as it will be the last thing on both of your minds but the rules that apply to bring on labour also apply here. Sadly.

Be gentle with yourself and her .Try not to loose each other in the waves of grief. Remember you can't ignore the storm in the sea, you just have to sometimes go with it and learn how to tread water. Your head will go under, you will come up again, it will get easier but there will be days where you just keep going down and your drowning and the sea is rough. There will be days that you couldn't imagine a prettier view. You cannot avoid grief you have to move through it.

In a sad way I would argue that grief is just love in its many forms, and the love you had for this baby isn't something you would wish away. Even though it hurts. Move through it, not away.

The hole in your hearts may not heal completely but in time your heart will grow space for another to love. One doesn't replace the hole, that's now there for life but it will get more manageable. You will learn to swim.

One day you maybe in a position to help another person in the pits of hell, carrying water to help put out flames that you were once consumed with.

Sending you and your partner all the strength to get through this.

Sorry about the essay. I realise how alone you may feel. But you aren't alone. You really aren't xxx

Pissinthepottyplease · 21/07/2021 09:32

My natural miscarriages both took months. Both times my babies hadn’t gone past 6 weeks but I passed definite tissue and the second time I had days of spending an hour at a time passing blood clots the size of grapefruit.

movehimintothesun · 21/07/2021 09:37

@newomums may I just say, what a beautifully written post, and so very true.

I also have experience of the different methods of miscarriage management, sadly, and there are definitely advantages and disadvantages. For me, ERPC surgical management was the right choice, but it will be different for everyone.

OP, so very sorry for your loss, sending much love to you and your partner. Thanks

newomums · 21/07/2021 10:22

@movehimintothesun same. It makes me quite angry that they don't fully inform people of what it's like to have a natural ms and seem to try and diswayed people from having medical intervention.

My hospital was repeatedly like oh well babies died, would you prefer to go home and deal with it. One of the losses I nearly died due to haemorrhaging on bathroom floor. I'm all about informed consent and I think there isn't a lot of info out there.

I'm sorry for your losses ! It's very hard. I get angry knowing what people have to go through and the lack of support on offer for people. I remember spending those weeks trawling the internet looking for some hoe at realistic answers that were just "ahh go home try again" that came from hospital. Mumsnet provided a stream of people who knew and helped far more than any doctor had.

movehimintothesun · 21/07/2021 15:57

@newomums Agreed. I tried medical management with my first loss, as advised, but as a PP has commented, after 2 months, I still ended up needing an ERPC anyway.

I would normally be the first to say that the internet is a absolute hive of miscommunication!- but I certainly found much help and comfort in hearing of others experiences around miscarriage and loss, both at the time and even still now.

Ell17 · 21/07/2021 16:21

@newomums Totally and undoubtedly agree with you!
I had a medical miscarriage in April. It was so drawn out. From the get go there was a pregnancy sac and no embryo (blighted ovum). Yet I was made to wait 3 weeks before begging offered anything. I was scanned every week to be told the sac is increasing size so they couldn't intervene. It was the worst, most tragic limbo I'd ever encountered. By week 3 I took the medical route and then was told to go on my Merry way. I was so shocked that they don't offer a follow up scan to check there's no RPOC remaining. Instead I found myself booking a private scan for my own closure and well-being. The whole process from start to finish was 6 weeks. Nobody prepares you for that!

I've seen other posts where people go into hospital to have the medical management done under care, I wasn't offered that at all. And the Co-codamol I was given didn't touch the sides!
I'm currently going through miscarriage number 2 (being seen for first scan tomorrow), and I can only hope this one isn't drawn out as long as the first.

ScaryHairyMcClary · 21/07/2021 16:27

I have had a variety of treatments for miscarriage. I recommend surgical management - you do have to go into hospital but it is usually a day procedure so you can get out into your own bed quickly. You don't have to deal with the aftermath as everything is removed during surgery and you can be pretty confident that it is all over. I will never forget the relief I felt after having the procedure - somehow the worst thing was still being 'pregnant'. Best wishes to you both - your support will count for so much, honestly.

ScaryHairyMcClary · 21/07/2021 16:29

By the way, sometimes the hospital will recommend you try natural or medical management first. Your partner can do this if she likes, but if she wants surgical management she doesn't have to try the other methods if she'd prefer to just get it over with.

newomums · 21/07/2021 21:12

@Ell17 I'm so sorry your going through this again. Makes me really mad that they push people down this route. It's informed consent !

Co codemal wouldnt touch the sides - it's labour pains just a shorter duration due to size ect.

I sending you all the positive vibes for tomorrow xxxx

New posts on this thread. Refresh page