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.

Periods after miscarriage and likelihood of getting pregnant again?

13 replies

Dr1984 · 26/08/2023 23:36

Hi,

I am 38 (turning 39 in a few months), and had a miscarriage at 6 weeks at the end of June. It was my first pregnancy having only met the person I wanted to start a family with about two years ago.

Prior to my miscarriage my cycles were like clockwork every 28 days and the heaviness/duration (5 days) was always the same.

My first period after the miscarriage was slightly delayed but my current one was early. They now seem to be dark brown discharge/spotting for several days (this month it’s been 4 days with some bleeding when opening bowels), then bright red blood for 5. It feels like my body is playing a cruel trick on me making me question whether it’s implantation bleeding and it’s torture. I just want my cycles back to normal.

I think I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there that had the same thing and if your periods ever returned to normal? I have no idea what part of the period is now resetting my clock to D1 of the cycle and therefore when I am most fertile later in the cycle.

I am so scared that with my age this was the first and last time I would be pregnant and I’ve lost my chance. I want to be a calm as possible so to not get super stressed but I really hoped we would be pregnant again this month. I feel like such a failure, although I know it’s not my fault. Maybe it’s just too soon? But then maybe I’ll be too old? Sorry for my rambling. Any words of encouragement would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

OP posts:
SM4713 · 26/08/2023 23:49

I'm so sorry for your loss Flowers

I too had my 1st pregnancy (and loss) at age 38. I did a great deal of reading and the body will try to expel any leftover products of conception in subsequent periods. It might be that some old blood was left over from the MC, or possibly a retained product. Have you done a pregnancy test?

When you say bleeding when you open your bowels, do you mean the blood is from your bowels, or vaginal blood coming out when opening the bowels?

KatieJ345 · 27/08/2023 00:05

It was on the third cycle after my MC that my periods went back to normal and that month we also conceived. I started to take conceive plus vitamins and ovulation support as well as tracking ovulation using CB tests. Sometimes your body needs time to get bald to normal and I have seen some women say it took quite a few months on here.

SM4713 · 27/08/2023 00:21

I realise I didn't answer your question OP. Each of my MC's was different, so nothing is stock standard.

1st MC, 12 weeks required medical management. I bled constantly for 8 weeks and didn't realise that wasn't normal. Ended up having a retained product. 1st period was even heavier than the MC, but only lasted 2 days. Took 3mths to get cycles back to normal

MC 2 lost at 7 weeks. Bled for a week, very similar to a regular period and next period started exactly a month later and as normal as previously

MC 3 lost at 9 weeks. Bled just over a week and next period was 5 weeks later.

moosey89 · 27/08/2023 12:52

@Dr1984 so sorry for your loss. In terms of knowing where you're at in your cycle I'd suggest using opks from after when you stop bleeding, as these will tell you when you are about to ovulate and you the best chance of timing things right. In terms of periods after loss, both my miscarriages needed intervention and I chose surgical management both times. First time I honestly can't remember how long it took my period to come back or what it was like. Second time I got stuck into having acupuncture to regulate my cycle as soon as I could, period came back after 4 1/2 weeks and wasn't too dissimilar to my usual, took a bit longer to start and a bit longer to clear up but had the usual 2 full days, albeit a bit heavier than usual and a deep red.

Dr1984 · 27/08/2023 15:47

@SM4713 Thank you. Sorry I wasn’t very clear, I have been spotting brown old blood but when I opened my bowels I would pass red blood via the vagina - like my normal period. Guess it’s just the pressure doing that.
Its all just really depressing and I can’t get out of this negative mindset that it’s not going to happen for me now.

OP posts:
Dr1984 · 27/08/2023 15:53

@KatieJ345 @moosey89 thank you. I’ve bought some ovulation tests so will use them to guide things. Hopefully things will settle down with time, if not I might go to see my doctor. I had a negative pregnancy test so it’s definitely not implantation bleeding. I am really hoping that we will be successful before I become “too old”.

OP posts:
SvdV1986 · 27/08/2023 16:57

I’m experiencing the same thing. Had a miscarriage this year confirmed at the 13 week scan (which had likely happened a month prior) but had to be medically managed with Mifepristone. No period until 10 weeks later and then cycle totally all over the place ever since. BloodTests and scans show I’m still ovulating but that my AMH is low. I’m 36. To be honest I think my body is still adjusting to the pregnancy loss because it was like clockwork going into the pregnancy. I also find it incredibly hard not feeling comfortable with my hormones and cycles and I feel nauseous and off a lot of the time. It’s also not nice to feel a sense of “this was my only shot at pregnancy and I blew it”. Sending love to anyone going through this, it’s so painful, exhausting and lonely.

Lis111 · 08/10/2023 23:26

I could have wrote this exact post myself. I have no answers unfortunately as still in the mist of it all. I had a d&c at the start august and my periods have been all other the place since when prior I was a 28 day regular gal. I have been having brown spotting since around ovulation this cycle and when I open my bowels I get almost a rush of bright red blood. Which then seems to settle down after. Very odd, confusing and extremely frustrating. Hopefully it’s just our bodies way of dealing with the miscarriage and it will settle down soon 🤞🏻

kiaraluna · 10/10/2023 07:41

@Dr1984 I'm sorry for your loss. Very similar to your case, I'm turning 38 soon and I had a miscarriage at around 6 weeks less month, and it was my first pregnancy. I'm still waiting for my first cycle to be back after the miscarriage. I have rather irregular cycles, range from 28 to 35 days. I tried to use ovulation tests two weeks after the miscarriage to see if I was ovulating (so as to predict my next cycle), but the results kept showing negative for a few days (while normally I should have been ovulating some day on that week).

But I just decided not to stress about it too much. I go on taking supplements and Chinese medicine to help my body getting back to normal, just go about my days as usual because it's normal that the cycle would delay after having miscarriage. I think right now what you can do is not being too negative and stressed about the whole situation. Eat healthy, take rest, do physical exercise... get your body and mind ready for the next pregnancy. Take supplements that can help you get pregnant easier, and like @moosey89 said, having acupuncture can help you regulate your cycle (and if you're open to it, you can try Chinese medicines too - I'm Asian and I think it works).

When I was in the hospital, all women in my ward were either having a miscarriage or having surgery due to eccyesis. We all lost our babies... but everyone of us were strong and we could talk to doctors and nurses very calmly (even though we quietly cried on our beds). Hearing their stories and knowing they had a rougher time (one of them had 2 eccyesis in a row, many of them needed surgery), I asked myself to toughen up, because it could have been worse... Of course I'm not saying that our feelings are not valid just because someone has it worse (I cried for a whole week after the miscarriage and I was a mess, and I still cry a little once in a while now...). We went through a huge loss, no matter how many weeks we were pregnant when we had the miscarriage. But what I'm feeling is, these women, including myself, who went through this loss and pain but still get back on our feet and try again, are all heroes. You're not alone.

You know what, I had this pregnancy from IVF, which was my first. Actually I had never wanted to have kids until I turned 37. My husband and I then had some body checks and found out we're basically infertile (his sperm quality wasn't good and my AMH was only 0.3), and so we decided not to waste time trying conceive naturally and had our first IVF in August. I only had 2 eggs extracted and only 1 of them was successfully fertilized, which meant I only had 1 embryo implanted and got pregnant, though I ended up lost it in week 6... But I saw it as a good start, I'm going to try again when my cycle is back to normal. Getting pregnant at our age isn't easy but it's not impossible. Don't give up just yet. If you're very worried, you may have a blood test to check your AMH level and see if you need any clinical help. But the fact that you could conceive naturally the first time, I think you're not that bad. Once again, lead a healthy lifestyle, don't worry too much and don't be too depressed (negative emotions are not very good for conceiving). The baby is on the way!

graceinc22 · 10/10/2023 09:44

my body also still feels really weird and off, hormonal. 6 weeks post miscarriage and haven’t ovulated yet, let alone had a normal first period. You’re not alone x

cmg91 · 27/04/2025 11:01

graceinc22 · 10/10/2023 09:44

my body also still feels really weird and off, hormonal. 6 weeks post miscarriage and haven’t ovulated yet, let alone had a normal first period. You’re not alone x

Hi. I know this is an old post but I’m in this current situation. 6 weeks post miscarriage. Tracked ovulation and never got a peak. Still no period. What happened to you? Did you eventually conceive?

Dr1984 · 27/04/2025 14:21

cmg91 · 27/04/2025 11:01

Hi. I know this is an old post but I’m in this current situation. 6 weeks post miscarriage. Tracked ovulation and never got a peak. Still no period. What happened to you? Did you eventually conceive?

Hi @cmg91. I had another early miscarriage in January 2024, but then found out I was pregnant again in March 2024… and with the help of some hormone support, I now have a beautiful baby boy. I’m sending all the positive vibes to you.

OP posts:
graceinc22 · 27/04/2025 14:43

@cmg91 sorry for your loss.

I eventually got my period back just over 2 months after losing my baby. I took letrozole during that cycle and conceived. Now have an 8 month old ❤️

New posts on this thread. Refresh page