Best early Miscarriage route

[LONpregnantandhopeful]

Hi, I just had a scan at 8 weeks, unfortunately had the bad news of a missed miscarriage.

if you have had a missed miscarriage in the first trimester how did you do it? Medical, surgical d+c or vacuum, wait to naturally pass?

This isn't a nice topic but if you had any practical advice or reasons why you chose the route you chose. I would be really grateful. I want to get it done as quickly as possible so I don't think the natural route will be right for me as my body still thinks I'm pregnant, nausea, sore boobs, tiredness.

Sorry for your loss.

There are obviously pros and cons to both. With one of mine I opted for natural management. Months later when going to start ivf we established I was actually still "pregnant" as the natural management hadn't actually passed everything. I then had to have a d&c. I'd always opt d&c after that.

@mummytrex thank you for your reply and for sharing your experience. I have a fear of this happening.
Sorry to hear you've experienced this but I really appreciate the practical advice. Thank you.

My understanding is that this isn't common, but it obviously prolonged the distress and delayed ivf / testing which was frustrating.

Really hope that this is resolved as quickly as possible for you. It's an awful thing to happen. Sorry this is happening ding to you.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've had 4 missed miscarriages to date between 8-11 weeks and I've had surgery for all of them. I didn't want the uncertainty of waiting to see if it would happen naturally, and I'd heard bad stories of medical management and didn't want to end up having a dragged out experience that might end up in surgery anyway. For me surgery was a way to separate the physical and emotional recovery - i went to sleep, woke up and it was over and I felt I could focus on recovery.

D&c is better for me personally. Predictable and resets your body and all the hormones quicker

Sorry for your loss. I had a missed miscarriage at 9 weeks earlier this year. I opted for D&C because I did not want to prolong it and psychologically it seemed like a better option. I did not choose medical management because I read about some really bad experiences.

D&C was not as straightforward as I hoped though. The doctor admitted she found it difficult. I lost a lot of blood. Apparently my cervix was not dialating properly and as a result there were some tears which they stitched up. I was on antibiotics and painkillers afterwards. Rest of the recovery went fine. If I have to choose again (hope not), I would still choose D&C but not sure I will be given this option given the last experience.

Oh I’m sorry OP 😔 it’s a horrible experience to go through. I’ve had 2 late first trimester D&Cs and 1x medical management. The medical management was actually fine (I was worried as had heard so many horror stories but couldn’t spare the day in hospital at that point so had to be at home) but given the choice I’d opt for a D&C again. It was much better for me mentally to be able to draw a line under the whole thing and be able to move on, and physically it was a relatively easy recovery.

I’m so sorry for your loss. I tried expectant management first as my initial reaction to the MMC was to be as natural as possible and let my body do its thing. The wait was horrible and nothing happened. Then I chose medical management as I still wanted to be aware of what was happening and thought it would help my body and mind process what was happening. Stats said medical works in 85% of cases but I sat there all of New Year’s Eve in hospital and nothing. So booked in for surgery. In the end surgery was fine, woke up and it’s over. So I would pick that again. But the state I was in emotionally at the time, I couldn’t have jumped straight to surgery. Maybe give yourself some time to see if it happens on its own? Or depend on the wait time, you could book surgery and then it still might happen in the meantime, this is what I was hoping would happen to me. It’s a really awful time for you so use the support on here and Worst Girl Gang Ever.

Mine wasn't a missed miscarriage (because I didn't have a follow-up scan after discovering baby was only measuring 6 weeks, at 8 weeks, although there was a heartbeat). But I did begin losing it naturally at nearly 12 weeks. After that, I had RPOC, which I also chose to wait naturally pass. I'm glad I did it all natural but it did take a long time. My baby had a heartbeat on 24th Dec, miscarriage happened naturally on 20th Jan, then I finally lost the rest of the tissue on 23rd March when my second period post-miscarriage started. This gives you an idea on the timeline of leaving it to naturally happen (but ofc all will be different).

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply and share your experience. It helped me come to the decision of a D&C.

I'm booked in for Thursday. But on a list for the day which could mean that if they have many emergencies come in, there's a chance I won't have it done that day. My body is showing no signs of passing the miscarriage naturally.

What was the recovery like for you? I have a really busy weekend ahead and I'm hoping I can continue as normal.

Recovery was fine and very easy physically - a bit of spotting afterwards but that was all; mentally was much tougher. My second D&C was an emergency as I was basically bleeding out, so I felt rough after that one from blood loss but that won’t apply in your case.
Hopefully it goes ahead on Thursday and you won’t be pushed back; I can imagine the uncertainty is tough to deal with 💐 I know for me at least I just wanted the physical side over with asap so fingers crossed for you ❤️

I started bleeding at 12 weeks. I went in for a scan and was told the baby had stopped growing at around 9 weeks. I went for the natural option and baby passed 48 hours later. I guess as I had already started bleeding when I found out my body was already in the process. The thought of waiting weeks wouldn’t be good but I’m glad I went for the option I did as I got to see my baby.
Its a horrible and sad position to be in so sending you lots of love x

Hi,
I had a D&C after my first miscarriage and then went on to have a healthy pregnancy. I've since had many more miscarriages and have a theory that maybe the D&C helped me stay pregnant. The doctor explained it can make it easier for the sac to adhere to the womb lining (or something like that). I've decided if this happens again, I'd choose the D&C next time. General anaesthetic is scary but I think it's easier to know it's all done than the horrid waiting you have with the other options.
So sorry for your loss. Really hope that it all works out next time.x

This is really interesting about the D&C possibly helping with subsequent pregnancy's. Thank you for sharing.

@LotsOfSmallThings @2025letsmakeitthebest1
Thanks for your replies.
I had the D&C this morning. It was all so quick and I feel much better for having it done with. I think I was finished by 9:15.

I’m glad you chose this route. It’s hard but your hormones will now return to normal. Clean slate have a break and relax let your body heal. I just used painkillers and a hot water bottle on my tummy for slight pain/cramps. After a week you will not get these anymore. @LONpregnantandhopeful

Sending love for your recovery x