How long does it take to miscarry naturally?

[wasabipeanut]

I have been advised that I am likely to miscarry given that my pregnancy seems to have stalled at 6 weeks - I should be 8 weeks today. I am due some blood test results to confirm HCG levels but have a bad feeling.

If my pregnancy stopped at 6 weeks when should I expect a natural mc to start?

oh Wasabi am so sorry! mine stopped growing at 6 weeks 4 days and it took until 9 weeks for me to start miscarrying - but mine was a mmc. they will normally give you 1-2 weeks to start naturally before they start offering alternatives. but fingers crossed, you may still be ok

Thanks littlemiss - I am so sorry you had to go through that. Sorry if I sound like an idiot but what is a mmc as opposed to normal?

mmc is a missed miscarriage - it means the baby has died but your body doesn't recognise that and so the pregnancy 'continues'. I started bleeding at 9 weeks but then stopped so i had to have an ERPC (3 days before xmas - its was rubbish!). some people with a mmc never start bleeding and only find out at a scan - hope that helps

Sorry to hear your sad news. A baby can measure 6 weeks and stop developing and growing but the pregnancy can continue for many weeks more. This is a missed miscarriage.
One of my pregnancies continued until more than 15 weeks in this way.
There are medical procedures which may help you.
Thinking of you.

Jesus. How can your body do this to you?

Wasabi - my MC was a natural one at 11.5 weeks and I'd had no early scans, but the suspicion now is that the baby died at 7.5 weeks when I had a very tiny bit of bleeding and I continued to feel PG for another 4 weeks

Some people will mc naturally and quickly and some could take weeks. From reading loads on here, if the worst news is confirmed (and there is still hope for you), you can normally wait an agreed period of time to see if it happens naturally. If it doesn't, or if you can't bear to wait, then you either have medical management, which I think are a series of tablets / pessaries to speed things up, or opt for an ERPC.

I am sure there are ladies who can come along and describe their experience of those two options for you. What you opt for is a very personal decision and there are pros and cons for each.

I still have my fingers crossed that all is well though

Thanks Jools - I probably seem unduly pessimistic to you but I guess I just want to prepare myself as much as possible.

I have never had a general anasthetic so ERPC not appealing. Waiting for it to happen naturally is less frightening to me but the thought of waiting weeks on end is pretty horrid.

wasabi - one thing to consider is with medical management they said to me you need to wait 3 months before ttc afterwards because of the drugs they give you, whereas with the erpc you can start immediately - that was a factor in my decision

That is an interesting point - I can see how that would influence your decision. Oh fuckadoo. That, frankly, is how I feel at the moment.

That is a good point re AF returning, although I think the earlier you MC, the quicker your hormones must return to normal ?

I had an anovulatory cycle 5 weeks after MC and think I ovulated late on this cycle, so first AF (if she arrives and I hope she won't) is expected 10 weeks after MC

I had a mmc at 10 weeks, they said the baby had died at 9 weeks. When going through the options the hospital staff said it could take up to 6 weeks for bleeding and natural miscarriage to start. I opted for the pessary/tablet medical management but after 4 days bleeding in hospital they did the erpc.

A year later my friend had mmc at 9 weeks, she opted straight for the erpc after my experience.
Just recently my friends sister had her 20 week scan only to find the baby had died at about 11-12 weeks so it really can take a long time.

erpc was fine - only under general for 20mins had no bleeding at all afterwards, no pain and negative pregnancy test 4 days later! still waiting for AF to return but its not been a month yet so wouldn't be expecting it yet anyway - for me ERPC was definately the better option i didn't want to sit around wondering when it would start and all the problems around that and working etc.. but everyone has different concerns and therefore different options suit different people - still you may not need any of these things

My baby died at 7.5 weeks and I found out at 11 weeks. It was 5 weeks until I miscarried naturally, I may still need D&C have to wait until after Christmas for a scan, so it all depends. Hope things work out for you.

Hi,
If after a scan it confirms what you fear, they can offer 3 options:

1. wait to begin to bleed, which could be any time over next few weeks. This should mean that you will pass the baby within the following few weeks.

2. medical management, this is tablets, then pesseries. Tabs over a couple of days then pesseries after about 48 hours...this is in hospital though.

3. surgical management where they take you to theatre, give you an anaesthetic and scrape out your uterus. This is quick.

So it can vary. Its up to you which you choose. Its very distressing and upsetting.
Good luck with whichever way you choose to go, we are here every step if you need us x

Sorry jsut to add, option 2 i carried on working, took the tablets and waited, went for the pesseries at the weekend and was all over and done wth in one day and night...was back at work on the MOnday. Didnt interfere with life too much physically.