# Conceiving After Miscarriage



## RachelW (Sep 30, 2004)

Thank you so much for all the recent posts of personal stories about dealing with miscarriage. I am in the process of miscarrying my first baby and hearing from others is such a source of comfort. I was 10 1/2 weeks pregnant, but the u/s showed the baby stopped developing at 8 weeks and there was no heartbeat.

Of course my head is spinning and I am imagining that it will be difficult to conceive again and that I am destined to have more terrible experiences like this one. It would be wonderful to hear from people who have had successful births after miscarriage. How long did you wait? Were there any different precautions you took? Did you ever find out what caused the miscarriage?

Any thoughts would be so greatly appreciated.


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## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

I wish I had some good advice, but I wanted to offer you a







I am presently TTCing after my daughter was stillborn at 22weeks. We waited quite a while before TTCing, but alot of that had to do with some bleeding problems I had. I wound up having a D&C to remove some retained placenta and started TTCing after my first cycle after wards. Finding a good support system makes all the difference both in TTCing and in pregnancy after a loss. please check out Pregnancy After Birth Loss and the TTCing forum. Be gentle on yourself Mamma.


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## seren (Jul 11, 2003)

I'm so sorry you are miscarrying. I know it sucks. I miscarried in July. I was 9 weeks. Here I am, pregnant again, 11 weeks now. Last SUnday was 11 weeks since my miscarriage and Monday I was 11 weeks pregnant. This was a surprise pregnancy. I was scared to death at first, but my midwife said there isn't any increased risk concieving so soon. It is possible. I have every belief that this will be a successful pregnancy. I wish you good luck!


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## mclisa (Jul 26, 2004)

I also miscarried in July at around 6 weeks. My doctor said there was no reason that I couldn't start ttc. I found it very healing to know that I could start back right away. We got pregnant in September. I m/c naturally (no d&c). Talk to your doctor about what you would like to do. Some women need a break just to get emotionally squared away or some are ready to try again. It just depends.


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## ggma (Apr 20, 2004)

I am so very sorry to hear about your babe and can only extend love and light and hope that it surrounds you fully. I don't know what it feels like to wait for a m/c and am sure that others will be able to say what you need to here right now. I lost my twin boys at 22 weeks and it all happened very, very fast. My midwife believed that it was related to how they were sharing the placenta - but the tests we allowed led to no absolute conclusion. Even though I believed my midwife I still worried that I had done something, ate something, thought something... and what I know inside is that I held them with love and gave them all I could. And with my second pregnancy I worked hard to keep the love piece going and drop the fear piece. I also had fears about being able to conceive and whether or not I could carry a baby to term - these were very strong to the point of overwhelming for quite some time after our loss. I was advised to wait for two cycles. We did this, but I also did alot of reflecting and journaling and tried to stay in touch with how I was doing - really. I'm pretty sure we started after third cycle? I knew inside that I was ready. That I would be able to do the inside work I needed in order to be present with a new pregnancy, with a new baby. And within 6 months of birthing the twins to spirit - we were pregnant with baby Raidan. And he is going to be one whole year old in just two weeks... Hope and Grace to You, ggma.


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## Isfahan (Jul 23, 2004)

Hi, I recently had a miscarriage at 11 weeks. After waiting 2 weeks to have a m/c naturally I ended up with a D&C. Anyway.. it is hard and my thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

I asked my OB about ttc again. She suggested I wait 2 cycles before trying again. She said that if I did become pregnant immediately things would probably be fine but there was a slightly increased rate of pregnancy loss for women who conceived shortly after a m/c. She also said it was good to know that the uterine lining and cervix were back to normal. I know she's very informed and an excellent OB here in Seattle so I am happy to wait. I'd just like to give my next pregnancy the best chance possible.

Interestingly, my first period post m/c is not exactly normal. Its lighter and longer than usual with a few little bits of tissue.

I have really enjoyed charting my basal body temp to check fertility since m/c. It just feels like getting in touch with what is going on after being so unsure during the m/c process. I found out that I ovulated within 2 weeks of the D&C and my cycle is pretty much back to normal already.

Good luck and take care of yourself.

Shannon


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## Zanymom (Sep 2, 2003)

s It can be pretty scary and nerve racking TTC after having a m/c. I had my first m/c last summer. It was a surprise pregnancy. I was taking BCP and I hadn't had a period in 6 mo. We had an u/s to figure out how far along I was. Unfortunately there was not a normal fetus or heartbeat. I was 9weeks when I m/c. I had my m/c naturally at home. But a month later I was in the ER for a uterine infection due to some of it being left inside. And so I had to have a D&C anyways.

Then we decided that maybe we do want another baby and so we started TTC. We got pregnant, but only made it to 11 wks this time. Same thing, no heartbeat, no baby. I stayed at home and m/c'd just fine. However this second m/c was much harder on me. I started to become depressed.

We were still TTC though. I got pregnant a couple months later, but that one only lasted 6 wks. SO I got even more depressed.

After my last m/c I got pregnant that next cylce. And I am now 14wks







This pg has been harder emotionally than my other pg have been. Me and dh didn't want to get too excited or attached b/c we didn't want to get hurt again. We didn't really talk about the pregnancy much for the first couple months. Then we had an apt with my mw at 10wks. She tried to hear the heartbeat, but wasn't able to find it. I knew that it was pretty early to hear it, but I was still upset..and almost in tears. She decided to set up an ultrasound for us just to make sure.

The ultrasound was great. There was a baby!! and a heartbeat! It was so good for us to be able to see that. Things have been much better for us. We have finally been able to talk about the baby that is on the way. And we have grown more attached.

So you never know what life is going to throw your way. I don't know why I had all those m/c's. But we are pg now and happy about that. It is still hard though. Good luck!!


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## KonanKaren (Jul 15, 2004)

I'm very sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I miscarried my first at 9 weeks at the age of 40 and was scared that I wouldn't be able to carry a baby to full term because of my age. Luckily I conceived again 2 months later, and now have a healthy and happy baby boy. What I feel made a big difference in my case is seeing a Chinese Medicine Practitioner for herbs. I took an herbal formula after the miscarriage to help clean out my uterus so I wouldn't need a D &C and then a different formula to help build up my body to be able to carry and conceive a baby. When I found out I was pregnant my practitioner gave me yet another formula to help prevent a miscarriage and keep my baby and me healthy during our preganancy. I was in the Seattle area at the time and if anyone is interested I would be more than happy to give you her name. She was an Obgyn doctor as well as a Chinese Medicine doctor in China and really knows her stuff.


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## sarasprings (Mar 30, 2003)

I miscarried earlier this week and I'm wondering about the same thing. The doctor who did my d & c said to wait until 2 periods, because the first one will most likely not be normal (it will be either lighter or heavier). I have a friend who is a nurse, but did a lot of pregnancy stuff because she's intending on becoming a midwife -- she said that some believe that right after a miscarriage fertility may be higher.

It's reassuring to know that my first period may come so soon. I was worried that it would take a few months for everything to get back on track.


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## seren (Jul 11, 2003)

Just wanted to say, I don't know it this makes a difference or not in waiting, but i had a natural miscarriage. I didn't need a D&C. I'm not sure if that makes a difference on waiting or not. My midwife wanted us to wait three months, this one was a surprise.


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## sleet76 (Jun 2, 2004)

I am so sorry about your miscarriage. I had an early natural m/c in January, and had a 5 week cycle right after that. We kept trying for a cycle immediately after the m/c but didn't become pregnant. We then had to take 3 months off of TTC in order to be able to travel to my BIL's wedding this winter, and continued TTC as soon as we could. We got pregnant in the 2nd cycle of trying after the TTC "break". All those months, my cycle was still a little longer than normal, around 34 days. I am now nearly 13 weeks along and everything so far seems to be going well. One thing I know now is that there are no guarantees, but I feel very positive about this pregnancy. It also probably made it easier on me that my m/c was not my first pregnancy, and that I have a 1-year-old baby. However, it easily could have been my first pregnancy, it's just not how it played out in our lives. I hope that you can stay positive--Good luck!


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## mama4gals (Nov 15, 2003)

Wow! It is so great to read all these miscarriage stories. And here I thought I was alone! I have 4 girls, then had a miscarriage with my 5th at 13 weeks. Very scary, severe bleeding, emergency room, etc. But no intervention was needed. And we buried our baby in the garden, in front of the Blessed Mother statue. It looked perfectly formed, and no one knows what went wrong. Then, last month, exactly 2 yrs minus 1 day from the last one, I miscarried again, at 6 wks. I m/c at home, bled moderately for 6 days, passed a large firm red thing (sac?), and stopped bleeding completely the next day. 3-1/2 wks. later got my period--and like Shannon said, it was lighter than normal. On the 5th day, I started having thin clear mucous w/ traces of blood, which has continued for 5 days, and seems to be increasing. Does anybody have any idea what could be up? I'm 40 by the way, and I really wanted another baby. I so want to give you all a hug and cry together for our lost children.

Liz


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## SomedayMom (May 9, 2002)

Big hugs to you. It was almost a year ago that I was in a similar place. We lost our first pregnancy in the 10th week in October 2003. I do not know much of anything about what happened, my only u/s came after the miscarriage had already started, so the suspicion in my case was a blighted ovum, but we can't really confirm that. I'm not sure I want to know, I just want to remember my baby. I did have a d&c.

You get different answers as to when to start trying again. The best thing to do is to follow your heart. I would say to trust in your body, but I know how nearly impossible that is when you feel so much like your body just betrayed you in the worst possible way. I see an OB. Two weeks after my d&c I had a follow up with her, not knowing when I should try again, but wanting so badly to try again. I was afraid it would take a long time too. She told me there was no valid scientific evidence for an increased risk of miscarriage and that I could try again as soon as I felt up to it. We started trying right away.

It did take us 4 more cycles (which was less than it took to get pregnant the first time), but I am now 32 weeks pregnant again. I always imagine that first baby keeping a close eye on her baby brother and keeping him safe...


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## RachelW (Sep 30, 2004)

Thank you all for posting your stories in response to my post. I ended up having a d&c on Thursday since I wasn't bleeding at all and it had been nearly three weeks. The thought of waiting it out was too difficult for me and I am feeling a bit of closure. It's amazing to me how quickly my body has gone back to a pre-pregnancy stage (no breast tenderness, more energy...) but I still "feel" pregnant as I look around at birthing books, gifts of baby clothes and cards.

The biggest help, though, has been in hearing from others. It's amazing to me how many people have a story about miscarriage as soon as I have told them about mine.

One thing that my midwife told me, though, that really baffled me, is that this miscarriage could have been caused by a lack of progesterone in my system. She said that checking progesterone levels is not something that is done in the early first trimester UNLESS you've miscarried TWICE before. And, if a deficiency is found, it is usually easily remedied by progesterone suppositories. Why wouldn't this test be routine??? Has anyone had any experience with this or can anyone tell me more? Much love and thanks!


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