Natural Miscarriage

When my reproductive endocrinologist discovered no fetal heartbeat at one of our regular appointments, he gave me the option to either have a dilation and curettage (D&C) or wait for the miscarriage to happen naturally. Though the decision was up to me, he did recommend the latter approach. I was too preoccupied with the sad news to ask why.

When I returned home that day, I searched the Internet for comparisons between D&C and natural miscarriage, and the majority of forum posts advised to go the D&C route. They claimed (and my doctor confirmed) that it was a fast, painless, and very safe procedure. Natural miscarriage on the other hand was supposed to be extremely painful--both physically (due to the amplified abdominal cramps) and emotionally (especially if seeing the dead fetus).

I have always had an extremely high tolerance to pain, so I wasn't terribly concerned with those warnings. Plus, I had already had too many surgical interventions within the span of a year, so I decided to let my body take control over its own functions. The greatest inconvenience seemed to be the wait--no one could predict when the miscarriage will start.

My doctor monitored my hCG levels once a week, starting on the day we discovered the absence of fetal heartbeat. He wanted to see it decrease, but it didn't--at least not for another ten days or so. Two weeks after the fetal demise, we finally started to see the levels drop (though not by much), and that is when the pain began.

I had started bleeding a bit two days before that (last Saturday), but the blood was brown in color (i.e., old), and I had no pain. The situation changed on Monday, when I began to experience abdominal cramps that were sharper than those that I sometimes have with my cycle. Luckily, it was around 5 PM, so I could leave work unobtrusively and deal with the pain at home.

Though my commute is relatively short, the pain had notably increased by the time I reached home. Still, it wasn't too strong, and it wasn't constant. From my reading of Internet posts, I had some idea of what to expect, but while some compared the intensity of pain during miscarriage to that during labor, I believed I would be one of those who would have no more than a moderate discomfort. Boy, was I wrong.

The pain maintained the same moderate intensity for about three hours, then grew incrementally both in frequency and in intensity. By 9 PM I knew I was in trouble, because I was still expelling no tissue, which meant that I hadn't reached the peak in pain levels. At this point, most women would probably be taking their second or third Advil or Tylenol. I, unfortunately, am strongly allergic to both. I had to endure the pain without numbing it.

Around 10 PM, I had already started passing some tissue, but I was in so much pain that my boyfriend had to go look for raspberry leaf tea at any nearby store that might have it. None of my Internet searches had mentioned that herbal remedy, but he had read about it somewhere, and I was willing to try anything (including Advil and Tylenol!!!).

According to the tea package text, raspberry leaves are supposed to ease cramps--both during one's period and during a miscarriage. They are even supposed to make delivery easier. I don't know how long one must have consumed the tea for to see any effect, but I doubted it would have instantaneous powers. Still, I did feel a bit better after one cup. Or I might have just finished with the miscarriage at around the same time.

The pain began subsiding just before midnight (after seven hours of misery), and when I finally went to bed, I was able to sleep. The next way, I was fine. I was still bleeding, but I was pain free. I drove to work and had an uneventful day.

I had read that the bleeding may last several weeks, so I know what to expect. I believe that the worst is already over. I just hope there are no complications (such as infection). I will know soon enough.

UPDATE: The bleeding last three full weeks. No complications.