You Have the Right to Choose How to Miscarry: What You Need to Know
- lrcorcoran67
- Nov 17, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
Experiencing a miscarriage is an incredibly emotional and personal journey. When you’re faced with this difficult reality, one of the first steps is deciding how to manage it. Every woman’s situation is unique, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. What matters most is making the choice that feels right for you, your body, and your emotional well-being. Here, we’ll explore the most common options available, so you can make an informed decision and choose how to miscarry.
1. Natural Progression (Expectant Management)
What it is: Choosing to let the miscarriage progress naturally means waiting for your body to pass the pregnancy tissue without medical intervention. This is often an option for early miscarriages.
What to expect: The process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. You’ll experience cramping, bleeding, and the eventual passing of tissue, similar to a heavy period. During this time, you may need support from a partner or loved ones.
Why choose this:
If you prefer to avoid medical procedures and let nature take its course.
If you feel emotionally ready to wait for the miscarriage to happen naturally.
If your healthcare provider confirms it’s safe to wait and monitor.
Things to consider:
The uncertainty of when it will happen can be emotionally taxing.
You’ll need regular check-ins with your healthcare provider to ensure the miscarriage completes naturally.
Practical Tip: Consider using a Miscarriage Collection Device to collect your baby for testing, burial, or cremation if that is important to you. Our Miscarriage Care Kits include tools to help with this process, ensuring that it’s handled with care and dignity.
2. Medication at Home
What it is: Medication, usually misoprostol, is prescribed to help your body pass the pregnancy tissue by triggering uterine contractions. You take the tablets in a healthcare setting (like a hospital) and head home to manage the process in a familiar environment. The tablets are taken orally by placing them under your tongue, where they dissolve over about 20 minutes.
What to expect: Once you take the misoprostol, cramping and bleeding typically start within 1-2 hours. You’ll pass clots and tissue over the course of the next 24-48 hours. Additional doses may be needed after 48 hours if the process isn’t complete after the first dose.
Why choose this:
If you want to manage the miscarriage in the privacy and comfort of your home.
If waiting for natural progression is too emotionally difficult, or your body isn’t passing the pregnancy tissue on its own.
Things to consider:
Cramping can be intense, and bleeding is heavier than a normal period.
You’ll need to prepare with pain relief, sanitary pads, and someone to support you.
Practical Tip: Consider using a Miscarriage Collection Device to collect your baby for testing, burial, or cremation if that is important to you. Our Miscarriage Care Kits include tools to help with this process, ensuring that it’s handled with care and dignity.
3. Medication in Hospital
What it is: Medication, usually misoprostol, is administered in a hospital setting. The tablets are taken orally by placing them under your tongue, where they dissolve over about 20 minutes and vaginally administered by a healthcare professional.
What to expect: The tablets are taken vaginally by a healthcare professional and/or orally (placed under the tongue to dissolve). Cramping and bleeding typically start within 1-2 hours, and most miscarriages complete within 24-48 hours. You may be administered medication more frequently while in hospital—typically every few hours, depending on your body’s response and the healthcare provider's assessment. You will usually remain in hospital until the miscarriage is complete.Â
Why choose this:
If you feel safer or more supported in a hospital environment.
If you want medical supervision to manage any complications during the process.
Things to consider:
You may need to wait for hospital availability, which can sometimes take weeks, and it’s possible to miscarry naturally during this waiting period.
4. Surgical Management (D&C)
What it is: A dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure is a minor surgery performed in a hospital to remove pregnancy tissue. It’s a quick and controlled way to complete a miscarriage.
What to expect: The procedure takes about 20 minutes and is typically done under general anaesthesia. You’ll experience light bleeding and cramping for a few days afterward, but the miscarriage will be complete once the procedure is done.
Why choose this:
If you want a reliable option.
If medication or natural management hasn’t worked, or you prefer a medical solution from the start.
Things to consider:
You may need to wait for hospital availability, which can sometimes take weeks, and it’s possible to miscarry naturally during this waiting period.
D&C is a surgical procedure, so it carries some risks, such as infection or complications, although these are rare.
Recovery is generally quick, but you may still experience some physical and emotional after-effects.
5. Emotional Considerations
Miscarriage is both a physical and emotional experience. Whichever option you choose, it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and give yourself time to heal. Lean on the support of loved ones or a professional if needed, and don’t hesitate to ask your healthcare provider questions at any stage of the process.
6. Practical Tools for Managing a Miscarriage
Regardless of the option you choose, having the right tools can help ease the process. Our Miscarriage Care Kits include essential items to help you through the physical and emotional challenges, including our Miscarriage Collection Device for those who wish to collect their baby with dignity and care.
Making the Decision Choosing how to manage a miscarriage is a deeply personal decision. There is no right or wrong choice—only what feels best for you. Take the time you need to make a decision that honours both your body and your emotional well-being.
