Is it possible to pass tissue and not miscarry

Where can you learn more? Top of the page. Overview A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 20 weeks. Incomplete miscarriage. Some of the pregnancy tissue stays in the uterus after the miscarriage. Missed miscarriage. All of the tissue stays in the uterus afterward. How can you care for yourself at home? You will probably have vaginal bleeding for 1 to 2 weeks after treatment. It may be similar to or slightly heavier than a normal period. Use sanitary pads until you stop bleeding.

Using pads makes it easier to monitor your bleeding. Take an over-the-counter pain medicine, such as acetaminophen Tylenol , ibuprofen Advil, Motrin , or naproxen Aleve , for cramps. You may have cramps for several days after the miscarriage. Read and follow all instructions on the label.

Do not take two or more pain medicines at the same time unless the doctor or midwife told you to. Many pain medicines have acetaminophen, which is Tylenol.

Too much acetaminophen Tylenol can be harmful. Here are some of the more typical signs of miscarriage you should know about:. Bleeding during pregnancy can be worrisome to an expectant mother but is more common than you may think. If bleeding occurs, it may be bright red or have a brownish tone. If bleeding is accompanied by pain, you should definitely see a doctor. Although it is often difficult to distinguish between "normal" pregnancy pains and abnormal ones, you should be checked out just to be safe.

Typically speaking, hCG levels can be expected to double every two to three days in early pregnancy. When the. While it may mean nothing more than your pregnancy date has been miscalculated, it might also suggest a miscarriage or some other pregnancy complication, including an ectopic pregnancy. If cramping is not accompanied by bleeding, it could be due to dehydration or common physiologic changes such as the uterus growing and stretching in response to the developing fetus. But cramping can also be a sign of miscarriage.

If you're experiencing serious cramping, constant cramping, spotting , or heavy bleeding, call your doctor right away as this could very well be a sign of miscarriage. This is especially true if it is accompanied by lower back pain. Severe pain one side of the body that is worsening may the sign of an ectopic pregnancy , which should always be treated as a medical emergency.

In many cases, a woman will experience few, if any, symptoms of miscarriage and only learn that something is wrong during a routine ultrasound.

While ultrasounds are usually reliable in diagnosing a miscarriage, it is possible that the ultrasound will not be definitive, especially if the exact date of conception is unclear. On ultrasound, the lack of fetal growth, an inappropriate size of the gestational sac or fetal pole, or lack of a heartbeat are all signs that a miscarriage either has or will occur. A miscarriage that occurs without symptoms is referred to as a missed miscarriage.

This is where some but not all of the pregnancy tissue is miscarried. You may still have pain and heavy bleeding. In all the situations described above, a full miscarriage will happen naturally in time and some women choose this option. If you choose to have one of these treatments, you may be asked to wait for a week or more for a second scan to make sure the pregnancy has ended before treatment begins. Unless you need emergency treatment, you should usually be able to choose what treatment to have and be given information to help you decide between them.

However, your medical history may make some options unsuitable or your hospital may not offer all options. During the Coronavirus COVID pandemic in particular, you are much less likely to be offered surgery under a general anaesthetic, but you might be offered surgical management with local anaesthetic MVA — see below for more information.

In general, though, you will most likely have to decide between natural expectant or medical management of miscarriage at home rather than being treated in hospital. Having to choose between these methods can be difficult and distressing, but we hope that the information we have here will help you to understand the different options better, make it easier to decide and to prepare for and cope with the process. A more recent review [2] of 46 studies of miscarriage management concluded that all methods are equally effective in completing the process of miscarriage and recommended that women should be able to choose the method they feel best able to cope with.

Some women prefer to wait and let the miscarriage happen naturally. Doctors often recommend this, especially in the first eight or nine weeks of pregnancy. National NICE guidance also states that natural management should be the first method to consider. However, your choice will be important in deciding the best and safest option for you.

This can vary a lot depending on the size of the pregnancy and the findings of the ultrasound scan. It can take anything from days to weeks before the miscarriage begins. Once it does, you are likely to have strong, possibly extremely painful cramps and bleeding.

Some women describe the pain as like contractions in labour. The bleeding may go on for weeks; or the small pregnancy sac in the womb may be reabsorbed without much bleeding at all. It can be very difficult to predict exactly what will happen and when.

You may be asked to contact or visit the hospital over the next few weeks. In some cases you may be offered a scan to check whether the uterus has emptied, but it is more likely that you will be asked to do a pregnancy test at home and to contact them again only if it is still positive after weeks.

At this point you may be offered medical or surgical management. Most women have period-like cramps that can be extremely painful, especially when the pregnancy tissue is being pushed out. This is because the uterus is tightly squeezing to push its contents out, much like it does in labour. Paracetamol might help or you may find you need to use strong painkillers, such as co-codamol or similar, which combine paracetamol and codeine.

You are also likely to bleed very heavily and pass clots. These can be as big as the palm of your hand. It might be wise to buy extra-absorbent pads — and certainly not to use tampons. You may see the pregnancy sac, which might look different from what you expected.

You may — especially after 10 weeks — see an intact fetus that looks like or is clearly a tiny baby. Pavla describes her experience of natural management here. This affects about 1 woman in every , so some hospitals give antibiotics routinely to prevent it. Signs include:. Treatment is with antibiotics. You may need an operation to remove any remaining pregnancy tissue. You will probably be advised to use pads rather than tampons for the bleeding and not to have sex until it has stopped.

About 2 in women have bleeding bad enough to need a blood transfusion. Some of them need emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. You may need an operation to remove it. In rare cases, pregnancy tissue gets stuck in the cervix neck of the uterus1 and needs to be removed during a vaginal examination. This can be very painful and distressing. The main benefit is avoiding hospital treatment. You may want your miscarriage to be as natural as possible and to be fully aware of what is happening.

You may also find it easier to say goodbye to the pregnancy if you see the tissue and maybe the fetus or baby as it passes. You may still want advice, though, on what to do with the remains of your baby see After the miscarriage below. If you decide to manage the miscarriage naturally, being prepared with sanitary pads, pain-killers and emergency contact numbers can help you cope with what happens.

You may want to make sure you have people on hand or at the end of a phone to support you. After my second missed miscarriage I opted to let nature take its course. It took two weeks until I had a miscarriage and although those weeks were very difficult, I found that I managed to accept the situation much quicker than previously. Treatment with medicine Medicine is available that can speed up the process of passing the pregnancy tissue. Medication is not suitable if there is very heavy bleeding or signs of infection.

It is usually not recommended for pregnancies that are older than about nine weeks. Things to know The pregnancy tissue will pass between four to six hours after taking the medicine, during which time you may be in hospital. This will depend on where you are and which hospital you are in. The medicine has side effects which usually pass in a few hours but can be unpleasant, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and chills.

The tablets can be swallowed or dissolved under the tongue, or inserted in the vagina. After receiving the medication there may be some spotting or bleeding like a period. When the pregnancy tissue passes, you are likely to notice heavier bleeding and clots with strong cramping, period-like pains. You can use sanitary pads and take pain relieving tablets such as paracetamol. Some women may need stronger pain killers or a pain relieving injection.

A few women still need to have surgery, sometimes urgently, if they develop infection, bleed heavily or if the tissue does not pass. The medical staff advise that this is a better option for you; this may be because of the amount of tissue present, especially with a missed miscarriage. This is an option you prefer. This can cause prolonged or heavy bleeding and the operation may need to be repeated infection needing antibiotics damage to the cervix or uterus.

This is very rare around 1 in and, when it does happen, it is usually a small hole or tear which will heal itself excessive bleeding very rare anaesthetic risks. These are very low for healthy women, but no anaesthetic or operation is without risk. Waiting for treatment If you have heavy bleeding with clots and crampy pain, it is likely that you are passing the pregnancy tissue. What to do while you are waiting You can try to rest and relax at home.

Usual activity that is not too strenuous will not be harmful. You can go to work if you feel up to it. If you have pain you can take paracetamol.