Pregnancy After Miscarriage

Updated on October 16, 2007
L.L. asks from Aurora, IL
17 answers

I had a blighted ovum about 6 mos ago. After my 6 week follow-up my Doctor said that we could start trying whenever we wanted. We waited 2 mos and we concieved only for it to end up in a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Many of our friends tell us we tried too soon and that we need to wait longer. Everything I have read says you do not benefit by waiting because the body is healed. Unfortunately it is not like an external wound you can see if it is better. I am coming up on my appointment and I want to be more prepared for this appointment. If you miscarried how long did you wait to try again? Did you have success or failure? If you miscarried multiple times did you have any tests completed?

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C.S.

answers from Chicago on

I had a miscarriage on August 29th. Got my first period on September 30th(doing IVF). I am starting my next IVF cycle with next period, so my dr told me to wait one month.

Good Luck and I am so sorry for you loss.

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

You do NOT need to wait, well to a certain extent! Here's my story, the short version:

I had been on fertility treatments for nearly 2 years before conceiving. Finally fertilization occurred, only to learn at 7 weeks that a heartbeat never appeared. I was told to "wait" to let my body resolve (i.e. miscarry) the pregnancy naturally, which it did 2 months later.

Approximately 4 weeks after the miscarriage I had to have minor gyn surgery, unrelated to fertility. I had to "wait" 4 more weeks due to recovery from the surgery but then I got the green light from my ob/gyn to resume fertility treatments. 3 days after getting the go ahead, we "went ahead" and ttc.

So, there I was 4 months later waiting and waiting for my period to come so I could go back to my reproductive endocrinologist and start up treatments again. I began getting frustrated because I was not getting my period and was anxious to start "trying" again.

Much to my surprise, the reason I wasn't getting a period was because I was pregnant! One month after the surgery and four months after the miscarriage...not to mention without any treatment or intervention whatsoever.

The only waiting you may need to do is waiting for the uterus to miscarry and have a subsequent period so you know the uterus is ready and viable. Best wishes to you - I know how frustrating this can be.

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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

I m/s at 6 weeks and my doctor recommend to wait for at least one cycle. She said that this was so that if I were to get pregnant again they would know how far along I was. She never mentioned "healing" as a factor. Of course I m/s early so this may be different depending on how far along you were. I would continue to follow the doctors recommendations. I wish you luck!!

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A.P.

answers from Chicago on

I have heard people say to wait 3 months before trying again. Not sure if there is any truth in that. I got pregnant 4 months after a miscarriage.
Good luck!

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E.W.

answers from Chicago on

I miscarried on 7/20/07, I had a D&C and my doctor advised we wait 3 months before trying again. He said that for the 1st six months after a miscarriage you are the most fertile, but he wanted me to wait the full 3 months for my uterus to heal completely. They say that whether or not you have the D&C, your body still needs time to heal because it acts like it gave birth (your uterus was expanded, etc.) I trust my doctor completely, so we are waiting, as soon as this next cycle is over I am good to start trying again.
(I am very sorry for your loss, I know what you're going through - I have a good website to go to for grieving if you need it!)

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D.

answers from Chicago on

I miscarried and got pregnant right away. I now have 3 beautiful children. I understand if you want to wait again because who wants to go through that experiance. You do what feels right for you. I know it is tough but you know you can get pregnant so hold on tight to that thought and what needs to happen will happen. Good luck!

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S.H.

answers from Chicago on

Hi L.,

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. I have had two miscarriages back to back. The first miscarriage, I was 11 weeks along. My dr then advised us to wait 3 months to try again (although I read that most dr's have different opinions about this). We waited the 3 months that my dr told us to wait. I had to use clomid to get pregnant, so after 3 months I went back on clomid, and we got pregnant the first month of trying. Even though we waited the 3 months, that pregnancy ended in miscarriage as well at 5 weeks. This time, I had a different dr, and this one said that we could start trying the next month. So I started clomid again, after two months of clomid, I got pregnant...and it stuck, my daughter is now 2 :). I honestly don't think the amount of time you wait matters, my dr told me that the body heals remarkably fast, and that other dr's tell you to wait longer so that you have more time to heal emotionaly. After I miscarried the second time, I did ask for tests. My dr was a bit reluctant becuase they don't usually do them until you have miscarried 3 times. However I was very persistent and let him know that I did not want to let this happen again if something can help to prevent it. So we did the test, and it was discovered that I have AntiCardiolipin Antibodies, which is a blood clotting disorder in pregnancy, and can cause miscarriages. So when I got pregnant with my daughter I was to take a childrens asprin a day (am taking it with this pregnancy as well). I do believe the asprin helped aid in keeping my daughter with me. I am now pregnant again, and at first m/c was a huge fear of mine due to my history, but I am taking the baby asprin again (as well as progesterone at first becuase that was low) and I am now 17 weeks along.
I would definitely ask for tests becuase if they can find a reason for your miscarriages now, then another one could possibly be prevented.
I hope I answered your questions, if you have any more or would like to talk feel free to PM me.

S.

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J.N.

answers from Chicago on

L.~

I'm sorry for your loss. I had a miscarriage in July 05 and I was 7 weeks PG. My Dr. told us to wait one cycle (1 month) to make sure everything was ok (I did not need a D&C) and then she told us to start trying again. I wanted a little more time so we did not try until after the 2nd month. I got PG again right away and I have a beautiful 2 yr old DD. Then when we wanted to expand of family we tried again in the fall of 06 and got PG again & found out it was twins! So I also have 5 mth old B/G twins.....

I know how scary the MC can be, but you can get PG right after and you can have the family you want.

Good Luck,

J.

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K.N.

answers from Chicago on

I had a miscarriage at 3-4 weeks pregnant, we waited one month to try again and I got pregnant that month and now have an adorable 8 month old little boy. Good Luck--I know how anxious you become to get pregnant after a miscarriage.

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L.W.

answers from Chicago on

Hi L.,
I am so sorry that you are going through this! I had a natural miscarriage last July. It was the saddest time of my life. I miscarried at 9 weeks, 1 day. My husband and I waited for me to have two periods after the miscarriage before trying again. That's when we both felt comfortable doing so.
Although I can't really answer all of your questions, I wanted to suggest a message board for you so you can chat with women who have had multipule miscarriages. All these women helped me through my worst times. They also have a lot of the information that you are looking for in regards to testing.
What you have to do is become a member or sign on to www.thenestbaby.com (part of The Knot). Once you are there, in the top right corner there is a link called COMMUNITY (green button). Click on that and go to the Pregnancy Loss board. This is the link to that borad once you are in The Nest website is you are having a hard time getting to that specific board: http://www.thenestbaby.com/stages/stage.aspx?stage=ttc&am... : just copy and paste.
My user name on that site is WinsyWade. Please page me if you ever need help figuring something out on that messageboard.
Good luck with trying to concieve again! Wishing you a happy, healthy full term pregnancy!
Sincerely,
L.

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E.G.

answers from Charleston on

I had the same thing happen, although it took me longer to get pregnant the second time. After that, I was so discouraged we decided to wait for a while and lo and behold only one cycle later I was pregnant with a healthy and now hyper boy who is perfect. I think that everyone is different. I had doctors tell me to wait a few cycles and some say it didn't matter if I waited or not. It seems not waiting worked out for us. I wish you luck and positive things can happen!

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N.S.

answers from Chicago on

A hugely pertinent question is how old you are? Sometimes it is just common to have numerous miscarriages when age is a factor. (you are above 35) I would not suggest either way waiting because having experienced miscarriage I will tell you that your body generally heals pretty quickly from an uncompleted pregnancy. Every situation is different and it is VERY common to miscarry at 8 weeks. Do not think it is only you. It may just take a while to get a full term pregnancy and have a baby. Sometimes it is SO frustrating. I really feel your heart aching. I remember in February I miscarried and this Saturday would be the due date of my baby which never made it. Time heals and hopefully be persistent and it will happen. Unfortunately these things are sometimes out of our control. I would look into alternative healing and accupuncture because you are more fertile often with this treatment vs. the traditional approaches to medicine. Western medicine is often less effective to heal in circumstances like these. Blessings and prayers, N.
PS if you want to talk I am here for you. Just IM me.

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A.A.

answers from Chicago on

I had a miscarriage in May of 2005 (13 weeks) and again in Jan 2006 (11 weeks). I actually miscarried on New Year's Eve. By the middle of February, I was pregnant again and gave birth to my son in December.

I do not think that they really do tests until you either cannot conceive within 12 cycles or if you miscarry more than 4-5 times. I cannot remember the time period.

One thing I did find out is that a lot of women will miscarry 2-3 times for every successful pregnancy they have. It seems that people are more open to talking about miscarriages, but when it happened to me, I didn't think it was really happening to anyone else...until people found out I miscarried and shared their own experiences. It's much, much more common than we think.

All I can suggest is to keep taking prenatals, getting plenty of sleep, eat well and keep your body hydrated.

Sending you some hugs. Take care of yourself.

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M.R.

answers from Phoenix on

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I had a Miscarriage at 8 weeks and my dr said to wait one cycle. That was with a D&C. We concieved 2 months later and I am now 16 weeks! Just listen to your Dr. and good luck.

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T.S.

answers from Chicago on

L.,

I'm very, very sorry for your loss. I got pregnant the FIRST time we had sex off the pill and I m/c at about 8 weeks. I had a D&C and waited a couple of cycles to try again. The first month we tried, I got pregnant again and unfortunately m/c at about 11-12 weeks. I did have some tests done on the second m/c since I was so much further along. Everything "looked" ok according to the tests. I had another D&C and the doctor said to wait a couple of cycles before trying again.

I stayed off the pill and we weren't really even "trying" that hard when I got pregnant the 3rd time. This time they watched me like a hawk and found that I had low progesterone so I had to take some supplements. I delivered a healthy 8 lb, 10 oz boy.

We wanted another child and I went off the pill when our son was about 14 months old. We were careful the 1st two cycles and got pregnant as soon as we stopped being careful. As a precaution, I took the progesterone again. I delivered another healthy boy just this past August (8 lbs, 5 oz and 2 weeks early).

There seem to be different views on waiting or not waiting. Maybe since I had the D&C's it was better to wait and heal. I'm not sure, I just did what my doctor suggested at that point.

Sometimes, it's better to wait for emotional reasons. After the first m/c, I was fine emotionally (as much as you can be after a loss like that) but the second one hit me pretty hard.

So, even though we all have our experiences and opinions, if you have a good relationship with your OB/GYN, see what they say. They know your body better than your friends (or any of us) do.

I hope it works out for you and you have a wonderful pregnancy.

T.

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A.M.

answers from Chicago on

Recent research using preimplantation genetics has shown that 75% or more of fertilized embryos are chromosomally abnormal. nature deals with this by them either not implanting or by miscarriages in general. Many people have many miscarriages that they don't even notice. Part of this is just a numbers game. so you likely don't have to wait. There isn't anything to be gained by waiting. You could even try in your next cycle, that more depends on when you are emotionally ready.

L.H.

answers from Chicago on

I had a DNC almost two years ago. I was 13 weeks into my pregnancy. The doctor told me to wait 3 full period cycles before trying again, so that my body could heal. I waited the 3 months, and 3 months after that I was pregnant again and she is now almost 8 months old. Hang in there. It took me 3 years to even become pregnant with the first one, miscarrying is a very heart breaking thing. Keep your chin up.

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