I had an early scan last Friday due to spotting. I should have been 9 weeks, 4 days. The sonographer said the baby measured 6mm and died at 6 weeks. That means that baby died 3 and a half weeks ago. My body still hasn't expelled the foetus etc.

How long did it take for your body to expel the tissue after your baby stopped growing if you choose to let it happen naturally?

I have another appointment in 2 and a half weeks. If nothing happens by then I believe I will consider having an ERPC. What should I expect from that?

I believe the sac was the size it should have been for 9 weeks, 4 days. Does this mean the sac will keep growing for as long as it takes for my body to expel it?

I have always had very painful periods but I have to admit that I am scared of the pain I have read that I might experience and the amount of blood loss.

One last thing, in my pregnancy books they say that baby measures 2-4mm at 6 weeks, yet mine measured 6mm. Could the sonographer have got it wrong? Could my baby have been 7 and a bit weeks when the book says they measure 4-5mm or does the sonographer measure differently from the book which measures crown to rump?

I'm sorry there is so much information and so many questions in this post.

Hi Bingo, Shame sweetie - it's not fair that this has to be such a drawn out experience I had an ERPC the day after I found out I had a MMC. The day of the op he did another scan and just within those 12 hours there was already a change and he could see blood next to the sac although I had still not started bleeding, but I think it differs from woman to woman.

For an ERPC they insert two tablets to soften the cervix. My doc then did the procedure 5hrs later. It was quick. They put me out, the procedure was 20min and I was awake 30minutes later. It's really traumatic leading up to it but once it was over I felt that closure and emotionally I'm OK now. I haven't had a lot of bleeding but have had quite a bit of pain. But again, it differs for everyone.

I'm here for you if you need to chat

Thanks so much for replying Jolene. The pain scares me which is a bit silly in my case because I'm used to such painful periods. I'm sorry you had to experience it.

Im so sorry to hear of your loss I had a mmc also and felt i couldnt deal with the pain i may experiance from a mc at home.I wasnt willing to let them perform a d&c however unless i could be 100% sure myself that there was no hope.I had my dating scan on the friday, went back on the monday for a second scan to be sure and was told that the sac had showed signs of deterioration and was actually shrinking slowly.I looked over the notes/pictures myself and researched it just to be sure and once i accepted this was all accurate i had the d&c two days later on the wednesday.If you want further tests then ask for them, i think its hard to accept a mmc because theres no signs and its hard to believe its really happening, i needed that extra scan for my own peace of mind and if you need that then dont hesitate to ask for another.

I dont know what pain is involved but i would assume its more than period pain depending on how far you were in your pregnancy, i was 14 weeks 4 days and a week after the op i ended up passing clots at home and it was really painful.If your worried about pain relief maybe ask for a precription from the hospital.I would suggest you get soluble solpadiene for now as i found it was the best (tastes awful tho!) and the other over the counter painkillers didnt do much for me.I was given two tablets to take orally at 5am the morning of the op and by the time i checked into the hospital at 7am i had begun bleeding.It was very quick and painless thanks to the general aneasthetic and after a long nap and some tea i was home by 5pm.It would have been quicker but id stayed up all night the night before so i was exhausted and slept all day.

As far as i know (and this is just from what ive read so wouldnt be 100% sure) the sac can keep growing in some cases but will eventually get to a stage where it begins to deteriorate and it wont keep growing for very long.Hope your doing ok

Hi

My baby stopped growing at around 9 weeks and it was found out at 15 weeks, I'm not really sure about the mm to gestational age thing; I know on the scan equipment at my local hospital the scan computer calculates it by the size. I'd say definitely things did keep growing as aside from the umbilical cord becoming detached from the sac and the sac bouncing around in freefall; the sac was not damaged at all (baby inside had started to deteriorate but sac was perfect) and was much, much bigger than the baby, also on the scan there was a huge space around the baby that would not be there on a 9 week scan. Things for me happened quickly after being told the bad news, within 24 hours in fact, but I did take natural oils containing natural prostglandins to help things along and it did seem to work really well. I think you're dealing with things very sensibly; and maybe just wait and see what happens before your next appointment.

Sophie

Firstly, sorry for your loss. I had a natural m/c at 5 weeks and had very little pain, just like period pains, the worst bit for me was backache.
It didn't take long,within 24 hours of finding out.

Apologies for duplicate posts; no idea why thats happened!

Thank you ladies. I so sorry you had to experience this too. It really helps reading about all your experiences and the advice is brilliant too.