If it is not removed by scraping the uterus with a curette (a spoon-shaped instrument), you may bleed for a long time or develop an infection. Unless all the pregnancy tissue has been passed, your doctor will usually recommend that a curette (also called a 'D&C' – dilation and curettage) be performed.
Most women pass the tissue within 2 weeks of a miscarriage diagnosis, but it can take longer. If it takes too long, your ob-gyn may recommend medication to start the process. (Once the process starts and cramping and bleeding begin, most of the tissue passes within a few hours.
An incomplete abortion, if left untreated, can lead to serious complications. Developing a pelvic infection can cause damage to your reproductive system and potentially cause future ectopic pregnancies, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and tubo-ovarian abscess.
About 50% of women who miscarry do not undergo a D&C procedure. Women can safely miscarry on their own with few problems in pregnancies that end before 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, the miscarriage is more likely to be incomplete, requiring a D&C procedure.
If your doctor or midwife is sure that your first-trimester or early second-trimester miscarriage is complete and all tissue has passed from your uterus, the bleeding is likely to taper off within about a week. Unless you have a fever or heavy bleeding, you will not need treatment.
This depends upon your individual situation—in fact, half of women who have experienced a miscarriage do not need a D&C procedure for miscarriage. In general, if the pregnancy ended before 10 weeks, women can safely miscarry without a D&C.
If you have a miscarriage in your first trimester, you may choose to wait 7 to 14 days after a miscarriage for the tissue to pass out naturally. This is called expectant management. If the pain and bleeding have lessened or stopped completely during this time, this usually means the miscarriage has finished.
Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to remove tissue from inside your uterus. Health care providers perform dilation and curettage to diagnose and treat certain uterine conditions — such as heavy bleeding — or to clear the uterine lining after a miscarriage or abortion.
Septic abortions usually develop when untrained practitioners use nonsterile techniques to remove the contents of the uterus after an abortion or a miscarriage. Septic abortions cause chills, fever, vaginal discharge, vaginal bleeding, and a rapid heart rate typically within 2 days after an abortion or a miscarriage.
The tissue you pass may look dark red and shiny — some women describe it as looking like liver. You might find a sac with an embryo inside, about the size of a small bean. If you look closely, you might be able to see where the eyes, arms and legs were forming.
Retained tissue
doesn't complete itself properly – even after a few weeks – and some pregnancy tissue remains in the uterus. 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.
Often, some of the pregnancy tissue remains in the uterus after a miscarriage. If it is not removed by scraping the uterus with a curette (a spoon-shaped instrument), you may bleed for a long time or develop an infection.
No treatment (expectant management)
You can choose to wait and see what will happen. This is called 'expectant management'. If nothing is done, sooner or later the pregnancy tissue will pass naturally.
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) for cramps. Talk to your doctor before you take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve).
Immediately after a woman has had a miscarriage, we need to ensure that the womb is completely empty and that everything has been cleared out. We don't want little bits of placenta or blood clots left inside the womb that might complicate the future.
In the United States, the most common recommendation was to wait three months for the uterus to heal and cycles to get back to normal. The World Health Organization has recommended six months, again to let the body heal.
If you are unable to bring the miscarriage sample into your doctor's office immediately, store the sample in the refrigerator to preserve the tissue. Please DO NOT freeze the sample. It is important to remember, there is nothing you can do to prevent a miscarriage, and you did not cause this miscarriage to happen.
A miscarriage may also be called a "spontaneous abortion." Other terms for the early loss of pregnancy include: Complete abortion: All of the products (tissue) of conception leave the body. Incomplete abortion: Only some of the products of conception leave the body.
A D&C may be necessary if the miscarriage poses an immediate threat to your health. This may be the case if you are hemorrhaging or if tissue remains in your uterus after a natural miscarriage. Ultrasound is used to determine if a miscarriage is complete or not.
It typically takes from one to nine weeks for hCG levels to return to zero following a miscarriage (or delivery).