Finishing a miscarriage

[Babes in arms]

I need some help here. I've got a close friend who has spent the last couple of weeks on the verge of a miscarriage. Her body has finally released the sac and placenta, but she knows that she still has some parts inside. She can feel the pressure on her cervix. She believes that they may still be attached to her uterine wall. What, if anything, can she do to encourage those last bits to release so that she can finish this process with as little intervention as possible? She is really hoping to avoid a d&c. She would be approx 7 weeks now.

Thanks for your advice ladies.

Erica

[Babes in arms]

Anyone?

[happydoulamama]

I'm interested to know if she saw the sac and placenta? How does she know that this is a loss and not just bleeding? As someone who had a miscarriage at a similar time, I never saw anything but clots and blood and trust me, I looked. Before taking anything to finish it, I'd want to know for sure that it isn't a twin pregnancy or something? Has she had bloodwork/US to confirm?

[Babes in arms]

Yes, she saw the sack and placenta. She pushed the intact sack out and then her husband opened it. They even saw the baby clearly. She said the placenta was as big as three of her fists put together. So, there is no doubt this is a loss. She also had multiple u/s. This was not a twin pg. But, this was now 2 days ago and she is still dilated to 3 centimeters and can feel something dangling in that cervical opening. She's scared to pull on it in case it's attached. She was previously using progesterone.

[happydoulamama]

I'm just scratching my head here. She was 7 weeks since LMP? My placenta/sac would have been smaller than my little toe, not three times the size of my fist. I did lots of research so I knew what to look for, size/color/etc. This sounds abnormal to me, and I'd suggest the help of a caring, trusted midwife or medical professional. Sorry I can't be of anymore help...hopefully someone else here can give their thoughts as well.

[JessicaE]

I agree, the description you gave does not sound at all like a 7 week pregnancy. The fetus would be about the size of a grain of rice, and the placenta certainly would not be the size of three fists. I would recommend she see a health care provider to help sort through what's happening.

I'm so sorry she lost her baby.

[Babes in arms]

I didn't question her about the size of the sac. It may have been the size of a little toe. She volunteered the size of the placenta.
She described something I've never heard before. She said that as he opened the sac, they could clearly see the baby and the head, but as soon as the sac was opened, the contents started to change. She said it was hard to describe but that the baby lost its shape almost immediately. They both saw this happen and I don't doubt her.
She is having communication problems with her OB throughout this which is part of the problem. Phone calls are not being returned. She asked for a test of her HcG levels last week when she was pretty sure that she had lost the baby. The OB told her no and ordered her to keep using her progesterone. Her idea is that the progesterone possibly led to the enlarged placenta. Are they related? She is also concerned that the progesterone has caused part of the placenta to not release. It did appear complete when she delivered it, but she is not 100% certain of this. She is hesitant to OB shop during such an emotional event. She's known for a couple weeks that this was a loss, but has continued to take her progesterone to sustain it which has done a number on her emotions.

[happydoulamama]

[QUOTE=Babes in arms;10769871]She is also concerned that the progesterone has caused part of the placenta to not release. It did appear complete when she delivered it, but she is not 100% certain of this. QUOTE]

If this is the case, I'd be watching for too much bleeding for sure, since this is the danger of miscarriage...retained and infection/hemorrhaging. I would personally be watching for these signs until I could get into a careprovider. I would not use anything to move it along in case there is something else going on.

I'm sorry for your friend's loss and I'm sure she is grateful to have you as support.

[Babes in arms]

Update:

I just heard from her. She got in to her OB today and was examined. Turns out, it was a piece of membrane still attached which the OB cut away. She's at home now taking care of her boys and trying to rest.

FYI, she would have been 9 weeks tomorrow but had been measuring two weeks behind according u/s. The sac was the size of an egg. She said the OB was not alarmed by the size of the sac or placenta.

Thanks for your help.