Is It Normal Not to Bleed Right Away During a Miscarriage

HI M.-
I, too, am so sorry for what you're going through. I fully understand your pain, as I've experienced 2 miscarriages myself. My first was at 12 weeks and I had no bleeding whatsoever. Actually, had no idea anything was wrong. Went in for my 12 week appt and there was no more heartbeat and the fetus had shrunken in size. I never bled, nor did I have any cramps. I had to have a D&C and still hardly had much bleeding or cramping after that. My second miscarriage was earlier, at 6 weeks, and I did have bleeding but no cramps or backpain--as I was told to definitely expect. I think every person experiences things differently, there's no textbook way to experience it.

I hope you're able to find the support you need from friends, family, and of course your little one.

i'm so sorry to hear about your loss. one of my good friends miscarried about 2.5 years ago and said that she had no symptoms at all, only that she no longer felt pregnant... her morning sickness was gone, her fatigue was gone, she just felt normal again. with that in mind, you are certainly not alone. my thoughts are with you at this difficult time.

--B.

I'm sorry about your miscarriage. It's an awful thing to go through - especially this time of year. Just know that your daughter knows intuitively that you're hurting, and wants to help you through this.
With my miscarriage 2 years ago, I did not bleed (or cramp) at all. It was around 11 weeks (but measured about 7 or 8). I ended up having a D & C, but I know that's not always necessary. Sometimes women just don't bleed.
2 months after the miscarriage I conceived again. Now I have a precious almost-15-month-old, so just try to keep your spirits up. Find comfort in your daughter. Good luck :)

I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks. I only had minimal bleeding and no cramping at all. It started on a Friday, I called my doctor & didn't see her until Monday. She did an ultrasound and found pretty much the same thing. I had a D&C the next day.
It was more difficult emotionally than anything else.
I am sorry for your loss.

M., I am so sorry. I had a miscarriage last October. I also had no bleeding. The miscarriage was discovered at a routine 6-week ultrasound. I never had any bleeding at all and ended up needing a DNC. I also did not feel that I was having any symptoms of a miscarriage or period. My understanding is that you can wait for your body to bleed like a heavy period or have a DNC, a decision made both by you and your doctor. I'm so sorry you are going through this. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I know it's a hard time. The best thing I did was to talk about it. I discovered that lots of women have been through it and that all of them were willing to talk it through with me as much as I needed. My heart is with you.

M.,

I will keep you in my thoughts as you deal with the miscarriage, especially around this holiday time. I experienced a miscarriage in 2005 but before the physical things occurred, I had found out that the pregnancy was no longer (there was no hearbeat detected) continuing at the 1st ultrasound which should have been 10 weeks. Rather than have a D&C, I decided to let my body handle it and did not have a physical miscarriage until a month later. I started spotting with no pain, continued spotting with minor flow a few days later, and didn't completely pass everything for 9 days. On the very last day is when I went through 12 hours of mini contractions and major pain until everything passed.

I'm glad your 11 month old is providing some comfort and I wish you well.

Hi M.,
I am so sorry for your loss. On New Years eve 2007 I went to the emergency room with the same symptoms and the same outcome. I didn't start significant bleeding until Jan 2 and it was late in the evening after pretty rigorous activity. Also it lasted a very long time. Most everything passed 1/2-1/4 but i would still get a clot up to 2 weeks later. It's a rough process because just when you are starting to heal here comes another clot to remind you of what happened. Stay close to family and friends and stay prayerful. But to answer your question directly, this delay is normal.

Hi M.,

I know it's cliche, and it was the last thing I wanted to hear at the time of my m/c, but I am truly sorry for your loss. I pray God is healing you emotionally and physically.

I had what my doctor called a 'missed micarriage'. Basically I had lost the baby, but by body still thought it was pregnant. I had no cramping, no bleeding, no acknowledgement whatsoever that I had lost the baby. The only reason I had found out was that there was no heartbeat (after confirming the pregnancy - with heartbeat -just a week prior) during an ultrasound. My body did not expel the pregnancy, and I ended up having a D&C about 10 days later. From what the doctor says, every woman's body handles miscarriages differently, apparently. Again, I am sorry that you are having to go through this, especially durng the holidays. I know how much that sucks (mine was at Thanksgiving).

But as other ladies have responded, take heart knowing that you have a precious 11 month old. In time, I hope God blesses you with another bundle of joy.

Take care,
K.

The back pain is the cramping. Some women get the pain in the tummy and some get it in the back. The blood has to come out so don't worry too much unless it floods out. In that case you should see your dr. to make sure it's all gone.

In the event of a "missed miscarriage", yes. I went through this in the spring. I was 10 weeks when the embryo finally expelled after having expired at 6 wk 3 days. I have a tilted uterus, so the doctor said there had just not been enough force to expel it yet. At the recommendation of my midwife, I had an acupuncture treatment to get things going. Acupuncture can help a natural process that is already in progress to proceed. That was a Tuesday. I started cramping and bleeding late Wednesday afternoon/early evening. It was complete at 11:58 Friday morning. I did not have to return to the doctor. And we got pregnant again 2 cycles later. Since there had been no invasive expelling of the embryo, I did not have to wait to TTC again.

Good luck, and if you want the acupuncturist's information, I'd be happy to share it. She's at The Nest on the north side. They share office space with A Woman's Place midwifery services.

So sorry to hear, I have recently gone thru this twice and the lower back pain is the cramping, I'm not sure if you have other kids but for me it felt more like labor than cramps...and really it's a good thing you're bleeding b/c you're body is getting the message and hopefully you won't have to have the D & C...agian, so sorry to hear I know it's really hard, especially when you have had 12 weeks to think about being pregnant.

Like many moms on here I am no stranger to miscarriage-I've had 4. 3 were early, like at around 6 weeks. The 4th was closer to 9 weeks. The one at 9 weeks started out just like you described. After a couple days of spotting, then I began bleeding a little more heavily. I thought it was going to be like a heavy period but then at bed time one night I started bleeding incredibly heavy so I went to the ER and had a D&C that night. With all of them the cramps were minimal-like a regular period or even less. With my most recent one (this fall) my doc said it could take up to 2 weeks to get my period. (took about 4-5 days)
All that being said-I am so very very sorry for your loss. My miscarriages, especially this past one, has been the hardest thing I've gone through in my life. The pain is like no other-so incredibly deep and even confusing in a way since you're mourning the loss of a baby you didn't yet get to meet. It's like you're mourning the promise of what was yet to be. It has really helped me to talk to friends who have been through this. I have also done a lot of reading (both physical and spiritual topics) on the subject which has also helped. My faith has given me perhaps the greatest help as to understanding why this may have happened. Although of course I will never know for sure why, but I do know that they were not random. That knowledge alone has been priceless.
I wish you light and healing. It's so hard, I know. It will get easier. Take care.