Once a miscarriage is diagnosed, there are 3 different options that the woman may be presented with:
Expectant Management: The first is just to wait for the contents of the pregnancy (or products of conception) to be expelled from the woman’s body. This may take up to 2 or 3 weeks, but usually occurs within 5-7 days. The pregnancy tissue typically goes into the toilet during a bowel movement or while voiding. The woman could have a small container in the bathroom in the event of the tissue wanting to be kept for testing or other reasons.
Medical Management: The next option is to take medicine to aid with the flushing of the contents from the woman’s body. This process typically takes a number of hours once the medications are given.
Surgical Management: The final option is surgery. This may be offered to a woman if there are concerns of infection or heavy bleeding. Although the woman may need to be in hospital for a number of hours, the actual procedure takes only minutes in the operating room. The Obstetrician will open the cervix and remove the pregnancy tissue.
