After a miscarriage

After a miscarriage

After a miscarriage you may need to give yourself time to recover, physically and emotionally. This leaflet has information on recovery, finding support and thinking about another pregnancy. It is written with the woman/person who had the physical loss in mind, but may also be helpful to dads and partners.

Physical recovery

After a miscarriage, it is normal to have vaginal bleeding (for up to 3 weeks) and you may have mild cramps. You may feel more tired than usual, especially if you lost a lot of blood or were under a lot of emotional stress.

You may need time off work to recover physically or emotionally.

Read more about your rights.

Contact your Early Pregnancy Unit or the hospital where you were treated straight away if you have any of the following:

• heavy or long-lasting vaginal bleeding, smelly vaginal discharge and abdominal pain
• increasing stomach pain and feeling generally unwell
• a temperature, loss of appetite and vomiting
• burning and stinging when you pass urine or passing urine frequently
• a leg that is painful, hot, swollen and red, or difficulty bearing weight on both legs.

Recurrent miscarriage

Recurrent miscarriage is when you experience 3 or more early miscarriages. An early miscarriage is one that happens in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

You should be offered advice and support after 1 miscarriage. In some cases, tests and investigations will be offered after 2 miscarriages.

If you have a second trimester loss between 12 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, you should be offered tests and investigations straight away.

Read more about recurrent miscarriage.

Your feelings

After a miscarriage it is sometimes difficult to work out exactly what you are feeling and why. You may be deeply affected or you may feel more removed. These feelings can change constantly. This is normal.

Emotions after a loss can be unpredictable. People have described feeling guilt, sadness, shock, emptiness, a loss of control, anxiety, envy and jealousy, relief and loneliness, among other things. You may feel all, none or some of these emotions.

If you start to worry about how you’re feeling, you can get more help from your GP. A link to organisations that offer helplines, peer support networks and face-to-face support groups can be found at the end of this leaflet.

Read more about emotions after a miscarriage.

Coping with difficult feelings

These suggestions may help you cope with difficult and unpredictable feelings.

• Find a way to remember your pregnancy and loss in a way that feels right to you. You could apply for a certificate and record in the Memorial Book of Pregnancy and Baby Loss Prior to 24 weeks as a way of recognising your loss. See the links to further support at the end of this leaflet for more information.
• Talk to people. You can find peer support in many places, online, through volunteer phonelines or Facebook groups. Sometimes it can help to talk to a professional counsellor, either as a couple or on your own.
• Find other ways to express how you feel. Some people find writing, going for a walk or being creative helps them.
• Keep communicating with your partner (if you have one). You may have different feelings and ways of coping, but you can still find ways to support each other.
• Try to get enough sleep. Emotional stress can make you very tired, but you may also find it difficult to sleep.

Pregnancy after miscarriage

The decision about if and when to try for another pregnancy after a miscarriage is a personal one.

Some people want to try again quickly, others feel they need some time to prepare themselves for a new pregnancy or do not want to get pregnant again at all. There’s no right or wrong way to approach it.

If you do get pregnant again, tell your healthcare providers that you have had a previous loss. They can make a note of this on your record.

It might help to know that most people go on to have a healthy pregnancy after a miscarriage. Depending on your loss and the reason for it, you may have extra antenatal care, such as more appointments or ultrasound scans. The reasons for this will be explained to you.

Read more about trying again and your care in pregnancy after loss.

More support for you

Find out about specialist support organisations.

You can find out more about everything covered in this leaflet by following the QR links to information on NHS inform. You can also search on www.nhsinform.scot