You are the only person who can decide what is right for you.
This page only has my own personal experience with the three treatment options I was presented after being told that I had lost the pregnancy. At 8 weeks, all three of the below options were presented to me as equally valid. I sat in the room and asked my husband which option I wanted, I couldn’t process my thoughts well enough to understand. He helped me to make the decision, but having the power to decide was incredibly important to me. I’m writing my experience here so it may provide you some insight into what these choices looked like for me. This is only my experience. You should make this decision with your doctor, partner, and loved ones based on what will be healthy and feel right for you.
Natural Body Process.
If the pregnancy loss is detected early enough (for me, development stopped at about 7 weeks), you may be given the option to let your body take time and pass tissue naturally.
For me, I could not handle the anxiety of not knowing when I’d be able to close this chapter, so I chose more proactive treatment.
Medication.
Our doctor notified us of a medication that could be taken to help my body pass the tissue. I chose this option initially. It consisted of tablets, taken vaginally, and then 1-2 days of heavy bleeding. This process required I return to my doctor for ultrasounds to ensure that all tissue had been passed (retained tissues can lead to infection). I went through this process twice, walking around in pads for days, and ultimately still had retained products of conception (RPOC) that needed to be removed by surgery.
Surgery.
We found out that we’d lost the pregnancy during what would have been our first ultrasound at 8 weeks. That was on June 30th. After two rounds of attempting the medication treatment option, we finally scheduled surgery. Surgery was completed on July 20th, three weeks after I’d first learned about the pregnancy loss. If I could do it all again, I would have chosen the surgery option earlier, so that I could have felt in control of my own body again sooner.
It is worth noting, that even with good insurance covering about 80% of all fees, this surgery still cost us over $1,000. Costs will vary by your healthcare provider, but it is something to account for.