Miscarrying...

I have never miscarried before and I naively thought that the way miscarriages typically worked was that one day you were pregnant and the next you weren't...

I have found out first hand this really often isn't the case at all.  Although our baby died 2-3 weeks ago, my body still thinks I am pregnant.  I have taken 2 pregnancy tests since the spotting began and both turned "pregnant" almost instantly.  I have felt the nausea, the tiredness, the food cravings and aversions even throughout this process of miscarriage.  But as the spotting turned to bleeding, those symptoms have begun to wane.  Still it has been a confusing week emotionally and physically, especially before the ultrasound while I was feeling both pregnancy symptoms while at the same time experiencing symptoms akin to PMS.

I still have not actually miscarried the baby yet.  I dread facing the physical part of it all and yet at this point I will be thankful when it is all over, but much like labor this whole process seems fairly unpredictable.

While I understand it can be an awkward and uncomfortable topic, I have been disappointed that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot written about how to help your body through a miscarriage.  I pulled out my favorite herbal books, and they talked about how to prevent miscarriage and what herbs would help to reduce the risk of miscarriage.  They talked about how to deal emotionally with the loss of a child.  But I didn't find much information on how what herbs are good in the midst of a miscarriage.  While Al and I were talking after the ultrasound, we did realize that many of the same things we use to help start labor and control bleeding afterward are the same things that would help now.

I am still hoping and praying not to need medical intervention, but I also do not think that prolonged bleeding is healthy either.  If I haven't not finished miscarrying by Tuesday, Al and I have agreed to let my midwife give me some medication to hopefully initiate process.

Thank you for continued prayers.  They are certainly greatly appreciated.