Preparing for a Natural Miscarriage: Comfort and Strategies for Management

In a previous hub, I told my personal story and listed recommended supplies for managing a natural miscarriage at home. Here are some other tips to help prepare yourself, your home and family for the miscarriage.

Iron supplement Some women become anemic from the blood loss of a miscarriage. It is good to start bolstering your iron ahead of time. Continue to take your prenatal vitamin. Most contain iron. If you already know you are anemic, add in some additional iron as well. Liquid Floradix is highly recommended but it is pricey. Hemaplex tablets cost less and are a good alternative. Liquid Chlorophyll was also recommended by my midwife to help with low iron. You can find all of these items at health food stores. Vitamin C (and foods high in vitamin C) also help iron to absorb better in the body.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea This tea has been recommended and recognized as a tonic for women at the end of pregnancy for many years. It can help with the miscarriage process for the same reasons. Normally red raspberry leaf tea is not recommended in early pregnancy. If you are certain that the miscarriage is taking place, start drinking this tea to help your body prepare. It is also useful for healing and balancing hormones after the miscarriage.

Pain Relievers The cramping from a miscarriage can be similar (though in my experience, not as intense) as the contractions experienced during labor. Taking ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or a prescription pain reliever can be very helpful. Check with your doctor. It may be acceptable to take an extra 200-400mg of ibuprofen which can help with the pain and cramping as well as soreness after the miscarriage takes place. Of course you will not want to use these long term. Personally I only used pain killers the actual day of the miscarriage and the following day.

Doctor's number Keep the phone number of your doctor and/or midwife handy so you can call them. Also write down the "after hours" number so you can quickly get them on the phone. Miscarriage can often be difficult. due to the clots and larger volume of blood compared to a normal period. The standard advice is to go to the emergency room if you are filling a pad with blood in less than an hour. With both of my miscarriages there was an intense period where the blood loss was that high, but it only lasted about an hour and then slowed down.

Have someone with you Have someone nearby who can assist you quickly or drive you to the emergency room if needed. Miscarriages can feel scary. In my situation, my husband was able to come home from work, and he had let his bosses know ahead of time he might need to leave quickly. I felt much more secure, knowing he was available. While dealing with the miscarriage, I wanted privacy, but was glad to have him close by.

Eat and Drink Drink lots of water as you are going through the miscarriage. It will help with the blood loss. The food will give you strength. Have some juice and fruit available.

Make Ahead Meals If you normally cook meals at home, it is a good idea to make some freezer meals, perhaps five days worth. I found in the days following the miscarriage I was very tired and it was so nice to have meals ready to thaw and eat with little extra effort.

If you have other children I was not comfortable having my children around while going through the miscarriage. Privacy, and the space to concentrate and focus were needed. (It was a similar experience going through labor with previous pregnancies.) Arrangements for childcare were made with a neighbor and family members. When things started getting more intense my children had a a good place to stay, and I could focus on taking care of myself. It also freed my husband to be near me in case I needed assistance.

Micarriage can be a difficult time, physically and emotionally. Making some preparations and taking good care of myself gave me some peace and helped with healing.

Do you have any helpful hints that might help someone who is preparing for a natural miscarriage? Please share them below.