Missed Miscarriage

If your doctor told you that your baby’s heart has stopped beating, you may be experiencing a missed miscarriage or an incomplete miscarriage.

You may have just found out that your baby’s heart actually stopped beating several days ago (or a couple of weeks ago) and you are just now beginning to see the earliest signs of delivery (see symptoms of a miscarriage for a complete listing, but includes seeing blood and/or pieces of tissue passing from your vagina).

A missed miscarriage occurs when your baby has already died, but the actual birthing process either has not yet begun or isn’t fully complete.

If your baby is younger than about 12 weeks gestation, you may be given three options for delivery:

If your baby is older than about 12 weeks gestation (about the beginning of the second trimester), you may be given these options for delivery:

artificial induction (medication)
D&C
D&E
if you’ve been given a different option, please click on “Birth Methods” and find the option that has been recommended for you

You are invited to share your story here as well: please remember that sharing your story at stillbirthday is a way to express your feelings and share your experiences with other mothers – it is not to diagnose, treat or answer any medical questions.

You might visit our farewell celebrations for ideas to celebrate your baby.

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BIRTH & BEREAVEMENT QUOTES

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She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum.

— Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.

— C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

I am strong.

— January, founder of Birth Without Fear

When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time—the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers. Gradually, you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes—when there’s a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she’s gone, forever—there comes another day, and another specifically missing part.

— John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite.

— Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

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BECOME A DOULA!

Enroll now in the Birth & Bereavement Doula® program!

We onboard enrolled students into the program by email invitation.

After tuition, you can email heidi.faith@stillbirthday.com directly to expedite this step. Alternatively, if you prefer fb communications, you can join us in Admissions.