Spontaneous Abortions: heart breaking, life threatening

[brigid]

I don’t talk about this a whole lot, but I have a history of miscarriage. Most of them were really early, well within the first trimester, but one more recent one was in the beginning of the second trimester. I have PCOS, which often makes it difficult to both become and remain pregnant, and I also have endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Which means I feel incredibly lucky that I have a child at all, because the deck is really stacked against me, reproductive wise.

I went to the ER for my later miscarriage, although in retrospect I would have been much more comfortable and ultimately mentally healthy had I just gone home and waited it out. I hoped against hope that there was something they could do to prevent the miscarriage, but since I was cooling my heels in the ER waiting room for 8 hours before any actual doctor actually saw me, and I completed the miscarriage on my own before ever being examined… yeah. Since I delivered into a toilet before being checked out, there was concern over whether or not the “products of conception” were fully expelled or not… and whether or not it was an ectopic pregnancy. It turns out my body’s super efficient at ridding itself of uterine bits, but not everybody’s so lucky.

Even though later exams showed that I was empty of anything that could cause infection, I was still given medication to control bleeding (women can hemorrhage and bleed to death after a miscarriage or a birth), and a pretty strong antibiotic. You see, an incomplete miscarriage– a miscarriage where not all of the fetus/placenta/bits are expelled and some remain in the uterus– is a nasty thing. It can lead to really terrible infections, sepsis, loss of fertility and death. So people who experience incomplete miscarriages, even though there is no viable fetus involved, have a D&C, which is also an abortion procedure (which is incredibly rarely used). Oh, and it’s also used to remove a build up of uterine lining in women with medical conditions like the ones I have, where the lining isn’t shed by itself and just continues piling up. And it’s used to remove any lingering post partum tissues. And it’s used to remove molar pregnancies. It’s a life and fertility saving medical technique, and federal funds will no longer be permitted to support teaching it. How many medical procedures that are the exclusive domain of cisgender men are restricted from receiving federal funds? How many life saving medical procedures are denied to cisgender men solely because they might harm potential babies?

So, because it’s (rarely) used in abortions, including in the abortions of ultimately non-viable fetuses, a medical procedure that is used to prevent sepsis and remove cancer will not be taught to doctors who rely on federal funding for their educations. Because oh no, abortion! Won’t somebody please think of the children? And then, when you’re done thinking of the children (who, by the way, are totally being boned by the Republicans who are pillaging safety networks providing education, housing, and food assistance to them), think about the potential parents (and former parents, and almost parents) who want children but are facing down possible infections, loss of fertility, and death because a really common and useful medical procedure is essentially being outlawed, because hypothetical babies are more important than existing people. Think about how much it sucks to lose a child, then possibly lose your life, because bits of organic matter are hanging out in your uterus, rotting. Think about how awful, how evil, it is that women will literally die because of this.

Or just, you know, keep banging the anti-abortion drum and stripping medical services away from women. Whatever.

Mirrored from Now Showing!.

Comments

[amadi]

Do you know Karnythia? She was, until recently, another Chicago LJ/DWer. She shared this story yesterday, of a lost pregnancy and what it means when politics interferes with helping women. I cannot fathom why Virginia Foxx, who doesn't know spit about spit, thinks that she can write legislation like this other than flat out arrogance.

[brigid]

I do know her! And I'm sad she moved out of state because now we can never have lunch again. :C I remember her original posts about her miscarriage experience. Some of the details are similar to what I experienced wrt asshole doctors being general assholes and not taking care of the situation at hand, although my situation was nowhere near as life threatening as hers, just uncomfortable.

[sidheblessed]

First of all, I am sorry for your losses. I can't imagine the trauma of miscarrying, let alone having to lose your child in a hospital toilet. Sadly, I don't think medical staff are often taught how urgent and horrific a miscarriage can be, even if it a complete one. It is still the loss of a child, not just a medical occurrence. I'm really sorry this happened to you.

Second of all, I am disgusted that D&Cs will no longer be taught. I've known many women who have needed them. They are very much a life saving procedure. I don't understand why anyone would choose to not fund teaching of it.

[brigid]

Because even though it (and other techniques) are rarely involved in the abortion of viable fetuses, the fact that SOME potential babies won't be born is way way WAY more important than all the women who will be harmed or killed. Because a potential child has more worth than an actual living woman.

[sister_luck]

I'm appalled and I would write to the relevant people if it made any sense of doing this from Germany.

My history is in some respects similar to yours. I've had to have two D&Cs (and an op to remove a huge fibroid and to check what exactly is wrong with my uterus and was causing the miscarriages) in the space of one year and then another one a year later to remove the placenta after giving birth and I'd hate to think what I would have done if there hadn't been any professionals around who knew what they were doing. It was all traumatic enough as it was, thank you very much.

[brigid]

I feel very lucky that I was able to skip the D&C (and, later, had overly optimistic views of child birth. I mean, if I could expel a spontaneous abortion so handily, shouldn't I also be able to expel a live child? HA HA NO). During one ultrasound (I forget when it was, if it was for the miscarriage or later for prenatal care) I asked the tech if she saw any fibroids and she was all "there's a fibroid. Yup. Oh, there's one. There. Yup, there's one. Just hangin' out. There's another one."

[sister_luck]

The D&Cs weren't so bad - and it sounds terrible, but you get used to them. When I was informed that they'd need to do one after I'd given birth I quipped: Well, I haven't had one this year yet. (Gah, I sort of hate myself for that, but after several hours of labour I can't be held responsible, can I?) I found out a couple of weeks ago that there's an alternative way of getting the placenta out and I think I prefer the version with general anaesthesia to a James Herriot calving scenario... (Did they show that in the US, too, the tv series about the vet in the Yorkshire Dales who regularly had his arm up to his elbow inside a cow?)

[brigid]

I've seen the show AND read all the books! :D

Dark humor's sometimes the only way to survive.