As I went through this experience myself I was so grateful for all the women out there that shared their experiences, and I knew one day I would sit down and share my own to continue the chain of support.

When I was told that I had a blighted ovum, and therefore was “miscarrying” I was given three options.

1. Wait for my body to miscarry naturally.

2. Take the pill Misoprostol to induce a miscarriage.

3. Get a D+C to clear out the contents of my uterus.

I knew right away that I didn’t want to wait for it to happen on its own.

I wanted to get back to square one as soon as possible.

So, initially I was leaning towards taking the pill. Quick, easy and hopefully inexpensive.

I told my midwife I wanted to think about it and I’d get back to her.

But then we talked to a friend of a friend who had actually had two blighted ovums back to back, taken the pill the first time and had a D+C the second time.

Everyone’s experience is different, but she strongly recommended the D+C because she had such an awful experience with the pill.

I then did my own research, creating a pro and con list for both, but ultimately settling on the D+C.

While I was devastated about the blighted ovum I wanted to get my cycle back and healthy as fast as possible so we could start trying again.

I had to confirm I was “miscarrying” with two blood tests done 48 hours apart to make sure my HCG levels were going down. Those were fine. I’m getting pretty good with needles at this point. And because it was a blighted ovum I didn’t have that hope of oh maybe my levels are going up and baby is ok.

From there I had to get another ultrasound so the doctor who would be performing my D+C could get better pictures of my uterus and ovaries. I wasn’t super stoked about this, but I scheduled in for one none-the-less.

Then I had the nice surprise of finding out it was a transvaginal ultrasound when we got to the room. Yay.

This was honestly probably the worst part of the whole experience (besides the obvious fact that I wasn’t going to be having a baby in 7 months).

No small talk or anything, just my legs shaking from holding them awkwardly open for 20 minutes as she swirled and probed around in my vagina taking pictures of all my internal organs, or at least that’s what it felt like.

After that I was finally able to schedule in for my D+C. From the time of my midwife appointment to when I got to get my D+C was around two weeks. I would have loved to just go in the next day, but oh well.

So, it’s no eating after a certain point before your procedure. For me it was midnight because my appointment was around 8 a.m.

Paperwork and waiting.

Then I moved to another, more medical waiting room, where I got to undress, put all my belongings into a bag and change into my new outfit— one hospital robe around the front and the other around the back like a cardigan.

A nurse came in to put in my IV, which wasn’t super pleasant because it just sat there and pulled at my skin for the rest of the time, but there are worse things that could happen.

More waiting, then the doctor came in to talk me through things.

Then my anesthesiologist came in to chat.

And then they came to wheel me back. Michael kissed me on the forehead and went to wait for me in a different room.

I was surprised to find it was a full on surgery room I was wheeled into. They put on my compression socks, got me situated on the bed and the anesthesiologist said he was going to start the medicine that was going to knock me out.

As he waited for it to kick in he asked me what I did. And the last thing I remember is laughing and saying “Actually, I teach women about their menstrual cycles.”

And then the next thing I remember is coming to in a different recovery room. Groggy as hell and apparently telling the nurse checking my vitals all about the Thai soccer team that was stuck in the cave in Thailand. This part makes me laugh still, who knows what I was saying about it, or whether it made any sense at all.

Then they wheeled me to my final recovery room where Michael came in to sit with me for a bit before switching out with my mom since I had to sit there until I was fully with it, and then some.

I got some snacks and juice. And a Rhogham shot in my butt because I’m Rh negative.

It was really nice having my mom there. She just sat there and knit and we chatted back and forth.

And then she drove me home.

All in all the actual D+C was a pleasant experience. I’m so happy I was knocked out as they poked around inside my uterus clearing out my empty gestational sac. And the doctor said that the scans of my uterus and ovaries looked beautiful so there was one positive that came out of the transvaginal experience.

Plus once I went back into the surgery room it went pretty quick. Michael even said he didn’t even wait that long before his buzzer went off. That’s right, I forgot, they gave him one of those little buzzers like you get a restaurant to know when your table or food is ready.

Would I chose it again in the same situation again, yes. Do I wish that it wasn’t such a wait to get it and that it wasn’t so expensive, also yes.

Everyone’s experience is different, and it’s an emotional one for sure. I hope that by sharing mine I can help ease the fear of someone headed into get their own.