WHY is my body expelling perfect babies? Devastated

[lostsheep75]

Sorry this is long but I really need some advice. Please help.

I have a 3 year old kid. When he turned two we started trying for a second baby. It took us 7 months to conceive (and got pregnant in Jan 2023) which in itself was a huge surprise as we conceived within a month for my eldest. Everything went fine until on April 2 I slightly started spotting which turned to clots and then contractions and I expelled a boy at only 15 weeks and 4 days on April 17th . I was admitted in the hospital for 9 days. Was given IV medicines for all symptoms(bleeding, contractions etc) yet expelled after 6 hours of labour pain.

Sept 2023 we again got pregnant. This time around things were fine for a slightly longer period. Again on December 21st I saw slight spotting, which after a week turned into clots and then contractions and expelled a girl at 20 weeks on Jan 7th 2024. I was admitted in the hospital for 12 days and again given medicines to stop the bleeding and contractions nothing worked and still expelled after 7 hours of labor.

The doctors could not find any problems with the placenta, the baby growth or the cervix itself and yet have no clue why my body keeps pushing babies out before it’s time.

Do have to mention we were intimate at 18 weeks of the second loss and then few hours later the spotting began.

Totally devastated to miscarry twice within a span on 12 months and so terrified of trying again but I am 34 now and do want another baby. Has anyone gone through something like this before ? Please advice

UPDATE: first up thank you so much for your comments I have noted them all down to ask my OBGYN. Few updates on the comments received :
1. I had a normal vaginal delivery for my first in 2020. Zero complications
2. Unfortunately for both my miscarriages I did not know we could have had the babies tested so we didn’t.
3. I am A1B positive blood group and don’t have any major symptoms/ problems that I know of (thyroid , BP , cervical damage autoimmune / other issues) but I will check into Everything in the coming two months
4. I have a derailed MRI and other other blood scheduled in March (once uterus is back to normal). I am just not able to wait that long and I have a feeling they might all come back normal
5. I don’t have PCOS , my cycles are as regular as a German clock
6. We didn’t have any major trouble with conception.
First pregnancy and third pregnancy was conceived within a month and second was conceived after 7 months of trying
7. For my first loss (15+4) weeks I had low lying placenta and mad cough which the doctors say could have triggered the bleeding
8. For my second loss 20 weeks I had amniotic sludge and very mild UTI for which I was on IV medication of Antibiotics

 

[lanternburning]

@lostsheep75 I'm so sorry to hear of your losses.

Pregnancy loss in the second trimester is rarely due to chromosomal abnormalities. Rather, they tend to be because of infection, or because the cervix has weakened. This could be because of previous surgery on your cervix or even damage to your cervix during the delivery of your first child.

Sex won't cause a miscarriage, so please don't blame yourself!

Were you offered ultrasound screening of your cervix multiple times during your last pregnancy? Sometimes the cervix looks completely normal when you're not pregnant but still shortens too early in pregnancy.

You should speak to your doctors about whether progesterone or a cervical cerclage (a stitch that goes into the cervix to hold it shut) are an option for you during your next pregnancy.

 

[danmat777]

@lanternburning In the case of a shortened cervix, pelvic rest is usually recommended. It can cause a miscarriage or preterm birth in those situations

 

[lostsheep75]

@danmat777 After 18 weeks when I was admitted I was in bed rest in the hospital got up only for the loo and then that’s it. Still expelled. I also made vaginal progesterone twice a day during my admission and also given antibiotics for any infections

Cerclage can be in place only when the uterus is quiet but mine was bleeding and also more importantly contracting so cerclage was out of question for my case

 

[lostsheep75]

@lanternburning Yes both losses were on the second tri

I havnt had any previous surgery not sure about damage. How do I know if there was damage.
The doctors checked with a speculum and found nothing wrong with cervix.

Yes they did check my cervix several times . At 18 weeks it was 3.8 CMs. 19 it went down to 2.2 and by 20 weeks it was 1.5 CMs and then I expelled.

Yes I was suggested this too but a cerclage can be in place only if the uterus is quiet but I was bleeding and contracting.

 

[beaktl]

@lostsheep75 I’m so so sorry for your losses I thought this would be considered a short cervix considering it was less than 2.5cm before 24 weeks? I really hope they figure it out for you, what a torturous experience. Sending love and strength to you

 

[lostsheep75]

@beaktl Thank you I hope for some answers the enigma / not knowing what s wrong with me is keeping me up all night lately

 

[beaktl]

@lostsheep75 I can absolutely relate to this. I had a stillbirth at 28 weeks just totally suddenly and for months I would stay awake most of the night thinking through every little thing and googling to find as much information as possible. To go through that twice is unfathomable and I truly and so sorry for what you’ve been through. Will there be any kind of further investigations for you?

 

[lostsheep75]

@beaktl Yes I have a detailed MRI scan and other testes but only after two months when the uterus is normal .

Am so sorry about your loss. 28 weeks the foetus should have been survived Incase even if they had come out. So sorry. Did u find out what was the issue

 

[beaktl]

@lostsheep75 That’s good to hear that they are continuing investigations. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for answers for you.
Massive infection which they believe was caused by group B strep. Essentially, I was told it was just extremely bad luck as group b strep doesn’t typically do that. Turned out the infection had riddled my placenta internally, so was totally undetectable until it spread to her amniotic fluid. It nearly killed us both actually, as it then caused me to have sepsis. Our post mortem report was incredibly healing- although there’s still a huge unknown, understanding what happened gave me a lot of closure. Wishing the same for you too

 

[lostsheep75]

@beaktl Am so sorry love. Wishing you a kinder journey ahead

 

[lanternburning]

@lostsheep75 Did you have a C-section or vaginal birth with your first? C-sections in labour increase the risk of second trimester loss (this is something that is being researched intensively by obstetricians). If you had a vaginal birth, sometimes there are tears in the cervix that are not easily seen afterwards.

I hope you can speak to your doctor about whether a cerclage or progesterone is a good idea from early in your next pregnancy!

 

[fayequinn]

@lanternburning

C-sections in labour increase the risk of second trimester loss

What do you mean? In subsequent pregnancies? Source would be helpful.

 

[lanternburning]

@fayequinn The chance of having the baby at term is still much higher than having a late miscarriage or preterm birth after a C section in labour.

Here's the link to study from last year which shows the link to preterm birth specifically for c section when you're fully dilated (10 cm): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...=#d=gs_qabs&t=1705821039886&u=#p=WJx3DPL1FJgJ

I work in this field and I was just at a conference about this in the UK where more data was presented, but obviously can't link to that...

I wanted to point OP towards possible answers but please don't stress about this if you have a previous C-section and are TFAB! The absolute risks are small.

 

[fayequinn]

@lanternburning When I googled I found the NIH retrospective, but the risk seemed statistically insignificant. It’s super interesting that it seems to be concentrated to c-sections in the second stage of labor? So scheduled c-sections or even c-sections in a stalled first stage of labor don’t seem to carry the same risk?

 

[lanternburning]

@fayequinn There was a lot of new data at the conference so hopefully it will all be published soon!

The hypothesis is that as the cervix thins and dilates in labour, it becomes more likely to be physically damaged during the C-section. So the risk increases as one gets closer to fully dilated.

As you say, scheduled C-sections won't have that risk because the cervix is still long and closed and out of the way.

 

[lostsheep75]

@lanternburning I had a normal delivery . Non medicated ( except for episiotomy) . 13 hours of labour and then delivery .

The first conception pregnancy labour and delivery was nothing short of a dream. Zero complications. Which is making all this experience even more harder

 

[daprophecy]

@lanternburning When do they start checking for this, and will they do it more with a history of miscarriage?

I had 2 pregnancies last year, both missed and required surgery. 2nd was hysteroscopic as they found a septum and corrected it at the same time. Some women on a fb group for septate uteruses have reported having incompetent cervixes, and I'm so worried it will cause issues with future pregnancies now that my septum isn't there to ruin them.

 

[lanternburning]

@daprophecy In my experience, you would be referred for at least one cervical length scan because of the septum.
If your miscarriages were early (i.e. the baby stopped growing before 12 weeks), then they don't affect your risk of having a short cervix.
It's worth discussing this with your doctor!

 

[lostsheep75]

@daprophecy Can ppl with septum uterus give birth once ? Because I have a three year old