Not an easy question

[SilverX]

I did see abortion mentioned on here, and I have a question about miscarriage. My auntie had a miscarriage at 22 weeks, she had to go to the hospital and have it removed. A question that's been on my mind is how doif they remove it? Did they cut her stomach open to take it out? I can't ask my auntie or my mom, and I can't see her stomach. I hope this question isn't inappropriate.

[Sam W]

Hi SilverX,

It's not an inappropriate question at all! Since she had to go to the hospital as part of the process, it's likely they performed a D&C, dilation and curettage, which is a surgery that helps clear the contents of the uterus. It's not a kind of surgery that requires cutting into the body; instead, it involves inserting the necessary tools through the cervix. You can read about it in this article (since it's also an abortion procedure): All About Abortion.

[SilverX]

They treat a miscarriage like an abortion? Isn't there a better way of doing that? I find that sad, I understand it, but it's sad.

[Heather]

I'm not quite sure what you mean when you're saying a miscarriage is "treated" like an abortion. Let me try and clarify.

As Sam explained, in both cases, with a miscarriage in which any of the products of conception remain in the uterus, and with an abortion (usually only for those in the second trimester, suction aspiration is all that is often needed for surgical abortion before 13-15 weeks), a D&C is the surgical procedure typically used for clearing the contents of the uterus.

What most likely happened with your aunt, if she had already miscarried, is that she had already passed some of those contents, but had to go to the hospital for that surgical help to completely clear the uterus of them. That assures that someone doesn't get an infection.

In either case, a person may or may not need emotional support, and when and if they do, in either case, it will generally be provided for them by the healthcare workers involved. It's not like the context of this procedure makes how someone is treated different or somehow heartless: it's understood that this is very sensitive for many people, and it's treated that way by default no matter what.