What is "cleaning" after a miscarriage?
In medical terminology, this kind of procedure is called scraping, or curettage. It implies the complete removal of the remains of the body of the embryo or fetal egg, if the miscarriage occurred on a very short period, 5-8 weeks.
Do I need to clean after a miscarriage and always do it?
After the spontaneous abortion was diagnosed, as indicated by spasm of the uterus and the appearance of bleeding, the doctor examines the woman in the chair.
In order to examine the uterus, ultrasound is also performed. The data obtained and help determine whether cleaning is necessary during miscarriage, which occurred at the beginning of pregnancy.
If to speak, relying on statistical data, then in about 10% of cases this procedure is necessary after a spontaneous abortion on a short term. However, it is worth noting that quite often curettage is conducted with a prophylactic goal, because of the impossibility of conducting an ultrasound scan or in the absence of time for it (with uterine bleeding, for example).
In European countries, curettage is performed only in cases where there are symptoms of infection of the uterine cavity, as well as when the pregnancy period at which the miscarriage occurred is more than 10 weeks and then there is severe bleeding. This preference is given to vacuum aspiration, which in itself is less traumatic for the female body.
Can a miscarriage be without further cleaning?
This question is of interest to many women almost immediately after the onset of miscarriage.
Regardless of the period at which the abortion occurred, a survey with the examination of the uterine cavity is necessary to make a decision on curettage.
In cases where there was a complete rejection of the embryo or fetal egg, - cleaning is not carried out.
If the ultrasound is not found visible deviations, the medical consultation may decide to observe the woman for 2-3 weeks. After this time, a second examination is performed using the ultrasound machine. Before this procedure, a woman is usually prescribed to take anti-inflammatory drugs, which helps to avoid complications and development of infection in cases where small parts of the embryo tissue still remain in the uterus. After all, sometimes they are so small that it is not possible to extract them even with the help of a special tool.
Also, an important role in determining whether cleaning after a miscarriage is played is by determining the level of hCG, which is always performed in case of spontaneous abortion. It is this study that makes it possible to determine whether the embryo has remained in the uterine cavity, which often provokes an increase in the level of hCG.
Thus, it can be said that the fact that it is possible to do without cleansing after a miscarriage at an early age or to do it necessarily is decided by the doctors on the basis of the woman's examination and the data obtained as a result of ultrasound. It also must be said that quite often the curettage itself is carried out much later than spontaneous abortion, when parts of the fetus remain in the uterus cavity, which simply were not noticed by the doctors during the diagnostic activities.