After you experience a pregnancy loss, you’re likely to feel a number of emotions. Everyone handles loss differently, but it's critical to know that these feelings are normal.
It can be very difficult to have a miscarriage. It can take an emotional toll on you, which takes a longer time to heal than any physical effects. You should allow yourself some time to grieve. This is a real loss so you need to grieve it before you can accept it.
What is a miscarriage?
A miscarriage is where your embryo evacuates from your uterus before it's capable of surviving outside on its own. The first sign is often bleeding accompanied with back pain, abdominal pain, and cramping.
You may experience several emotions such as:
- Disbelief
- Guilt
- Numbness
- Sadness or depression
- Anger
- Difficulty concentrating
These feelings will eventually pass as you get through the grieving stage.
Recovering from Your Miscarriage
There are steps you can take to help you in recovery. To heal, you don't have to forget and make your memories insignificant. You just have to refocus.
Don't be afraid to ask for some support. You may feel overwhelmed or out of control. If you do, don't be ashamed to ask help from a counselor, support group, or therapist. They can help you get through your grieving stage. Your family and friends are a great support network.
An essential part of recovering from your miscarriage is managing your stress. Allow time for healing the pain. You need to nurture yourself right now. This is the time to reduce stress and work on your overall well-being. You’re more than just your physical body, therefore, when you treat yourself holistically, it improves your ability to heal so you can begin your journey to your next pregnancy.
You’ll likely need to heal physically as well which tends to happen more quickly than emotional healing. You may lose your appetite during your grief, but nourishing your body is very important during your recovery time. You probably experienced a great deal of blood loss, which you have to rebuild. This could make you feel temporarily tired and fatigued, which will be normally. Eating foods high in Vitamins C & K, iron and good fats can help.
Remember to give yourself plenty of time to heal even if you feel up to getting back to your daily tasks. If you overdo it, you can cause unnecessary blood loss or damage. It might take a couple weeks of rest to give yourself adequate time to grieve and get past your emotions. This is especially true if you have hormonal fluctuations. Discuss all these things with your doctor or therapist to make the process easier for you.