# What do people do with their miscarriages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102 "2008-03-04T22:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/1 "2008-03-04T22:41:00Z")
I was reading a short story called “Flush” by Judy Budnitz. It starts: > [@](#): > > I called my sister and said: What does a miscarriage look like? > > What? she said. Oh. It looks like when you’re having your period, I guess. You have cramps, and then there’s blood. > > What do people do with it? I asked. > > With what? > > The blood and stuff. > > I don’t know, she said impatiently. I don’t know these things, I’m not a doctor. All I can tell you about anything is who you should sue. > > Sorry, I said. > > Why are you asking me this? she said. > > I’m just having an argument with someone, that’s all. Just thought you could help settle it. > > Well, I hope you win, she said. This got me wondering; what do people do with their miscarriages? Do they flush them? - If this is more appropriate IMHO, please move it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/2 "2008-03-04T22:51:16Z")
Depends on the person, the stage of the pregnancy, and the rules of the hospital/state you’re in (if you’re in a hospital.) Some people flush it, sometimes it’s just absorbed on menstrual pads and the embryo is so tiny it appears to be a biggish clot. Some people bury or cremate it, some people have it sent to a lab for testing (especially if genetic risks are a concern), sometimes it’s disposed of as medical waste. True story: I went to hold my friend’s hand during a miscarriage (8 weeks or so, very early) and when I used her toilet, I noticed quite a bit of blood an endometrium in there. Since I knew she was of the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” water conservation school of thought, I didn’t think anything of it. Only after using the toilet and flushing myself did I go :eek: and realize she might have been saving that. Oops. She never said anything about it, nor did I. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/3 "2008-03-04T23:05:48Z")
Sometimes even early miscarriages aren’t complete and so there is this medical procedure: > **[medem.com](http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ94S7ISWC&sub_cat=2006)** > > Masters in Public Health,Obamacare Plans,Healthy Meals for weight loss,Probiotics for Women,Mental health help Which is what was done in my case. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/4 "2008-03-04T23:10:35Z")
I can honestly say I’ve never thought about this before. I’m also feeling queasy… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/5 "2008-03-04T23:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Only after using the toilet and flushing myself did I go :eek: and realize she might have been saving that. Oops. She never said anything about it, nor did I. [/QUOTE] If she were saving it, the toilet seems like…kind of a bad place for it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/6 "2008-03-04T23:55:14Z")
My mom told me she had a miscarriage between the time my older brother was born and I was born, so basically two years before me. She was on the toilet, fished it out, claims she could tell it was probably a boy, blessed it, said goodbye, and flushed. Eeeew. Buh-by potential older brother! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/7 "2008-03-05T00:20:48Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] If she were saving it, the toilet seems like…kind of a bad place for it. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and she probably wasn’t saving it, but she also wasn’t thinking real clearly at that point, whatwith the grief and all. I just had a panicked moment there of OMG, did I just flush someone’s baby down the toilet? I mean, that’s gotta be at \*least \*a faux pas, right? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/8 "2008-03-05T00:23:32Z")
When I had mine at 15 weeks, it had been lingering in my uterus for up to three weeks dead before we knew so they scheduled a D & E and did this thing to make my cervix dilate the night before. They warned me I might just go ahead and expel it and if I did I was to bring it in for, I don’t know, an autopsy. Meanwhile, I expelled it in the hospital because the procedure caused me to go into labor and they did no autopsy. I don’t know what happened to it because I didn’t really care about the mass that would have been a baby someday so much as the idea of a little brother or sister for my son. That’s the true story of my miscarriage. The myth is this: I started to spot minutes after my husband gave our toddler a terrible hair cut. His little brother died rather than suffer the same fate. It really was a very bad haircut. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/9 "2008-03-05T00:30:12Z")
Nowadays, with stem cell research, is it possible that it could contribute to that? As long as a woman gives permission, that is. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/10 "2008-03-05T00:37:57Z")
[QUOTE=Caricci] His little brother died rather than suffer the same fate. It really was a very bad haircut. [/QUOTE] 😃 This made me laugh so hard. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/11 "2008-03-05T00:41:24Z")
When my wife had hers, we had to collect it and take it in for analysis. She was wiping and got a lump of tissue, which we put in a plastic bag. We stored it in the freezer until we saw the doctor. That was a merry Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/12 "2008-03-05T01:18:26Z")
Supposedly, the mother in this current New York City murder trial, against the defendants – mother and stepfather – in the death of 7-year-old Nixmary Brown, kept [tissue](http://gothamist.com/2008/01/19/evidence_shown.php) from a miscarriage in a jar on her dresser. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/13 "2008-03-05T01:47:12Z")
I hope to Og pregnant Dopers have enough sense to stay out of this thread! I knew that my mom had had nine pregnancies, three of which miscarried. During my one and only pregnancy, I experienced some scary bleeding early on, and I remember my mom telling me, in a bizarre “Bleeding? Huh! That’s nuthin’!” kind of way, about expelling what she said looked like “a piece of flank steak” on the kitchen floor. What in the world did she do with that?!? I was so taken aback by that image I never thought to ask her. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/14 "2008-03-05T02:22:44Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] During my one and only pregnancy, I experienced some scary bleeding early on, and I remember my mom telling me, in a bizarre “Bleeding? Huh! That’s nuthin’!” kind of way, about expelling what she said looked like “a piece of flank steak” on the kitchen floor. What in the world did she do with that?!? I was so taken aback by that image I never thought to ask her. [/QUOTE] Are you now a vegetarian? \ ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/15 "2008-03-05T02:30:54Z")
Last year when it become obvious that things weren’t going to work out, she were asked by her doctor to keep the miscarriage if she could. As it turns out, she required a D&C, so the doctor kept it herself. From my research from last year, for many, if not most miscarriages, there isn’t much there. The embryo has been reassorbed and the egg sac is only about an inch long by the 10th week. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/16 "2008-03-05T21:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Caricci] That’s the true story of my miscarriage. The myth is this: I started to spot minutes after my husband gave our toddler a terrible hair cut. His little brother died rather than suffer the same fate. It really was a very bad haircut. [/QUOTE] It seems inappropriate to laugh at this, like a giant social blunder, a faux pas of the very worst kind. But holy shit! That was funny! ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/17 "2008-03-05T23:28:46Z")
[QUOTE=Fiveroptic] It seems inappropriate to laugh at this, like a giant social blunder, a faux pas of the very worst kind. But holy shit! That was funny! [/QUOTE] Please don’t not laugh on my account. I only tell it because it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/18 "2008-03-06T00:04:08Z")
I just wiped and there it was. I flushed it. I was only about 7 or 8 weeks along. _TMI_ It smelled different. Not a pleasent smell for me. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/19 "2008-03-06T00:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Are you now a vegetarian? \ [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102/20 "2008-03-06T00:51:43Z")
**Caricci** , you’re right. [Look at the last guy who got a terrible haircut…](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0027247/) (My condolences on your loss all the same. _hugs_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-do-with-their-miscarriages/440102.md?page=2)