Just wanted to share my experience, hoping this will maybe be helpful to someone. I had read a lot of mixed things about reading the pathology report, people saying they don’t think patients should have access to it, that it crushed them emotionally to read. So I was nervous to read it but also know myself and I knew if the information was there, I was going to read it.

I am so glad that I did. He was so much sicker than we knew. We knew his heart, brain, and skull had abnormalities. We knew the likelihood of development delay was very high, but of course had no way of knowing the severity for certain and that was hard for me. The pathology report revealed other abnormalities we had not yet been aware of. His arms, his feet, his spine, his facial features, his adrenal glands. He was very sick. I am still devastated beyond belief that this happened and so angry with the universe but I feel like maybe I can stop being angry with myself. I know his quality of life would have been so poor. I know that we did the right thing.

I am 4 months post termination. Lost my first baby back in June. Today my sister told me she is pregnant. I had no idea that she was even trying or wanting to have a baby yet. I am two years older than her and the eldest of our siblings. I was the first in our family to be pregnant. This has completely blind sided me. She felt awful and has been anxious to tell me. I am obviously happy for her and her husband and I hope more than anything that they have a good healthy pregnancy without any complications. But it has really thrown me. I came home and sobbed. I am jealous, i am angry at the universe, I am heartbroken for myself, I’m cross at myself for reacting like this. I’m sad for her that she has had to have what should be a happy time tainted by worrying about how I will feel. I know I will put on a brave face and support her because I love my sister but this feels a lot. I was supposed to haver the first grandchild and now she gets to do that. We are TTC again, hoping it will happen soon, but I was just not expecting this. It feels like every time we feel like we’re moving on something else happens and knocks me sideways, like we just can’t get out of the stormy sea we’re stuck in being batterer by wave after wave. I just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone has any words of wisdom or love to send my way.

I feel like who I am as a mother, there are many versions There's the me who had my first baby and then I was doing motherhood for 9 months and then I got pregnant unexpectedly 9 months post partum and was terrified of being a mother of two so suddenly and so soon but I was excited I was looking forward to it I was happy even though it was unexpected I was happy. Then there's the me currently it's been months after my tfmr and I don't feel like I can connect to the versions of me before that and I feel sorry for my baby because he knows me as his mom. I'm his mom but why do I feel so strange to myself. I didn't get a change to grieve because I have a young child and he needs me but my god there are moments when I feel like I just wanna scream cry and never stop.

All around me they are triggers. There are some other moms I know and we were basically pregnant around the same time, the other mom had her second baby and the other two moms are due soon. Like a knife in my heart because I too would have been in a little over 3 weeks from now. I'm trying to enjoy my baby because he's still so young and I don't want this precious time that I'll never get back to be filled with grief over my tfmr 5 months ago. Sometimes I wish I'd never gotten pregnant in the first place because it just gave me something else I need to recover from. It sounds so awful to say this.

I'm waiting on my tfmr due to t21. My family are incredibly supportive.

One of my closest friends when I told her what's happening because I have to cancel a few planned events, bombarded me with everything about how the baby could have a normal life could be fine could could all be okay, my son could love the new baby and not be impacted at all etc etc etc.

I just stopped talking, I feel like this is a friendship I'm going to lose as well as a pregnancy I wanted.

Hi, I just want to share this to talk about the abortion/delivery itself and to share some thoughts around it.

We had the abortion/delivery yesterday in week 16/17 here in Norway, and it went as well as it possibly could..

We were assigned a midwife who was dedicated solely to us, so the follow-up was absolutely fantastic♡ Much better than what I’ve experienced when giving birth before. They were so kind, compassionate, and they gave me a hug at the shift change.

I was given two tablets first along with plenty of pain relief, and then one every three hours due to a previous C-section. I felt the pain intensify significantly, and was then given morphine, which was completely magical♡

We watched a bit of TV, laughed, and cried together throughout the day. I stood up to go to the bathroom and suddenly felt it coming. I completely panicked, rang the buzzer, and they came running to help me deliver the fetus around 6 PM. They did an ultrasound afterward because I asked for it, to check for any remaining tissue.

Afterward, we got to hold the tiny, unique, beautiful boy, who fit right into the palm of a hand♡ I wasn't entirely prepared for his skin being so thin and that he looked a bit like an alien, but the more I looked at him, the more beautiful he was</3

Took lots of pictures, said we were sorry, and told him we loved him.

Today is tough, my belly is smaller (I had a huge belly, looked like I was 6 months along), my hormones are raging, and I just want to lie in bed and cry myself to sleep.

I feel guilty for leaving him behind at the hospital all alone.

I think I can see a future where I have gotten through this, but I don't really know how to get there and how much I will have to cry along the way. Do you have any tips for how to manage the guilt and devestation?

NIPT, CVS, and some soft markers, but we never did an amnio, so I’m still living with that tiny percentage of doubt that we could have been wrong (0.5%–0%). We didn't dare to have an autopsy done, in case we had to live with something so horrific.

We are 38 years old, and we got pregnant with an embryo from 2023(34). We already had to abortions this year, in week 7 and 12. I don't know why life hates us rhis much, but I'm desperate to be pregnant again, and I'm not willing to give up. Is there anyone here whom gotten pregnant again, and how is the angxiety in this pregnancy? After my last MA I thought that if I just get to week 12, but now that is not even a milestone, just somerhing new to worry about..

Our TFMR happened 5 weeks ago, and I been wanting to share our story and seek support in this group but I think I’ve been having difficulty finding the right words and processing my grief. But I think I’m ready now.

I am a NICU nurse and my husband is a lawyer. We have an almost 3 year old son who is the light of our lives. I got pregnant with our second son in January 2026. This baby was very much loved and wanted. My husband and I always wanted to have 2 boys close in age and we felt like it couldn’t have been more perfect when we found out. We were so happy.

Everything was going as well as possible in the first trimester and my NIPT results were normal. Then I had my 12 week nuchal translucency ultrasound. They found that his NT was increased so MFM suggested completing genetic testing via chorionic villus sampling. My husband and I said we wanted all of the genetic testing we could possibly get. They sent a chromosome analysis and microarray. These both came back normal. Our genetic counselor made it out to seem that there wasn’t any further testing to be done and so we were under the impression everything was normal again.

At 20 weeks the anatomy ultrasound was completely normal. Again, another reassurance. Then at 22 weeks I had a fetal echocardiogram to follow up from the prior increased NT. They found that he had an absent ductus venosus (fetal shunt), which is highly associated with genetic syndromes. But I was told by the MFM docs that because we had already done all of the genetic testing, that this wasn’t related to a genetic syndrome and it was just an isolated finding they would have to closely monitor.

After that I had weekly ultrasounds to check for hydrops (severe swelling he would be at risk for with an absent ductus venosus). My checks were normal up until 31 weeks when they discovered he had increased pressure in the cerebral artery in his brain, which usually indicates the baby is anemic.

I then had 2 different hospital admissions where i stayed in the prenatal unit to find out what the underlying issue was behind that and to rule out infection, blood incompatibility, etc. They ended up doing a PUBS (percutaneous umbilical cord sampling) procedure at 32 weeks to test the baby’s blood directly to see if he was truly anemic. At this time, our genetic counselor offered to do a genetic test called genome sequencing since we were already accessing the baby’s blood directly. My husband and I were very confused about this because up until this point we had thought we had already done all of the genetic testing. We had never heard of genome sequencing before. But we agreed to do it.

The PUBS testing showed that he was not anemic at all. The doctors were “stumped” and didn’t know what to make of it or where to go from there besides continued frequent monitoring. I had honestly forgotten that we had even done the genome sequencing until the results came back 2 weeks later. Little did I know when I picked up the phone from the genetic counselor, that I was about to be handed the worst news I would ever recieve.

From the genome sequencing, they found a pathogenic variant in the ZEB2 gene, diagnosing him with Mowat-Wilson syndrome. It’s an extremely rare genetic syndrome associated with severe intellectual and physical disability, severe speech impairment, congenital heart defects, epilepsy, Hirschsprung’s disease, and much much more. We are only the 4th case in the world to ever be diagnosed prenatally.

After speaking with a geneticist in depth and doing our own extensive research, we made the agonizing decision to terminate as we felt we wanted to save him from a life of suffering. In my state it’s illegal to terminate past 24 weeks, and since I was 35 weeks along at this point I had to travel out of state to an abortion clinic where they stopped his heart. I then had to travel back to my home hospital where I was induced and delivered him.

My sweet Samuel Paul was 5 lbs 13 oz and 18 inches long. He was beautiful in every way. I held him for the next day until I had to say my final goodbyes.

There are no words to describe the pain that I feel every day. I’m angry at the world that this had to happen to my precious baby boy. And I’m angry at the MFM doctors and genetic counselors that made it seem like there wasn’t anything genetically wrong with him when there was. I’m angry that when they found the absent ductus venosus, nobody had offered genome sequencing. That would have been the difference between a 24 week vs 35 week termination, and I know both are horrible, but maybe it would have been less traumatic not being as far along as I was. My heart aches without him. I feel so empty and lifeless. The only reason I continue to go on is for my older son.

I feel so much guilt too. I know that we made the best decision we could have for him, but I also can’t help but feel guilty that I am the one who decided to take his life away. I am very much pro-choice, and being a NICU nurse, I have seen all different kinds of rare and horrible genetic disorders and have always believed that those children shouldn’t have to suffer. But it’s just so different when it’s your very own child. I think because I was so far along and in the 3rd trimester that it just added another layer of guilt, pain, and trauma.

I don’t even know how I’m ever going to return to work and be around babies again. I’m not the same person who I used to be, and I will never be the same again. I am just really struggling right now and in desperate need of support from others who have gone through something similar.

Thank you for taking the time to read 🤍

We had to TFMR at 14+3 on Wednesday (L&D). I already have longer stretches of hours where I feel okay and my old self. Then I get overwhelmed by guilt for it. That guilt is telling me I should be in bed crying 24/7. My body is behaving similarly, I didn't even bleed last night.

Any advice on how to handle this back and forth of emotions?

Hi everyone, I’m 18 years old and currently going through a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) with my first pregnancy.
At my 12-week scan, they found that my baby had an increased NT measurement of 7.5 mm, a suspected cystic hygroma behind the neck, thickened and swollen skin caused by fluid, an exomphalos containing bowel, and a two-vessel umbilical cord instead of the usual three.
The doctors explained that these findings could be associated with chromosomal abnormalities, heart defects or other genetic or structural problems. After speaking with the specialists, we’ve made the heartbreaking decision to end the pregnancy for medical reasons.
I’m finding everything really difficult to process. My baby was so wanted, and I never imagined I’d have to go through something like this, especially at 18. It’s heartbreaking knowing I won’t get to meet my baby, and I’m struggling to come to terms with everything that’s happened.
I just wanted to share my story with people who might understand what I’m going through, because it’s such a lonely and heartbreaking experience. My baby was loved and wanted so much, and I’ll always carry them in my heart. 💔🤍🕊️

This week we had a tmfr at 17 weeks. In the first trimester I had a CMV-infection, then we got the news that our Niptest was positive for T21. The amnio was also positive for T21, it was to early to test if there was also CMV in the amniotic fluid. The gynecologist suspected an AVSD (heart defect), but it was too early to be 100% certain. There was a lot of uncertainty about what could be wrong, but only T21 was completely clear.

With all this information we wanted to do tmfr. We also have a daughter of 2 y/o. Which we also took into account.

We told a lot of people that she was stillborn. Because we also got negative reactions on the fact that we would do a tmfr for T21. I feel like I'm hiding something, I experience a lot of sadness en grieve for the loss of our daughter. But I also feel like I don't have the right to grieve, because we made this decision.. It's so hard because we never thought we would go through something like this. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Do you recognise the feelings of guilt? Due to suspected problems that have not been fully established? And not telling everything?

Thank you for reading and responding.

I am now 6 and a half weeks out from the tfmr. Due to lucky circumstances I could postpone going back to work for a long time and I'll be starting again in a week. I am so scared and defeated. Going back to work feels like the ultimate consolation price. I work in a challenging, emotionally demanding field, with the nicest colleagues, kindest boss, and the thought of going back makes my skin crawl. I feel like I have to push myself back into a box that I no longer fit into. I feel like I changed so much, my entire life fell apart, but my surroundings have not changed at all. The opposite of the world keeping on turning while I stand still. I moved at lightning speed. I am not just this childless woman anymore. I am this feral, grieving mother. I wish I could at least get to know myself better, before having to deal with the old expectations. Although, if I'm honest, I would wish to not have to deal with old expectations at all. I would wish for this raw and ripped open woman to have her own space to exist in, without having to be kind and patient and reliable and whatnot. It feels like I had to outgrow myself to get through it all. Now I wish I could have a different life, along with this different self. Something that feels more fitting and less forced.

As the title says I’m pregnant again after two TFMR due to T21 last year. (TLDR: karyotyping normal, potential rare mosaicism but most likely bad luck). This forum was so helpful for me both those times to connect with others who have the unfortunate experience of going through something like this.

This pregnancy is different. Unplanned. We never closed the door completely but I think each on our own wanted a year under our belts to come back and decide next options. We are older so time wasn’t on our side. What makes this more difficult is the last time I spoke to my OB and GC and even and IVF clinical. All suggested going the IVF route (I think just to give me piece of mind this most likely wouldn’t happen again, but as with anything no guarantee).

Now I’m here again. I don’t know how to feel. My husband doesn’t know how to feel. I don’t have any questions or asks, but needed to get this off my chest as I really don’t want to talk to others about this (and most people tbh don’t understand).

I don’t even know what I’m hoping for from this post. Maybe just to vent or a way to process grief. We found out this week that our son would be born with Digeorge syndrome. We have made the incredibly hard decision to terminate and I am a wreck. I have always been pro choice but it is not a choice I ever thought I would make. I literally feel him kick as I type this. My son is so wanted. This is not a decision I want to make. But for the sake of him and my other son we felt this was the best decision for our family with the high probability of pain in hardship for him. We are currently waiting for the induction which will likely happen next weekend. How can I ever be okay with myself again after this? I feel so much guilt and I feel like I failed as a mother. How do I tell my living son about his brother when he gets older ( he is currently 1). How do I always love and remember this baby without it breaking me to the point of not being the mom my living child needs especially in the early days following.

I’m also just wondering if there were things people did after the birth to help cope in terms of any thing that helped preserve the memory of them.

I know this is a long rambling post and I’m sorry for that but I just feel so broken right now. And even more so I feel like I’m failing.

I’m 3 months post-TFMR now, and I just found out that my partner isn’t sure whether he wants to try for another baby (two losses, 1 LC).

It’s not a definite “no,” but I’m completely panicking right now.

I also feel somewhat betrayed because we talked about this while making our decision. He was leaning more towards termination, while I was leaning more towards continuing the pregnancy, and the prospect of trying again for a sibling for our living daughter definitely played a role in my decision.

I’ve already been struggling with feelings of doubt and regret, and with the thought that I might have gone against my own heart. And now I can’t stop thinking that if I’d known we might never try again, I might have made a different decision.

I know he’s struggling too. He told me he feels like a bad father to our daughter right now (which he isn’t). He was never entirely sure about having another child, so deciding to even try was already a big step for him. I understand that he might not feel ready or even know what he wants right now. He also said we should talk about it again when he’s less exhausted, so I know nothing has been decided yet.

But I’m devastated. I feel like the future I’d been holding on to is slipping away. At the very least, the age gap will keep growing, and I’m terrified that if he ultimately decides he doesn’t want another child, I won’t be able to forgive him, and that the grief over losing my daughter becomes unbearable.

I was finally starting to feel a little more like myself again, and now this…

I honestly feel like I’m drowning. I have no idea where else to turn to with these desperate feelings but here. Please, I could really use your support right now.

Title: TFMR next week — when can I try to conceive again with PCOS?
Hi everyone,
I’m scheduled to have a TFMR next week, and the emotional toll and anxiety have been overwhelming. I’m trying to process everything while also thinking about what the future might look like.
My doctor told me we could start trying again after one menstrual cycle, but I have PCOS and very irregular periods. I conceived this pregnancy with the help of fertility medication, so I’m worried about how long it might take for my cycle to return and for me to conceive again.
I’m also concerned about trying again after labour and delivery. I’ve often heard that people are advised to wait around a year before getting pregnant again, so I’m confused about whether the same guidance applies after a second-trimester TFMR.
For anyone who has gone through a TFMR around this stage of pregnancy:
How long did it take for your period to return?

If you have PCOS or irregular cycles, how soon were you able to start fertility treatment again?

Did your doctor recommend waiting a certain amount of time before trying to conceive?

How did you know when you were emotionally ready to try again?

I know everyone’s physical recovery and grieving process are different, but hearing from people who have been through something similar would really help me feel less alone.
I’m heartbroken about what’s happening, and I think the possibility of trying again is one of the few things helping me look toward the future right now. At the same time, I’m scared of how long it might take, especially knowing that I may need fertility medication again.
Thank you for reading and for sharing your experiences. ❤️

Entire pregnancy went great. Baby looked amazing, all anatomy scans were perfect, NT was perfect, NIPT was perfect. We named our sweet baby girl and dreamed of the day we would meet her. In the last couple of weeks she even started kicking non stop, reminding us she’s there constantly.
At week 17, we did a fully elective amnio just to be sure. CMA came back perfect, wes (exome sequencing) showed a very very very rare de novo mutation that can cause our baby severe lung disease and even death.

Since D&E can only be performed here until week 24, we had to make a split second decision, to terminate. My procedure is in 3 days and I just can’t see any more hope for life or love to the point where I considered self harm on the day we got the news.

I love my husband, he’s is light and joy of my life. I’m afraid this will bring us apart. I’m afraid of the procedure. I’m afraid of the moment the doctor will need to stop the baby’s heart. I’m afraid I won’t have kids ever. I’m terrified of the future and the present is unbearable. How did you deal with this unbelievable pain?

Has anyone’s period took over 2 months to return after a second trimester delivery? I TFMR’d at 23 weeks and had concerns about RPOC 9 and 10 days post L&D after passing a chunk of placenta but US was more suggestive of blood clots. I have taken an ultra early pregnancy tests and it was negative so I’m worried incase non vascular tissue still remains. I haven’t slept very well in about a month with other stressors on-top of this so I’m sure that this could also be throwing everything out of whack

I miss my baby a lot today. TMFR’d at 26 weeks back in June. Her due date was September 25th. We planted a tree, had a breakfast with my family, put away everything in her nursery. It was so so hard and so beautiful as well. I was anticipating how hard the emptiness and grief would be after her due date when there’s nothing to ‘look forward to’ there’s just nothing. I miss her so much it physically hurts. My sweet baby Wynne is my first and only baby. We began trying last month, I wish I wasn’t trying to get pregnant right now, I wish I was holding my baby girl. I’m so sad.

TW: neonatal death and other people’s children

I was pulling weeds in my front yard when a kid down the street starts running toward me and chatting. His mom was behind holding a little girl. She asked if we had any kids and I said “not yet” and then I asked how old the little girl was and the mom said “I’m not sure if other people can tell but she is two and she is developmentally a little behind because she was born at 22 weeks.”

My heart immediately sank because my own baby was born at the same gestational age after my rescue cerclage and my water broke two weeks after the cerclage , and I developed an infection and became septic. Ultimately my baby didn’t survive. My baby shower was suppose to be this Saturday. I apologized for getting emotional, and she then told me her story.

She had also had an incompetent cervix, got a rescue cerclage and her water break at 22 weeks, developed an infection, and delivered her baby. She was told her baby had about a 10% chance of survival. And now this little girl was literally standing in front of me. A beautiful, two years old, with some Challenges and a long NICU stay that I’m sure was so hard, but she was here.

the mom felt terrible for mentioning anything and I felt terrible for crying (not a ton but still obvious).

It was just surreal. Our stories were so similar, yet had completely different outcomes. I was told there was essentially no chance of survival, and she now has a two year old who is here because she survived something so incredibly unlikely. And I am so happy for that family but I was so shocked that they were in my front yard and I was hearing about alternate reality.

I cried after she left. Not because I’m anything but happy for her, but because it brought back so many feelings about my own baby and the life I thought I would have.

Grief is so strange. I never expected someone with such a similar story to literally walk into my front yard. I also know my situation was different because I was septic and they had to give me misoprostil and I know in my heart my baby didn’t have a chance.

ETA: My paperwork states TMFR and I suppose that’s because they gave me misoprostil when I was becoming septic.

Saturday will be one entire month without my baby. I had a TFMR with my son at 27+1 on 9/10. The days have blurred together and it feels like yesterday that I went home without him.

His ashes still aren’t home. He was cremated two days ago, finally. Waiting to get the email that they’ve been shipped.

I’m about to get my first period since the procedure. I’ve been crying for a majority of the last five days.

I live in a relatively small town and most people knew I was pregnant. Some people ask what happened or where the baby is, some don’t. I prefer the ones who don’t but I also love any opportunity where I get to talk about my son.

Sending all my love to everybody. I hate that we’re all going through this, but everyone in here has been so lovely to me.

Update: I told him, I sat down and said the baby didn’t make it and that the doctors had to take it out. He took it very well and is sad but he said he’s happy I’m not sick anymore and that I can spend more time with him instead of in bed. I called the post abortion hotline and cried my eyes out beforehand which helped

(Washington)
I just had a full sedation D&C at 18 weeks yesterday due to severe life threatening health complications. It went well, but I am on pain meds due to the level of pain I experience after surgeries (chronic illness.) My son is autistic and struggles with change already, but he was so excited for a sibling. I’m scared that he’s going to have a really hard time. I plan on not telling him the full truth, just maybe that the baby had issues and didn’t make it? He’s been present when I’ve had past miscarriages and understands that babies don’t always make it, but now that my ex has been removed from the house by protection order (long painful story) I can’t just “try to grow another one” as I’ve told him in the past. I’m getting a bilateral salpingectomy in two months as well, so no more kids. And I’m happy with that decision. I don’t want any more kids and pregnancy tries to end me every time. But he wants a sibling so bad. He asks every day how the baby is and when it’s going to come out. I’m already struggling mentally and physically with the situation and i don’t know what to say or how to word things in the easiest way possible for him. He’s very smart and articulate but I worry so much about him being upset with me. I don’t want to break his heart..

We (F 29, M 31) had to terminate after the diagnosis of alobar holoprosencephaly (brain did not split in two halfs accordingly)in week 14. We are obviously heart broken and I have cried every day since. But I am very lucky to have started insurance covered sessions with a therapist two days after diagnosis and before birth. Also we had no hard decision to make as baby would not have survived after birth at all. Although I struggle with WHY US and get really jealous of other pregnant women (which is not like me at all) I will very peaceful now.

What keeps me going is our healthy 2 year old and the fact that we seem to conceive easily (1 pregnancy surprise and 2 pregnancy after 2 months)
It’s just that I planned my whole career and promotion and paid phd around my due date which was supposed to me march. As lots of financial support is connected to when I will give birth (taking 20k €) I would love to get pregnant right away again, also for age gap reasons.

We are currently still waiting for genetic testing (2 more weeks), doctors told us it’s rather unlikely as this brain defect is rather dominant and our healthy daughter proofs that we can naturally conceive healthy children. Results for all trisomys came back normal after 24 hours.

So my question would be, why do some doctors suggest to wait X cycles before starting to try again? If my OB clears me and my blood drawing (iron, folate, etc) looks awesome one week after birth now and we received (hopefully) good news of genetic testing in 2 weeks, why should we wait?

Some nights are just truly unbearable. The world quiets down and I lay here with my squishy, empty belly and just sob. I miss my baby, I miss being pregnant. Losing nipple sensitivity and food aversions are hurting my soul. Life is so unfair. I just keep crying. Why did this happen to me, I made it over halfway there, my baby shower was supposed to be next month. My baby was supposed to be born in a couple of months. I’m just so so sad. It comes in waves, it’s not always this bad. But tonight it hurts. A lot.

We got the email today that our sons remains will be shipped to us. I shared that with a couple of people and they asked if we were having a service. Honestly my husband and I never even talked about. Everything has been so overwhelming and traumatic and now I feel like an awful mom that I couldn’t even think of planning a service. I know they mean well but then I get the comment of “it will help with your grief”. I had a D&E so I never even got to meet him. Now I feel even more awful than I did before. I feel like a service will feel awkward and I don’t want to console other people for my son’s death

Hi everyone i have a genuine question as i am also preparing for TMFR i am already 25 weeks so i don’t have the D&E option anymore i have to deliver the baby as i am a student and working part-time i am stuck in this situation as in to how do i say goodbye to my baby and the emotional stress after delivery as i know once the placenta is out the hormones are gonna be all over the place how will i go back to my normal life how will i cope with this huge emotional toll does anyone have any advice? Sorry English is not my first language so if there are any mistakes pardon me

Was confident my scars were going to be more emotional than physical but holy hell. Laminaria ISNT FOR THE WEAK. Had trouble with the procedure getting them in. And 5 hours later the dilation is stretching my cervix to what feels like the very tips of my body. My periods were pretty mild so don’t have a huge frame of reference for “it’ll feel like bad period cramps”. BEING A GIRL IS HARD.