There are pros and cons to both options, obviously, but as a woman who has miscarried twice in a year (once at 9 weeks, natural miscarriage; once at 11 weeks, D&C) I thought I'd share my thoughts. Do not underestimate how awful allowing nature to take it's course can be! I chose, with by doctor's and my husband's support, to allow the cramping and bleeding to run their course the first time. Over several hours the contractions increased until the pain was right off the scale, they lasted longer than the space in between them, I was vomiting every 10 minutes. I wound up needing morphine and anti-nausea medication at the local ER -- it literally felt like I was being torn apart inside. And I've never felt so alone.
The second time, my body was slow on figuring out that my baby had died, and I told my doctor I didn't want to wait and he did the D&C that afternoon under general anesthesia. There was almost no pain, very little bleeding, and I was taken care of by supportive nurses and caring doctors who were used to working with patients like me (unlike ER where they seemed uncomfortable with me.) It was definitely physically easier on my body.
The emotional pain is probably worse this time round but that's not a function of the D&C ... I'm struggling with the idea that my body may be killing my babies.
