Much of what we know about the psychological impact of a D&C (a dilation and curettage procedure to remove tissue from the inside of the uterus) comes from research that tracks symptoms—depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress—after pregnancy loss (Lok & Neugebauer, 2007; Farren et al., 2016). These findings matter. They confirm that this experience can be emotionally destabilizing.

What is far less often named is the experience itself—how a D&C can quietly change a person’s relationship to their body, how it can disrupt a basic sense of safety, and how a loss that is handled medically can still feel psychologically unfinished (Kersting & Wagner, 2012).

Because these internal shifts are rarely talked about ahead of time, many people are reassured that everything went as expected, while they feel, at the same time, altered in ways they cannot quite articulate. This gap—between what is medically resolved and what is psychologically lived—has been noted by researchers examining women’s experiences of pregnancy loss (Al-Mutawtah et al., 2023).

For many people, the story of having a baby becomes a long and effortful journey, marked by cycles of hope, loss, and recalibration. As fertility treatment progresses, personal boundaries often have to shift. Tests and invasive procedures become routine. The body is examined and managed.

Probably one of the most intrusive experiences along the fertility journey—sometimes more than once—is a dilation and curettage. Although often described as a routine medical procedure, a D&C is intensely psychologically disruptive, not because it is rare, but........

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