What’s the difference?

It sometimes seems that the only difference is WHY it’s done.  They seem to come across as the same procedure.  Some say the D&C is done after an abortion (also for spontaneous / self abortion or blighted, even though they are also miscarriages) and an ERPC is done after a birth or miscarriage (when miscarriage reasons are unknown).

Different countries will use different terms too, which confuses the issue a bit more.

When I went for my ERPC, the NHS gave me a leaflet which wasn’t very clear on what exactly the procedure would involve, although the doctors mentioned that it’s done via some kind of suction technique.  Yet on another occasion another doctor said that it is a scraping procedure.

To try help clarify this issue, see Reference Websites panel for ERPC for the NHS leaflet I was referring to above.  Also in the Reference Websites panel is an NHS link for D&C.  Based on these links, the D&C is definitely a scraping procedure, but it’s still unofficial to me quite what happens in an ERPC…

NHS description of a D&C.

NHS leaflet for the ERPC procedure.