Missing period after baby? My Asherman’s Syndrome story
Dude, where’s my flow?
Are you ready for baby number two, but your period still hasn’t returned after baby number one?
It took 17 months after Lark was born before I finally got an answer.
A rare, acquired condition where scar tissue in the uterus builds up, causing the walls to stick together. The result?
Abnormal or missing periods.
The curious case of the missing period
For months, I kept Googling: “When does your period come back after having a baby?”
The same vague answer every time: Your period will return at your body's own pace. It may come back within 6–8 weeks after birth if you bottle-feed, or within 3 months if you’re not breastfeeding.
I stopped breastfeeding Lark at six months.
Three months later – nothing.
Six months later – footloose and period free.
Which ordinarily I would have been thrilled about, except we were thinking about trying for baby #2. And ovulation is a pretty important part of that equation.
Every time we went in for Lark’s checkups and vaccinations, I’d ask the doctor. Every time, I was told, “Just give it more time.”
A friend, a picnic and an idea
One afternoon in the park, sitting on a picnic rug while our babies swapped snacks and tested out their new teeth on each other, a friend casually mentioned, “You know, you can still ovulate without a period.”
I was desperate enough to try anything. Bless her, she sent me a link to cheap ovulation tests on Amazon. Soon I was peeing in an empty olive jar and swizzling ovulation sticks in it like a toothpick in a dirty martini. Finally, one turned positive.
At this point, my bathroom looked less like a family home and more like a kooky one-woman science lab, complete with lined-up pee sticks and frantic Googling.
Two weeks later – still no period.
Could I be pregnant? No dice.
But now I had a fresh lead.
The birth trauma connection
New Google search: No period, but ovulating.
A late-night scroll landed me on an ABC article about a woman with eerily similar symptoms… and a similar traumatic birth story.
According to the ABC:
“In most cases, Asherman’s Syndrome occurs due to an infection or complication from a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure performed following a missed or incomplete miscarriage, during an abortion, or after childbirth if the placenta isn’t properly expelled.”
Lark’s birth was fast and complicated. My placenta refused to detach. I’ll never forget the look on the obstetrician’s face when the umbilical cord tightened, then snapped off in her hand. I didn’t know what was supposed to happen, but from her expression, I knew it wasn’t meant to be that.
I lost a dangerous amount of blood in postpartum haemorrhaging and was rushed into emergency surgery.
RaRa said the floor in the birthing suite looked like a murder scene – and that was before the blood loss in the operating theatre.
A month later, I was back in hospital. Chills, a fever, and more terrifying blood loss hinted at something sinister. Tests showed infection and a sizable chunk of retained placenta – 2.5cm in size. The sonographer sighed and muttered, almost offhand, “That’s annoying.”
The only option: a D&C. Risky so soon after birth, with my uterus still stretched and fragile. But the alternative wasn’t really a choice at all.
Somewhere in the chaos – infection, surgery, or both – the damage was done.
Before pregnancy, a sonographer had called my uterus “textbook.” After giving birth, I had stage 3 Asherman’s Syndrome.
The scarring was so severe that my cervix was completely blocked. Nothing in. Nothing out. No wonder my period had gone missing.
What to do if your period is missing
If your period hasn’t returned after baby and something doesn’t feel right, here are some steps that helped me:
Start with ovulation strips
Even if your period is MIA, ovulation tests can give you clues about whether your body is still cycling.Write out a clear timeline
Note when you stopped breastfeeding, any symptoms you’ve had, and whether you’re ovulating.
Include any procedures you’ve had on your uterus, like a D&C. Present this methodically to your doctor – it makes them more likely to connect the dots.Learn the common causes
If you’ve had a complicated birth, retained placenta, D&C, or infection, bring this up. Overlaying these details with your symptoms gives your doctor more reason to refer you.Don’t rely on a standard ultrasound alone
Asherman’s Syndrome is notoriously hard to detect on a regular scan. A “normal” ultrasound doesn’t automatically rule it out.Ask for a specialist referral
Look for a doctor with a strong track record. I was lucky enough to find one of — if not the best — specialist surgeons, Professor Vancaillie in Sydney, through the ABC article. Experience matters.Don’t wait for pain
You don’t need to be in pain to have Asherman’s. I still had monthly hormonal fluctuations and even period pain — just no bleeding. That was a huge red flag.Don’t wait too long.
If your period hasn’t returned within three months of weaning, start documenting and ask for a referral. Early intervention can make a big difference – especially if you want baby number two and 40 is just around the corner.
The diagnosis and surgery
After running a series of tests, including an ultrasound, hormone levels in bloods, and even a pregnancy test – my doctor keen not to look silly when she referred me to Professor Vancaillie. I was immediately booked for a hysteroscopy under general anaesthetic, surgery timed to my presumed cycle (thanks to those ovulation tests and a little detective work).
Side note: if timing a surgery based on ovulation strips doesn’t scream “real-life medical drama meets detective series,” I don’t know what does.
Why I’m sharing this
Because hardly anyone – including doctors – talks about Asherman’s Syndrome. It’s that rare. And if you’ve found your way here, chances are you’ve been left to investigate your own body too. You deserve to have the right words and questions in your pocket.
Honestly, it feels unfair that this happened to me – and to other women. I believe there needs to be better post-operative care for retained placenta during childbirth. I should have been asked to return for an ultrasound to check for retained birth products, but there was no such directive. I trusted the system would look after me, and I feel like it failed a first-time mum who didn’t know what “normal” bleeding looked like.
But I’m grateful there are professionals like Professor Vancaillie who’ve dedicated their lives to researching women’s health and treating this condition. He even showed me medical photos from my hysteroscopy, and it feels like a miracle that he was able to restore my uterine cavity and lining to a healthy place.
If any of this sounds familiar, I’d strongly recommend visiting the Women’s Health Institute Australia (WHIA) to learn more and find the right support.
For me, Asherman’s has made baby number two far more complicated than for some, but I feel lucky to have access to an amazing medical team who are working together to look after me. If anything, I’ve learnt just how small the medical community is — everyone seems to know each other!
The more we talk about Asherman’s, the more empowered women will be with their health. So if this resonates with you, share it, whisper it to a friend on a picnic rug, or send it to that one mum in your group chat who keeps saying, “Still no period.” You never know whose puzzle piece it might unlock.
