Hello and I hope I can help you today. I am terribly sorry about your miscarriage. Unfortunately, miscarriage, or death of the pregnancy that occurs in the first trimester, happens in one out of every ten pregnancies. If you are over 35 the risk increases to one in seven, and women over 40 miscarry up to 20 percent of the time. For this reason, most prenatal care providers advise women to wait until the first trimester is over to tell their friends and family about the pregnancy. 99 percent of pregnancy losses have genetic abnormalities, and death of the fetus in the first trimester is nature s way of preventing further development of a fetus that would be incompatible with life. A portable ultrasound is just as accurate as a large machine with Doppler in examining a fetal heartbeat in experienced hands. However, if you have any doubts about having the D and C there is no harm in waiting longer and checking another ultrasound. And it is possible for your doctor to send tissue from the D and C for genetic analysis if it it available. I hope I was able to answer your question and that this information was helpful to you. Best wishes, and again, I am sorry for your loss, Dr. Brown