Cervical/internal checks in 3rd trimester

[lesleyjohnson]

Hello All

I am just over 39 weeks pregnant and I have been speaking to my neighbours who recently had a child and I found out that they have had several internal check (cervical/sweeps) in their third trimester.

I am now over 39 weeks and due next Wed 15th April and had scan today and all looked great. They said I could wait even if I go over my due date and they would be happy with that. However, so many of the women I speak to say they had internal checks way before 39 weeks! They said that it was strange that I had not had one at all.

I am KEMH in the Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit as well as the East Wing Clinic and thought that if anything, I at least should have had one internal check??... Or is this not necessary AT ALL?..

I have another midwife check up next week but they didnt mention about definitely having an internal check and it seems that if they are happy to let me go overdue, I wont get one. One woman said that if the cervix is very tight (not soft) labour can be pretty long trying to soften it.

Any experiences on the above or any advice?.. Is it normal NOT to have ANY internal checks? Baby is healthy but a small baby (although a guessed weight of 6lbs to me as a woman who is just under 5 feet tall is not exactly SMALL but normal as the sonographer said!)

Thanks!

[Maybebabie]

Well I didn't get as far as 39wks but i certainly didn't have any internal checks before labour at 35+wks. Even when i was admitted the midwife only did external monitoring for contractions etc.

The ob the next morning (i was admitted at 9:30pm) did an internal and also to double check my waters were completely broken. The ob checked again about 3pm so 8hrs later and the midwife only touched me when i said i was ready to push. (from there who would have a clue).

It seems that some places are internal happy and others are pretty well leave it alone unless there's an issue. The earliest I would expect an internal is 36wks. But I know plenty of people who only have internals when labour is happening (or not so happneing usually the case).

[danniellabella]

I don't think I had any internal checks until the day I was in labour which started 5 days before my due date.

[LucaJack'sMum]

I didn't have any with my DS's (1 or 2) not until being induced with DS#1 and not at all with DS#2 (who was a C/S in the end)... I don't think they are necessary unless there are complications?

[Jellyfish]

I didn't have any internal checks until I went into labour (at 38 weeks). They did two checks during my labour to see how it was progressing. I was under the care of a private obstetrician who I saw every week from 35 weeks.

[lesleyjohnson]

Thanks for your replies! Appreciate it! Makes me feel better knowing that they might npt be as necessary as some women have made it out to be.

I wanted to get more opinion. Yes, everything is ok with baby and there are no complications so I guess until I go into labour no checks will be required!

Thank you! x

[beau_9]

i had my first internal at 41 wks, and that was to do a s & s, cause i'd started to go into early labour, but thats the only one i have ever had.

[lesleyjohnson]

i had my first internal at 41 wks, and that was to do a s & s, cause i'd started to go into early labour, but thats the only one i have ever had.

Thank for your reply. So maybe I get one done at around the same time if she hasnt come out yet by then. Will have to wait and see I guess!

Thanks again! x

[Snacks]

Only necessary if you want one.
I think it is stranger to have them before term, TBH. It really doesn't tell you anything much - it can look completely different even the next day.
I don't intend to have any this time, unless I really want to know what's going on when I'm in labour. (That's the only time I had them last time - one when I arrived at the hospital, another to make sure I was fully dilated before I started pushing.)

[Alan]

A few OB’s will do an internal examination from as early as 38 weeks. I have no idea why they would do this. An internal at this stage in pregnancy will not give you any useful information. I once asked an OB why he wanted to do an internal on a woman who was 39 weeks. He said that he wanted to check if the cervix was still closed. I said to him ‘you would know if the cervix was opening as the woman would be in labour’. I don’t think he liked this comment.

[tellytubby]

i didn't have any internals with DD until the day my waters broke! I hope this makes you feel more comfortable!

[Sammiejane]

I had my first internal 6 hours into labour!
Dont worry

[lesleyjohnson]

All these comments have been really really useful and insightful. My neighbour said she had examinations from earlier than 38 weeks (like for almost two months!) and that is what got me thinking if I should have at least had one. She might have had a completely different reason or complication that she didnt mention.

I am much more comfortable now - glad I havent (until labour arrives that is!) been internally examined as it is not the most pleasant of things! lol

Many thanks for all your comments. I wait for baby to arrive now!



x

[Jellyfish]

I can understand why you feel that way! I remember from about 35 weeks -- every time I went to see my obstetrician I was expecting to have to drop my pants and it would make me feel so nervous but it never happened!

[Ozziehoffy]

He said that he wanted to check if the cervix was still closed. I said to him ?you would know if the cervix was opening as the woman would be in labour?. I don?t think he liked this comment.

ahahah love it Alan!

I had no internals with any of mine.... first was c/s so none at all. Second, internal done only once I was in labour to check what was happening as heartrate was dropping to 40bpm and so far with this one (38 wks 6 days today) have had no internals. I would actually refuse if they told me they wanted to do one unless there was a medical reason for it.

[AliBaby]

I had my first internal at 40wks for a S&S and at this stage I was already 1cm dilated. (I didnt go itno labour until almost 2 weeks later)

They said they would not do internals before then as there is no need. THe only other time I had an internal was during labour.

[misty]

I have only ever had an internal done when I have been in labour - and I don't ever intend on having one except if I am in labour or a situation arises where the medical professionals can convince me it is absolutely nesseccary. They are not exactly the most comfortable experience.

There is an article on this somewhere. Maybe you should do a search or perhaps a mod or someone could point you in the right direction.

[Kamarine]

Sorry if Im hijacking the thread, I've got a question that kind of relates~

8am. I was about 2-3cm Dilated. Steady contractions, and my OB broke my waters.

Four hours later, I was in a lot of pain and I think driving the midwives on the maternity ward crazy, cause they told me my labour wasn't progressing so I was to have a syntocin drip. And I had to have an epidural because if I couldn't handle this pre labour I couldn't handle a syntocin labour.
This decision was made without any internals except from the one at 8am in which my waters had broken.
DD was born 2hours later while I was told to wait for the guy to come and do the epi( about an hour after they moved me to the Suites while telling me it was too early to go there really).

I'm not really sure if what I think is right, but was I meant to have an internal before all that was decided?