Membrane sweep

Hiya,

I was wondering if any of you have had a membrane sweep and could tell me your experiences. Its ment to bring on labour isnt it.

I know it may be a stupid quesiton to ask but I am pregnant with my first baby (39weeks today) and went and saw my doc today who has booked me in to get induce this Friday (oh golly) but he did a sweep and said hopefully that'll get it rolling.

Being my first bubba i wouldnt have a clue what im doing or what to expect. I was hoping you could shed some light on it for me :pray:

Thank you

Hi Cass,
Normally drs dont book you in for an induction until you are about 10d over, unless of course there is a medical reason for it. Is everything going OK with your pregnancy?
I believe stretch and sweeps are the lifting of the membranes away from the cervix and trying to get things moving a little. I had one during my induction when I had already started to dilate, and it certainly got things happening! My contractions immediately got closer together, and much more painful.
Normally they start these sorts of things when you are overdue. If you aren't ready to go, all it may result in is a few niggles in your body, which may just die off after a few hours. Or as he says, it could bring on labour!

If there is no medical reason to be induced this Friday, you are able to say no and put it off. While its exciting to be meeting bubs sooner than anticipated, often early inductions (actually inductions in general) result in a more painful labour experience and often end up with some sort of intervention - whether it be pain relief, forceps/ventouse or even a c/s.

Best wishes anyway - I hope whatever happens works out brilliantly for you, and heres hoping the sweep does get things happening for you in a more controlled, natural way :D

Sorry I can't help you with any of your questions, but I wish you all the best....hope your little bubba arrives safely. Enjoy....keep us posted.

I'm supposed to be getting a sweeping of membranes/stretch&sweep on Wed, when I will be 40 weeks, 1 day. This is due to my high BP - although if my cervix isn't 'favourable/ripe' then I go back in on Friday to see if it's in a better state.

If not then, I am most happy to wait until I go into spontaneous labor (if my BP is safe) after having an ultrasound to see if my placenta is still chugging along well and bubs is happy.

If there is no medical reason for you to have this done, then I'd *suggest* waiting for your body to do what it's meant to do when it's ready to do it! After all, like Fi said, if you don't go into labour, or you only get a few contractions which eventually die off, your Ob. might think he/she has to try other induction methods...when really, I'd say he/she's just being impatient!

All the best with whatever happens :)