Stretch and Sweep

OK im no two days overdue and have a DR appointment this arvo and am going to request a stretch and sweep.

Has anyone ever had one of these done and has it helped things along?

There is no guarantee that it will work, and they are quite uncomfortable to have them done (this I imagine would depend on the person doing it and how gentle they are)

this is from the main site and describes what it is;

1. Sweeping Membranes / Stretch & Sweep
If you have a ‘favourable’ cervix this may be offered to you in the first instance as a ‘drug-free’ induction with less side effects and risks compared to other methods. It’s not usually painful but may be uncomfortable and result in some bleeding afterwards. Sweeping the membranes involves a vaginal exam, your doctor or midwife will place his / her finger inside your cervix and ‘sweep’ the membranes in order to separate it from your cervix. It is said to be quite effective, often within 48 hours of the sweep. A ‘stretch and sweep’ is the same sort of procedure, only your cervix is also stretched at the same time.

I had a stretch and sweep with both of my daughters. It is very uncomfortable but for me it helped bring on labour in the first instance and the second it was a combination of both an induction gel and the stretch and sweep.

I had a stretch and sweep done in both my pregnancies and it definately brought on labour in both!! With my daughter I had a show the following day and went into labour three days later and with my son I went into labour the next night. I definately feel that they help things along, well they did with me, probably because my cervix was quite soft and I was already dilated would have really helped too! They are quite uncomfortable and for me were just about painful but nothing in the whole scheme of things really.
Good luck, not long too wait now!! (Enjoy sleep now while you can!!;))
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Me 32 :heartbeat: DH 30
Our loves of our life:
DD 3 years :heartbeat:
Baby Harrison born 19/3/08 :heartbeat:

S&Ss have a 12-15% chance of inducing labour (higher if the cervix is very favorable)

i had 2 while in labour, and they helped things progress alot faster... but iv never had one to induce labour...

I'm pregnant with my first so don't know how it is to be overdue (yet he-he) but isn't 2 days overdue kind of early to be worrying about intervention??

LOL Maybub....when your post dates...its never to early to consider getting bub out!

I was 5 days over with DD2..and the minute i hit 40 weeks i tried everythign under the sun to get her out!

Hi Ange, I also asked for S&S when I was overdue. Don't know whether it was the S&S or other things that I did (lots of walking, eating pineapple, raspberry leaf tea, etc - I was quite desperate since I didnt feel any labour signs at all) that brought on labour. The S&S was on Tuesday and I delivered on Friday (was supposed to be induced the next Tuesday).
It wasnt that bad, just slightly uncomfortable. As Trillian said, the cervix has to be favourable for it to be more effective.
Good luck with everything and sending you lots of labour vibes !!!

I had two done when i was pregnant with DS. The first i was around 3 days over then i had another at 9days, and that one seemed to work;) With a combination of accupuncture, homeopathics, E.P.O capsules, rasberry leaf tea, walking, ect... I tired everything!


Simone

not effective for me just painful. I would try & wait it out a little longer

well went to the doctor and she couldn't do a stretch and sweep as my cervix is posterior. She said it is very soft and she could get one finger inside but wouldn't be favourable to do a stretch and sweep. So looks like i have a while yet to go. Have to go back on Monday to talk about induction.

Ange, that's still really good though - the state of your cervix can change really quickly, so what it is like today may be different again tomorrow. The good sign is that it is soft and starting to open - so you may not have that long to go at all.

Hi Ange,

I've had a stretch and sweep. I had irregular contractions all night and called my midwife.She came over and checked my cervix and I was 2cm dilated at that point. She immediately did the stretch and sweep and 4-5 hours later ds was born!
So it can happen really soon, but it is also possible that nothing will happen really.

The week before ds was born, my cervix was the same as yours is now!

Good luck! Hope you will meet your bub soon, it's sooo special!