I'm so fed up. 41+2 and they can't reach cervix for sweep :(

[Orbinator]

Went for one just now and they've booked me in for another on Sunday. Apparently as I'm long and narrow they can't even touch the cervix. Failing the second sweep on Sunday I have to go to hospital for an induction. The hospital has been listed as 3rd worst in the Country for MW:Patient care and I've also wasted £250 on a lovely birthing pool that it now looks as though I'll never get to use. Only last month I thought I was going to be able to use the lovely Birthing Centre literally at the top of my road. Some stupid man decided to shut it and now I have to go 30mins by car (more with traffic) to have what I can only see as being a fairly hellish birth. "Oh, if you end up in XX we can't guarantee you a dark or quiet room" said one of the Dr's last week. Great.

Please someone cheer me up. I feel like a failure on a time limit :(

[RobynLou]

DD2 was born at 41+4.

the day before I went for a sweep but she couldn't reach my cervix. I was told the baby was huge, back to back and they'd see me the next morning to be induced...

at 5am contractions started, at 9am DD2 appeared, still back to back, no interventions, no pain killers, just 10lb3oz of squishy chubby baby

on the other hand DD1 was induced, and she was born after 2 pessaries, 12 hours after the first one, no interventions and a shot of pethadine.

so either way it could be just fine.

and you can ebay the birth pool!

[Pootles2010]

It'll all be fine. Flog the pool, failing that its a paddling pool for your new dc.

Same as Robyn, they couldn't find mine either (which dp found hilarious then i went into labour that night.

I'd heard horror stories about place I went to, and it was fine. 12 hour labour, g+a, no stitches, out the next day.

I didn't do any of the dark room/water birth stuff i'd planned as I just wasn't in the mood for it on the day - just go with it, it'll be grand.

[Orbinator]

Thanks Robyn I really hope it starts soon (seems weird to be wishing for pain and all the rest!). I hired the birthing pool when I found out the birthing centre was closing - it's heated and filtered and is really lovely. I've set it up alone and done all of the maintenance for it for 3 weeks already so feel like it was all a waste of time tbh. Scared to get in it as I heard it can slow down labour - catch 22!

Trouble with being induced is really the hospital. I never wanted a hospital birth from the start (didn't have the option anyway as birthing centre up the road was only place to give birth in town unless you did HB). But now I'm quite petrified as I haven't had a chance to look around and heard horror stories of people being turned away as not dilated enough only to end up halfway back to our town and crowning or one woman who came to the antenatal clinic in pain and ended up giving birth on the waiting room floor after being turned away .

I'm single so I guess I'm fretting more than most women would, but I just wanted a little bit of choice. Would have forked out 2k at the start if I had any clue how crappy our local NHS was going to be. MW's are great but very pissed off that we are under funded with a rising birth rate and no where to give birth in a fairly large town.

Sorry, ranting a bit

[Dynababy]

Feel yourt pain Orbinator as I'm 40 & 8 and mw couldn't reach cervix this morning .. . I'd avoid the horror stories most hospitals have some (my local one does too) but theyare very small % or a whole host of births that went well.

Now booked for induction Sunday but desperately want it to happen naturally before then.

I'm so happy to read your posts Robynlou and Pootles as gives me some hope it might happen naturally in between times!

[RobynLou]

I swear what got DD2 going was me manically doing excercises from the spinning babies website to try and get her to turn round, she didn't turn but I did go into labour!

lots of being on all fours and arching then bending your back...

worth a try!

What kind of birth you have is mostly luck imo - in crap hospitals there are some fab staff and in great hospitals there are some awful ones.

good luck!

[Orbinator]

I suppose I am lucky I get another go. Sorry for being such a whiner!

Here's for it all kicking of naturally.

Good luck Dynababy. Oh and I've been recommended a as my friend went into labour about 4 hours after a large glass of red on the 10th :)

[RobynLou]

Dynasbaby's right I'm sure - everyone tells the horror stories and passes them on, but the others who turned up, were admitted, and had a healthy baby a few hours later don't get spoken about so much but are very much in the majority.

[RobynLou]

ooh yes, I had a large glass of red a few hours before I went into labour too

[eastegg]

You've got plenty of chance to go into labour yet. I had a scan at 40+3 at which they did a bit of internal prodding around but no sweep, and I went into labour that night. Bit like Pootles. So today might not have been a complete waste of time. And then there's Sunday. Good luck.

[hellymelly]

Are you long and narrow generally or just "down there"? Asking as they couldn't find my cervix either,with dd2,so I'm curious. (I am tall and small framed,and until I read your post had no idea that might be a factor).Although with DD1 I did have a sweep,against my wishes,and it was HID-E-OUS.Very painful,possibly to do with position of cervix? Anyway I would avoid it at all costs as I think they only "work" if you were about to get going anyway,in which case why bother? Wishing you best of luck btw

[Orbinator]

Helly yes I'm 5ft9 and usually a size 10 so I think it does have something to do with it. I know your foot size/elbow to wrist is meant to be the width of your womb too :)

I guess it just feels that nothing is happening even though I'm nearly a week and a half overdue. My friend due in Sept got leaky boobs last night too and I've not had that either. I know everyone is different but I do feel as though I've been doing something wrong... No show yet either.

When did I get so excited about getting a mucous plug in my pants?!

[hellymelly]

I'm 5'8" and pre babies was an 8 but now I'm a ten/twelve and somewhat podgy...Smallish feet though! (5 and a half).I actually started to find it funny after 4 different people failed to find my cervix while I was in labour.I looked at my consultant (worried face) and said "Oh NO! Do you think I don't have one?" he thought I was serious and went to great lengths to reassure me that I did have one,somewhere up there...
Accupunture can get things going btw.

[hellymelly]

Er -Accupuncture.

[Dynababy]

Thanks Orbinator I'll have a - any excuse and willing to try almost anything now!!

Wonder if some people just have high cervixes, I know when charting etc I could never find mine, no one else has ever tried until today though.. I'm also 5'8

[Orbinator]

I've always had trouble with smears as they'd need the smallest but longest speculum and i'm somewhere off to the left apparently I think being tall possibly does have a roll to play. I suppose there's more body length to get through...

Am in my living room in my heated birthing pool typing this and feeling very decadent

[twinklegreen]

With ds I had a sweep at 40+3, 40+7, 40+13, I was 2cm dilated but nothing was happening so was induced at 40+14.

With my dd2 I saw the midwife at 12noon at 40+2 baby was not engaged (head was 'free') cervix not favourable either, so she couldn't do the sweep I was hoping for, I was gutted :( I was in full blown labour at 10pm, dd2 arrived 4 hrs later.

[RobynLou]

never had a 'show' with either DD, and never had leaky boobs either - despite bfing DD1 throughout my pg with DD2!

don't despair yet, it ain't over till the very pg lady moos...

[Orbinator]

Yes - am positive my due date was meant to be 26th rather than 19th as I was still on my period when they said I conceived! But they wouldn't listen once they got the scan done and so I was pretty much told to like it or lump it.

Trouble is they can't monitor me properly anywhere other than the minging hospital that they'd transfer me to anyway.

Fingers crossed something starts tonight :)

[Rosduk]

Same happened to me and I had my baby the next day. Good luck! X

[Secondtimelucky]

Same happened to me. Couldn't reach my cervix on Tuesday, started having contractions on Wednesday, properly kicked in Wednesday night, DD born at home on Thursday early morning.

BTW, you might be interested to know that a number of trusts don't routinely induce until past 42 weeks, so even if you want to agree induction eventually, there's no particular reason it needs to be Sunday.

[Orbinator]

I've got my last sweep on Sunday then they book me in for hospital induction so I will be over 42 weeks.

Do you think it would be OK for me to request someone with very long fingers on Sunday? I know it sounds odd, but if they can't even reach it to tell me if it is hard/soft/open/closed let alone do what they are meant to, then surely it is all just a waste of time for them and me?

Went for a mexican tonight and moshed in front of a live band...nowt so far.

[Secondtimelucky]

Oh, sorry, got my counting in a muddle.

No idea about requesting someone to try and reach it! But hopefully things will happen for you. I was +8 and +9 with both of mine. I think that, for some people, the cervix really doesn't do much until things get going.

Personally I'm not sure how much use sweeps are if they really have to dig around for it (though no scientific basis for that feeling!). I'd go for some reflexology or accupuncture and try and relax, perhaps do some visualisation. I had reflexology and it didn't get me going, but it did feel lovely and make me feel more energetic. Chances are something will happen for you before the induction.

You have my sympathy though. If I had been induced I would have had to go back to the hospital where I had a horrid time with DD1. As it was, I had my amazing homebirth with my amazing doula. Really hard initial stages, but when I got in the water she was out within 45 minutes.