internals during labour, how necessary are they?

[blueberrysorbet]

really am scared of and hate internals, exp after last experince in hospital have ds1, ended up with cs, and now need g&a if i am to have one.
baby due in 3/4 weeks, and have to decide whether to have cs again- but baby not huge this time, or vbac. how many internals would i expect and are they necessary?

i appreciate that they are not what might be expected to be a big worry, but i am really scared and cry just thinking about it. i am overseas and i have never met, nor will till the day, my labour coach. people keep telling me i won;t care, but i really do and it not helping me cope.

[FrankMustard]

Depends on what's happening with the labour and how you are feeling. If they're not totally necessary, IME I@ve found they don't tend to suggest them as they know a woman in labour is already going to have plenty to deal with, but best thing is to relax. Probably doesn't help you, but hopefully you won't have a complicated labour.

[mosschops30]

I know they are only allowed to do so many in any given time (I remember begging the MW to examine me because i was convinced I had dilated massively).

TBH I didnt notice when they did do them, I was either sleeping from drugs and G&A or screaming in pain. Internal exams were the least of my worries.

Hope it goes ok for you

[Lulumama]

usually done every 4 hours , as a rule ,unless there are signs things are going a lot quicker or other issues.

explain your anxieties to whoever is looking after you

breathing slowly and deeply can help, as can using the entonox.

there are other signs a MW can use to help assess how far along you are in labour

or you can decline them altogether if you wish, you cannot have one without consent

[Technoprisoners]

You can refuse them if you don't want them. I know how excruciatingly painful they are - and you can do without it if you don't want it. Just put it in your birth plan - what country are you in?

[KingCanuteIAm]

They will need to do at least one to ensure you are fully dilated before you begin to push. Depending on that they may have to do another if things were not quite ready IYSWIM.

In general they like to do one when you arrive to establish how far along you are. Then it depends on how fast/slow things are moving.

Where you are does labour tend to be a hollistc supportive experience or a more medicalised approach? Here I would just say to put on your notes (in red marker on every page ) PHOBIC; DOES NOT CONSENT TO INTERNAL EXAM EXCEPT WHERE REQUIRED FOR BABIES SAFETY and point it out to every MW who walks in. I am not sure how that would be received where you are though.

[blueberrysorbet]

lulumama, thanks- if i decline them will it make any difference to baby safety etc, is it just procedure? my doc wanted to do a high vaginal swab ysterday and i just burst into tears saying no, and he backed off. still have no idea why and as he backed off so fast am now concerned that i can trust them to do whats best for me, not the tick boxes at the hospital red tape office.

[Technoprisoners]

You do not need to know when to push - I am sure Lulu would agree here - if you aim to breathe the baby out. MWs do not need to do the internals - you will feel the baby crowning and know when you are on the last stretch and breathe your way through it. Try to be unafraid and stick to what you want.

[blueberrysorbet]

am in middle east. there are no midwives here, just nurses who do whatever doc says. am not allowed to meet them until the day , doc franky i am disliking everytime i see him, and i am not allowed to change now.

kingcanute that made me re holistic approach... they don;t even have birthplans here well, i have one. will add a line saying that , thanks.

do i need one i have a cs?

[blueberrysorbet]

sorry, what other signs to see how far along i am?

i just don;t see why an internal would help, as if i am 3 then surelyits anyones guess what i will be 10 or whatever? unless they keep doing them, and again, what does it matter?

[tassisssss]

I've refused them. Or made it very clear that I don't want them unless they feel it's necessary (which is a bit different that refusing I suppose). I HATE being touched (or spoken to!) in labour.

[Technoprisoners]

They can check by intensity/frequency of contractions and your transition. OK, so they don't have birthplans where you are - just say no to an internal if you don't want it. They don't need to do it to assess how far along you are. If baby is in difficulty and they need to assess via an internal, then that is another matter - gas and air will lift you out of it, if necessary!

[raindroprhyme]

i didn't have any with DS2, largely because i had an young midwife who didn't think i was progressing as i didn't seem to be in any pain, and i snapped at her every time she asked.
Did end up needing to push at shift change so midwife came in said hello and caught the baby. Luckily i knew her from toddlers it was her first day back from maternity leave.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

I didn't have one when I gave birth to ds, I was induced though so they did 'mess' IYKWIM.