Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 14 15

Original poster

Midwife did a sweep last night without asking

352 replies

Katnisnevergreen · 17/12/2018 09:10

Hi all, I’m just after some advice. I went to the maternity unit last night with bad contractions (am 39 weeks) which had been building over the past few days to every 3.5 mins.
When the midwife was checking to see how dilated I was, it was really painful, like trying to get away painful, and I could really feel her moving around.
When she finished she said ‘I’ve done you a sweep too...’
is this out of order as I didn’t ask or want one?

OP posts:

hackmum · 17/12/2018 09:51

Am amazed that there are people on here trying to justify this. It doesn't matter if the midwife thought it was for your own good. How patronising! Medical professionals are supposed to ask patients' consent before carrying out procedures on them. It's absolutely disgraceful that she didn't. And yes, do complain.

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo · 17/12/2018 09:59

This is absolutely, absolutely not on. It is actually assault.

I was given a smear without my consent by a gynaecologist (same sort of scenario - 'oh, I've done a smear while I was in there') at 17 weeks pregnant with - as emerged when I woke up the next day in a pool of blood - at that point total placenta praevia. In my case that could have been dangerous. I simply changed doctors and never went back to her (possible where I live), but in retrospect I should have reported. (Interestingly I walked past where her practice used to be a few weeks ago and it was gone).

FestiveLemur · 17/12/2018 10:02

@AlletrixLeStrange Those doctors will end up respecting you. You sound like a fantastic student.

It's a fucking tragedy that women still have to fight for their own body autonomy... against professionals who specialise in the care of women, too.

My midwife on the actual labour ward was wonderful. When she did the second sweep I was terrified. I told her she had to stop if I asked because the last midwife didn't stop. She was horrified!

ChocolateStash · 17/12/2018 10:02

It’s had no effect, apart from making me bleed quite a lot and giving me horrendous back ache.
^ This sounds like a 'show' and early labour to me. You could be meeting your baby sooner than you think.

Nanny0gg · 17/12/2018 10:03

As a matter of interest has anyone had a sweep 'work'?

It doesn't seem to have made any difference to anyone I know.

TruckLoadOfSubtleGlitter · 17/12/2018 10:03

@ChocolateStash a sweep always causes a bit of bleeding and will always distrupt the show.
It doesn't mean it's going to work. At all.

TruckLoadOfSubtleGlitter · 17/12/2018 10:03

And you're totally missing the point.

fieryginger · 17/12/2018 10:05

Maybe when she was there, she found a good position to do one.

I don't think her motives were anything but to see if it helped.

lilyblue5 · 17/12/2018 10:06

I had a sweep whilst in labor it did end up being quite a quick one for my first (not sure if the sweep did the trick or not?), however, the key point was, I agreed to a sweep and was informed that was the procedure that was being carried out. Good luck with everything OP, hope baby gets a wiggle on out now

JacquesHammer · 17/12/2018 10:06

Maybe when she was there, she found a good position to do one

Right and this would be the point to get consent

ladydickisathingapparently · 17/12/2018 10:07

This happened to me with ds3 and caused what a poster above called “a cascade of interventions.” I was high risk following a previous unexplained stillbirth.

I attended an antenatal appointment at hospital A with the registrar on my due date and while examining me she decided to give me a sweep. I didn’t realise until she told me afterwards, but on going to the toilet immediately after my appointment at hospital A my waters broke.

Unfortunately the labour ward at hospital A had been closed down and I was told to get myself to the labour ward at hospital B, where I was booked to deliver.

It’s no exaggeration to say we only just made it. My husband pulled into the bay immediately outside the labour ward and I crawled into the lift, where two student doctors literally looked at me in horror and half carried me to the labour ward. By the time I was put on a bed and hooked up to a monitor ten minutes had passed and the contractions were really amping up. Just a few minutes later the monitor started beeping and all hell broke lose. I was wheeled into theatre and knocked out with a general anaesthetic. Ds3 was delivered within minutes after a period of prolonged and severe distress, thought to be caused by his cord being pinched when my waters broke suddenly. He was unharmed but I was absolutely traumatised. The incident was reported by my consultant (who couldn’t apologise enough) as a near miss.

I’m sorry this is long and potentially upsetting but there’s a lesson in it. Consenting to an examination is never consent to any form of intervention.

53rdWay · 17/12/2018 10:07

Nanny0gg I’ve had a sweep work (went into labour shortly afterwards), although I was very overdue at the time. Would be happy to try one again if I was overdue (but would be upset and furious if a midwife just carried one out without asking me first!)

SoyDora · 17/12/2018 10:07

Maybe when she was there, she found a good position to do one

In which case she should have said ‘do you mind if I do a sweep while I’ve got a good poosition?’. There was absolutely no reason to do this without consent and I can’t believe people are trying to justify it. It’s irrelevant what her motives are, she needs to obtain consent.

The OP has the right to say what happens to her body.

Jackshouse · 17/12/2018 10:13

Katnisnevergreen moving forward if I was you I would ring the maternity ward and as for the matron of midwives to call you back. Explain to whoever answer the phone that you are in early labour and need to make a complaint about a midwife and are worried about giving birth there.

knittedmouse · 17/12/2018 10:16

A registrar did this to me 20 years ago and it was very painful and I was upset and shocked. I felt like a bovine instead of a human being and it resulted in premature rupture of membranes and an emcs.

You really need to complain about this. I regret making an official complaint about my treatment.

gnushoes · 17/12/2018 10:17

That is appalling. You should complain.

Singingtherapy · 17/12/2018 10:20

This is a really difficult situation. I understand how upsetting it is but I honestly don't think it's as black and white as it appears. Bear in mind that you had consented to an internal examination to assess dilatation. This involves the midwife putting a finger inside your cervix. She would have moved her fingers around to assess dilatation as part of this. A sweep isn't hugely different to this, just slightly more exaggerated movements. So although it's a big issue I honestly wouldn't regard it cut and dry as a procedure without consent. Good idea to discuss it though.

VentingDaughter · 17/12/2018 10:20

Do complain. I never understand the eagerness of the medical profession to do sweeps anyway, given their failure rate. I'm ancient enough to have had babies before sweeps became a thing, and I and my contemporaries seemed to manage to go into labour and give birth perfectly satisfactorily without.

Singingtherapy · 17/12/2018 10:23

Also if your cervix is quite posterior then any examination to assess progress is painful. So there's no certainly that the pain was caused by the sweep rather than the examination you'd consented to.

VeggyGravy · 17/12/2018 10:24

I wouldn’t worry about it - maybe she should’ve asked but perhaps she thought it was best and didn’t want to be told not to Sometimes it’s best to just trust people to do their job

The midwife's job is to facilitate the mother having a birth she wants. That's her fucking job.

Is basic consent so difficult for people.

VeggyGravy · 17/12/2018 10:26

@ChocolateStash a sweep always causes a bit of bleeding and will always distrupt the show. It doesn't mean it's going to work. At all.

Yep.

Changingeveryth · 17/12/2018 10:27

Awful. A call to Pals is definitely required. There is this idea that sweeps are a risk free intervention but they are not. They risk breaking your waters before you are ready to go into Labour. Induction then may be required which may fail and end in c section. This happened to someone I know and she really regrets consenting to the sweep. It was her first pregnancy so now her subsequent births have also been c sections. Imagine if that had happened and you hadn't even consented.

Merryoldgoat · 17/12/2018 10:27

@Nannyogg

I was going to say the same. All of the ‘it worked for me’ seems like a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc.

PanamaPattie · 17/12/2018 10:29

It doesn’t matter how or why the MW put her fingers into the cervix to assess dilation, permission for a sweep should still have been sought. Without consent there is a violation and assault.

tryinganewname · 17/12/2018 10:29

I had 2 sweeps, both times I was asked for consent.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 14 15