can i say no to a sweep?

[hallomutti]

Hi there,

Today i am 41 weeks with my first one.going to have an appoint.in 3 days if nothing happens till then. so far i have an easy pregnancy no problems whatsoever.i wonder do i need to have a sweep on my appoint or can i say no if everything is fine? i am scared and i would like to have a natural birth.i personaly think i should not force labour as long as baby is fine. and what happens if i have an induction? do you get an injection? sorry i must sound a bit thick, but i am scared and not sure how i will take the pain?? thanks

Why not ask your MW?
No you can refuse. You can refuse injections.

Yes you can refuse. You can refuse any medical treatment or interventions full stop.

Hallo
What concerns you about the sweep (just out of curiosity?) If you have a sweep there is no reason why you wouldn't have a natural birth without any induction how drugs, also it might give you an indication of you are progressing (which they would do before admitting you to a labour ward, or if you were having your dc at home.
Imo, a sweep isn't "forcing" labour and quite often it doesn't kick start anything at all if your body isn't ready.

As far as induction is concerned, with my induction I had a pessary twice and then a drip, it was very medicalised and in the early stages I made a few mistakes and ended up with a emcs, BUT I didn't move around (critical with induction and infact labour - don't lie on your back!) but my indcution was much earlier than yours would be and for pre-eclampsia.

Yes, you do not 'have' to have any medical intervention. Normal human pregnancy is supposed to last 37-42 weeks anyway. With those guidelines, if you have your appointment in three days, you could go beyond that providing all appears well. Even at 42 weeks, you could not be forced to have any intervention.

No, you dont have to have a sweep or be induced.
In many hospitals it is policy to offer induction when you are 40+10 as there is research to show there is a slightly higher chance of stillbirth as you get more overdue
But
Dates can be wrong
A sweep may encourage labour to start, which can then proceeed naturally without any other interventions.
If you do go for induction you will usualy go into hospital, they will 'ripen' your cervix by putting gel into your vagina (twice in 12 hours) then usually break your waters and/or put you on a drip with a medicine that makes your uterus contract, which then opens the cervix and pushes the baby out.
If you have the drip you will need belts around your belly to a machine which measures your babies heartrate, to make sure they are not distressed by the drip.
Some women find induction very painful and it can be difficult to move around to get comfortable when attached to the machines.
You can ask for 'expectant management' where you wait to go into labour (you can be monitored every couple of days at the hospital to check your baby is ok)
More info here-
www.midwivesonline.com/parents/parents1/s_menu/244/baby/244/26
www.homebirth.org.uk/overdue.htm
My last client had her baby at 42 weeks 6 days in half an hour at home!
Selina

I was under the impression that some drugs used for induction and the way they are administered means you just can't move around as you need continuous monitoring.

You can refuse a sweep and an induction if you want to.

yes you can refuse. doesn't work unless you are ready to pop anyway. I refused one but went into labour on the day they'd have done t anyway...

NICE guidance on this notes that most women will start spontaneous labour prior to 42 weeks. you will likely be offered chemical induction in hospital prior to then (though as there is no increase in risk until 42 + no reason on the evidence to have an induction any sooner just on the basis of dates, unless you want that).

after 42 weeks you can request expectant management (regular scans of placenta) instead of induction.

though obviously you should discuss your concerns with MW and ask what the risk factors are in your particular case (if any)and make up your own mind.

you can try self-induction by -

going for a stiff walk

nipple tweaking to release oxytocin to stimulate labour - there is clinical evidence this works -but you need to spend some time doing it - a half hour to an hour...

sex - prostaglandins in sperm are meant to help...

eating pineapple, hot curry ectc is meant to help too.

a combination of these ways helped me get my last two shifting at 40+10

thanks for all your advice. is just that i have heard so many horror stories about sweeps-very painful, not helping at all,etc. i know everyone is different. i think what makes me nervous is that i can not control anything(sound like a control freak). family and friends not helping either,being asked every day if something is happening.....really gets on my nerves and i started not to answer any more;-)

hallomutti just a quick aside, not sure if it's helpful. I had 2 sweeps to try to get labour started with DD - it didn't work either time but I did subsequently get a 'show' and when I went for the hormonal induction the following week I had somehow got to 2cm which was quite gratifying.

It was uncomfortable but it felt actually like quite a normal and natural way to try to get things moving - for me it was no more vigorous than having sex to get things started IYSWIM and it is a loooong long way from being induced with hormones.

why would you not want one? I understand why not induction, but a sweep is very natural and can kick start things. so lomg as you dont mind someones arm up your fanjo!!!

I had a sweep with DS2, then labour kicked off naturally a couple of days later. All went well! And almost too naturally (I was desperate for an epidural, but didn't get it. given how well things went, I didn't need it either), and importantly (for me) he didn't arrive on Christmas day as was threatened!

Hallo
With dc2 I had 2 sweeps to start things off and can honestly say that they weren't painful - a little uncomfortable but definitely not painful (actually checking the positon of the baby was more painful!)

If you do have a sweep make sure your pelvis is tilted upwards and some midwives suggest making your hands into fists and putting them under your lower back - worked for me.

Hello - sorry, but I'm going to challenge the 'sweep is very natural' claim. It isn't natural for someone to put their hand inside you and forcibly push the membrane sac away from your cervix!!

but it doesn't prevent you from going on to deliver in a perfectly normal fashion, and have a homebirth if you wish.
I was more worried about infection being carried up with the hand (from lower to higher birth canal, of course MW would wear a glove!) which there is a slight risk of.

It was my third sweep that got ds to shift finally. It was uncomfortable but not agonisingly painful. I refused induction and ds was born at 42+4. It was quite stressful though as I was so damn fed up by that point and just wanted him to come out!

I'd suggest looking at some decent information on what happens with an induction as there are lots of options/possibilities if you do get to that stage. Personally I like to be prepared and know what might happen.

This might be a start:
www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/planningyourbabysbirth/overdue/