Self Examination

[FanellaFidget]

Is this possible? I'm sure I've seen it mentioned somewhere...

I'm due in a few weeks with number 3 (and yes I know I should know what I'm doing by now, but I don't ) and this time we are quite a way from the hospital, also have childcare for the other two to think about so don't want to be going into the hospital only 2cm dilated only to be sent home.

Sooo... anyone care to talk me through it?

Oh... did I imagine seeing it somewhere before?

I've done it. If you can't feel anything then you aren't close at all. If you are, it will be very obvious what's going on. Midwives make a V shape with their fingers and they just know from experience how many centimeters it is. If you can feel the bag of waters then try and reach either side of it with your fingers and then measure your hand to get a rough estimate. The best position is sat on the toilet and as you would put a tampon in. If you start doing it every day, you'll get to know if something's changed. It's just for guessing though! Don't delay going to the hospital.

I didn't just dream it then!

I'm worried I will go in too early, I really want this one to be pain relief free, and I'm thinking I'm upping my chances of that if I go in last minute!

Sorry - forgot to say thank you!

I gave myself 2 membrane sweeps (they worked). I stood in the shower with one leg on the side of the bath. It was fairly easy to work out what was going on. Just consider that dilatation of the cervix is not necessarily a good indicator of where your at in labour or how fast you'll dilate so if you just go on how your feeling, how much pain you're in, any 'pressure' feelings as a better indicator.

Oh it's no problem. It annoys me how little information there is about this stuff. I've even been told by midwives to leave it alone. It's my body! I have had nice ones though who have said that as long as your hands are clean then go for it! You're less likely than them to hurt yourself because you can feel it! Yeah I second the membrane sweeps. I had a jolly good go at a couple and I gave birth the day before my due date. I think I popped my own water too but it was pretty much ready to go anyway as it had been bulging for about twelve hours and the midwife had offered to break it herself. I'm very much of the mindset that women must have been doing this stuff themselves before they figured out it worked well enough to get someone else to do it for them. I just think it's less strange to do it myself rather than have a stranger do it!

I did one with DC1 immediately after I thought I had a show. Everything felt pretty much closed. I was used to doing it from when I was TTC so I knew what I was feeling for.

About 10 minutes later I was in agony, and a midwife checked me half an hour after that and said I was 7cm and I was pushing not long after. Just goes to show how quickly stuff can happen!

It surprised the crap out of me, I can tell you. I was in denial because of my own measurement, and put it down to the previous night's curry right until the midwife measured me and told me not only was I in labour but she was expecting baby to fly out any second! I'd only been eating my dinner 45 minutes earlier