Sweep before EDD

[tostaky]

If you had a sweep before your EDD, did it work or do you wish you had bothered?

For childcare issue, I'd rather have this baby coming out before 39+3.
Im seeing the midwife At 39+1 so I am thinking about asking for a sweep although in an ideal world, I'd rather wait for the baby to come out on his own accord...
Dc1 was induced at 40+1 and DC2 came on his own at 40+6
What's your experience?

Do you wish you had NOT bothered!

I had one at my 39 week appointment. And again the following week. And two at 41 weeks. I ended up with an EMCS at 42 weeks.

Personally, I don't think they work

Hello - I had 3 with my first child, the first one 39w, then 2 at 40w and nothing. I declined further sweeps. She was induced at 42w.

I am being induced with this one on tuesday at 38w+4days due to possible med probs with the baby - i had an attempted sweep on thurs 37+6, and as I thought my cervix was tightly closed so MW could not actually sweep, but gave it good prod. Had another one this afternoon (sunday) and am 1cm dilated, so she could actually sweep the membranes this time. She said it was very unlikely I would go into labour as the body is well designed and will hold onto a baby if it so wishes, but she said it might make my cervix more favorable for induction pessaries. All this, and I started this pregnancy being told I have a comprimised cervix (previous op for tissue removal) and it would be highly unlikely my cervix would last out full term!

In my opinion they do not work, and for those who say they do, as they went into labour after having one - can they prove it was the sweep and not coincidence??? I just had the 2 this time cos I will try ANYTHING to avoid induction, and trust me, not alot seems to be working. If anything happens though, i'll let you know.

Good luck:)

Many areas won't do a sweep before 41w anyway.

They only work if you're going to go into labour anyway, so pretty useless IMO. Wish I'd not bothered!

They won't do it before 40 wks in my area. I had two, one on due date and then another 2 days later. Went into labour within 36 hours. Worth a shot!

i had one at 39 +4, and proceeded to have a further four until DD2 made an appearance at 41 +6. it was the (final) sweep that got me into labour, but presumably my cervix was well ready by then (i most certainly was!). who's to say whether the previous four sweeps hadn't helped get me to a stage where the fifth did the trick?

from a personal point of view, i was so desperate to get the baby out that i had to know i had done everything i could to have the baby asap.

I am 39 weeks tomorrow. I think I might have one some point this week. My Mw said she would be happy to do so due to my situation. I had 2 with DD, and she came a week later at 40+5. but very speedy delivery :s

well, I will have one later this week def because I am a real mess... I thought it was happening last weekend so in panic I sent my two DCs to my parents abroad. Now I'm crying everyday because I miss them so much and have no idea when this baby will come out... I can't be away from my 2 Little ones for a month... Even for 3 weeks.. It is driving me mad... So I will have a sweep this week, it is better than not doing anything...

Good luck with ur sweep little sunshine. Let me know if it worked for you

tostaky - hope it happens soon for you

I had one at 39 weeks that did nothing. I don't regret it though - it took less than 3 minutes and just wasn't a big deal.

I also had one at my term+10 foetal check. Was told that there was no sign that I was close to labour. Had a sweep and them immediately lost my mucus plug and started having contractions.

Hi tostaky sorry to hear you're struggling after the 'false alarm'. You might remember I had sweeps at 38 weeks and went into labour after two, three days apart. I was very favourable for the first and had progressed further for the second, but I'm not sure I would have gone into labour without them as they definitely provoked slow, bearable, contractions that subsequently eased, officially I was in latent phase right up to 5cm dilated when we did ARM and then was in active labour for 1 hr.
Get the sweep/exam done, at least it'll give you a better idea of what, if anything, is going on. I would think that would help you to plan and cope with these last few days - the uncertainty is very difficult, especially with other children and childcare to think about.

Anais and ladybee - thank you for your support. I am a little bit hormonal too which doesn't help!!
Feeling more positive now, I will ring the midwife today to see if I can have one on Wednesday (39w) and one on sat/sun (39+3/4). I was 2cm A week ago and had lost some mucus plug too so I hope I am favourable.
My two boys are really happy at my parents and it is good that I can afford to rest and relax. And prepare calmly for this baby. I have planned a busy week too so I'm shan't be too bored/have too much time to obsessed...
Upwards and onwards!!!