Do you have to have internals when in labour?

[milkybarkid]

Hi, I am currently pregnant and have a baby due very soon. I am worried about labour, but not for the same reason most people are. I am dreading having internal examinations. Are they essential when in labour? I know that its important not to start pushing until you're fully dilated and they can tell by an internal if you are dilated or not but I would really like to avoid them if at all possible.

Tuesday - is that when they want to do it ????? You do NOT (i really insist on the NOT) have to agree to this - yes it is a form of induction and unless someone is concern about the baby (i.e. because fetal monitoring or a scan demonstrates a genuine reason to be concerned) - you can be pregnant without ANY induction at all until 42 weeks (or longer even but then most women relent and agree to be induced.... regardeless of the state of the baby!)

If for any reason you are concerned and want other ways of induction then look into accupuncture or reflexology.

hi pupuce, will be 42 weeks then, tried acupuncture, reflexology, caullophyllum, curries, walks, pineapple, have heard that golden seal and evening primrose help but fed up of buying stuff that doesnt work but also fed up of being pregnant, so worried that painful memories will come back during labour want to get it over and done with asap.

do you know anything about the actual procedure, surely they dont put 2 hands up, surely its physically impossible

just read that post again, realised the two hands bit is about breaking waters so hopefully i wouldnt need two hands up for a sweep, would I

Milkybarkid - under no circumstances will a midwife insert a whole hand to perform a membrane sweep. As pupuce has already said, you do not need to agree to that procedure. It is best to allow labour to start on it's own. However, if you decide you do want to be induces (hopefully no earlier than 42 weeks), then sweeping of the membranes can be enough to trigger labour. It involves the doctor/midwife doind a normal internal with 2 fingers, finding the cervix and peeling the membranes away from the side of the womb with 1 finger probably.
When waters are broken, again it is done with one hand like a normal internal. An amnihook, which is plastic and has a long handle is used to reach inside. The end of it is like a small crochet hook and it makes a small hole in the membranes. Once the hole is made, a finger or 2 needs to be inserted to make the hole bigger to let the water drain.
Before any procedures are done they should be explained fully by the midwife/doctor and you consent sought.
Hope labour starts soon for you.

milkybarkid, just read this thread, so sorry about the awful time you have had, hopefully a new baby will bring purpose to your life and take your mind off some of the painful memories a bit, give you something else to focus on. Please dont feel ashamed you gave the baby up.

I think everyone hates internals so you've been extra brave to accept one.

They never used to bother me, until I noticed in my antenatal notes that the midwife, after having done an internal during a routine antenatal as i thought I was in labour, had commented on the appearance of my genitals from the outside!

I was so embarassed, I didnt realise she'd been looking, I thought they could find the opening without looking.

Anyone know what she was looking for? What is the relevance of my external genitals looking normal, why chouldnt they look normal?!

It is something I don't do, but depending on how you have been trained, midwives will write down external appearance to show they performed a complete examination such as noting any abnormality ie scarring, trauma, warts etc. Any discharge, redness, swelling - ie signs of infection etc. I only write down any problems that I find rather than state the normal.

thanks for your kind words snowqueen.

had the sweep on tuesday, had lots of bleeding since and told things looked like they were starting to happen because my cervix was progressing well, but baby still inside. i suppose the next step will be prostin gel. getting a bit fed up now

Milkybarkid.... have you tried gently talking to your baby, letting him/her know you are ready???? Visualising also work... I find a lot of mum who are late are very anxious about the labour or the upcoming baby.... anmd following your past experience this would be quite natural.... Try avoiding the gel! You can get a scan and monitoring every day if you are at all worried.

Milkybarkid - so sorry to hear that you're getting fed up. I hope things go well for you, and that the labour is a positive experience. Your thread really touched my heart when I first read it and posted before Christmas. (I am the one who had a baby adopted too). I think of you often.

Your partner sounds great, and I am very much looking forward to hearing news of you all being a happy family of three together. Have you got a date to go in again for further 'action'?

Best wishes

Roisin

Interesting what pupuce says about talking to the baby: after dd passed her due date I got anxious because, while I didn't want to go so far overdue that I woudl be induced - my induction date would have been Xmas Eve - I also didn't want to miss ds's first Xmas Concert. So mentally I was saying 'Please hold on, don't come yet!' even though I wasn't consciously thinking it. Then, when we had put ds to bed after his concert, I consciously said to my bump 'Thank you for letting me go to your big brother's concert, you can come now, if you like.' and went to bed myself. And lo and behold, I went into labour a couple of hours later. So, who knows, perhaps your little one is waiting for you to tell him or her that you're ready...? Anyway, isn't the gel supposed to stimulate the cervix to start, so surely if your cervix is changing, you don't need the gel?

I do hope this is it for you. Fingers crossed!

I am still here and am now 43 weeks pregnant. How can this baby seem so late when last one was right on time. Im sure dates are right, I suppose I really should agree to induction now

Wow.... I am impressed !!!!! Not many fight the induction.... Have you tried reflexology????

yes and acupuncture and everything else I can think of

So???? Are you sure your dates are right? Have they scaned you recently ?.... I think more baby talk is needed

well i wondered about dates pupuce but they are convinced due date was right

milkybarkid glad to hear from you was wondering what was happening and watching the birth announcements threads in earnest,cant believe your still with child,sorry probably not what you wanted to hear,take care and enjoy these last few baby free days.

A thought occurred to me Milkybar. Is labour not starting because of your concerns earlier in the thread? Stress can interupt the flow of labour. Please, please talk to your midwife and tell her your concerns. You will then lose some of the worry you have and i bet labour will start pretty soon after that. Please talk to her. I have been a midwife to women (note more than one) in your situation before. You will not be judged. Phone her today and ask her to visit.

At last!

Off to start a new thread under birth announcements

Thanks for all your support, You have all been brilliant

Looking forward to it