To sweep or not to sweep......

[SHHHH]

Thats the question..!!!

Im 38 +1 and fed up, like the majority of women at this stage of pregnancy. I have sciatica, spd and I am huge. Luckily dh's contract finshes in a weeks time so he can be on hand to help with dd (19 months) as atm he's out working 6am-7/8pm and I have struggled.......

Now dd was 9lb 4oz and I am sure ds2b is going to be bigger, mw's won't committ to a size but agree he probably will be big.

Aftre promises of growth scans and inductions etc when I got to 38+ weeks the mw is now changing how things go..not surprised really, its a bit like being a donkey and having a carrott dangled in front of you when you are pregnant..well imo anyway.

At my mw appointment this week my mw suggested I go back in 2 weeks time when I will be 39 + 6 and she will do a membrane sweep to see if anything will kick labour off. She will also refer me to the mat unit which will prob be for the following mon (40 +5) who will then book an induction date, so if labour isn't within this time I am looking as a possible induction date at 41+..following me still..??!!!

Now dd was bang on time and a text book labour and birth etc and we so wish/hope this is the same...neither dh or I want me to go over 40 weeks, mainly because it worries me baby is big enough at 38 weeks so god help me at 42 weeks..also not confident going over term is good for me or baby with regards to placenta functions iykwim...

Pheeeww............so.........would you opt for a sweep at 39 +6...??? Or would you just ask to be referred for an induction date...? I know a sweep will only work if your body is ready but would you do it..??? What does it involve...? is it uncomfortable/painful..?

Advice/experiences appreciated although I am sure I will regret asking .

Im bracing myself...............go on then..........

i had sweeps galore- and reflexology and some pretty hardcore acupuncture and still didnt go into labour- not to mention about 3 gallons of pineapple juice a day and vigorous jigging around!!!!!!!

ff how are you today.? Just read your post. Hope you are ok.

Can I ask, whats a posterior cervix ..? When I go for a smear I find it ok as smears go BUT my cervix is not where you usually find it apparently..?!!! I think its tucked back..??? Is this is,..? if I opt for a smear is it best for me to advise my mw..?? Just to give her a helping hand so to speak..! .

Still with bump at this end btw..! only 1 week till my due date mind you so fingers crossed. xx

The downside to the sweep is that some of us find them bloody painful. I was really quite cross with having been told there might be "a bit of discomfort" Yeh, what they meant was "fucking bloody painful".

Cervices (plural of cervix) are mobile in the vagina. They move from front to back, side to side and round and round. Non-pregnant, they tend to stay in the same neighborhood, but in pregnancy, the head's depth can bring the cervix front and center, or the head can come down while the cervix is still posterior (facing more towards the back of the vagina).

When we do a vaginal exam and find a cervix posterior, it means we feel the baby's head first and have to either reach around the head to find the cervical os or sometimes we "walk" the cervix up with our fingers.

One major thing a woman can do to bring her cervix more forward for an exam is to sit on her fists. I have women make a fist and then, keeping them upright, put them under her hips. That position almost always works wonders for finding a posterior cervix. Not always though.

When a woman is in labor, the uterus contracting brings the cervix forward - where it needs to be for the baby to come out. If a woman is having vaginal exams (or doing them herself), it's a pretty good indication of active labor, whether the cervix is anterior (nearer the front) or posterior. Anterior would signal active labor; posterior usually means there's some work still do to. Of course, there are always exceptions! But generally, this is the case.

Before labor, having an anterior or posterior labor has zero indication of anything. Your provider might say it's a great sign for it to be anterior, but I've seen many a posterior cervix in early labor bring a baby out a few hours after that exam. An anterior cervix can take its own sweet time dilating. Before active labor, I'd not give any credence to where the cervix is at all.

As far as I can tell, having the cervix move from posterior to anterior isn't any more work or cause any more pain during labor. Dilating is enough of an attention-getter!

One more point: If people keep their hands out of your vagina, they wouldn't know where your cervix is and it wouldn't matter one iota. The baby comes out. Really.

copied and pasted from a midwife blog

Oh yuk. Too much information.

Found that helpful lulumama about cervices! I'm still waiting...9 days overdue...[confused face]

have you tried some natural tips to help ripen the cervix?

sex, nipple stim? TBH...babies come when they ar ready, but you can help your cervix to get ready !!

it is soooooooooo disheartening though ! try and plan a little treat every day if you can, so even if you are not busy having a baby, you have something to look forward too !

Had a sweep at 41 weeks - apparently 2cm dilated and cervix soft - thought it was very painful - much more so than a smear - other people in waiting room carefully kept heads down when I came out!! Since then big blobs of clearish mucusy/jelly-like stuff have come out - what it that? No obvious contractions. (now 41+2)

I had a sweep at 41 weeks with number 3.
I was told it would be painful but I didn't feel a thing (possibly 2 previous pgs could have aided that and my lack of pelvic floor muscles!)

I was 2cm dilated and was told that I would be in labour soon. well a week later I was 4 cm but still had to be induced as my waters would not budge. 1hr and 24 min labour.

I do know of friends that had a sweep and were in labour within 24 hrs. Difficult to know if they would have been anyway.

had a sweep at 2cm, 7am mon morning, was having 'mild' (what hosp said!) and had ds on weds 4am...didn't hurt, just uncomfortable (as it is when someone has their hand up your fanjo )

mild contractions...forgot that bit!

poppynic..that is a show !

Thanks lulumama - that's not going to mean the baby is exposed to risk of GBS is it?

do you know, i am not sure, i would have said not,, the mucus plug does have a role in keeping things out of the cervix..but the waters and membranes, are also there to keep out infection..i would say that the waters going would mean you are would need to be checked out.....but maybe call the midwife, to be sure..but from what you have said, they might not be much help !!

I wouldn't worry, I had blobs of "show" for the two or three days before going into labour (gross). It hopefully means baby won't be long htough

Show can be very deceiving! I got it on a wednesday (week 38) got very excited and scared but nothing happened. then i got more on friday. labour eventually started sunday night and ds was born monday morning! But it does mean you're not too far off!

My dd was 13 days late. From 40 wks I had 4 sweeps. and 3 sessions of acupuncture. Also did all the usual - sex, curry, pineapple, raspberry leaf tea, nipple tweaking and walking. I took it easy in weeks 38 - 40, and I must have walked for miles. I reckon the acupuncture helped. The acupuncturist said it can speed things up and mine was only 6 hours and it was my 1st. My cervix was posterior and the 1st 3 sweeps did nothing and were mildly uncomfortable. The 4th on on the other hand....... Well it was really quite painful but only for a moment. Then I went to Brent Cross shopping centre for a couple of hours and started bleeding a bit. MW said it was normal and a good sign. By the following afternoon I was in labour and dd was born that night. Best of luck when it comes. The baby will come out, I promise!

Hot chilli con carne followed by an orgasm (not strraight after, had pudding first - far more important) then the next day by waters broke at lunch time.

Nothing with my second

Had a hot curry and orgasm the night before I went into labour with my third.

My friend was told by her midwife that blow jobs are ten times more effective than having sex due to the way the body ingests semen.

Lord, this is my first post on mumsnet - am I going to get struck off for mentioning oral sex?

i was told that raspberry tea or any tea with red berries is supposed to do the trick although i didn't have time to try was really worried about going over again and having to induced but my waters broke just over a week early whilst watching diy sos (try that it might work??) never did see how that turned out

I washed the kitchen floor, went for a swim and walked over a hill and back. Giving a blow job sounds like a lot less hassle (my first post too Doodledoo so we're in oral sex trouble together)

LOL!! you have to say worse than that !!

the prostoglandins in the semen are good for ripening the cervix, i tend to recommend the vaginal route ! as the semen gets directly onto the cervix and the orgasm you should have can help to stimulate contractions !

I know. I just came from this thread where they're discussing the size of their fanjos. Oral sex is really not a big deal.

Did you really fancy it at the end though? I just wanted to eat sushi and watch Curb Your Enthusisam.

i was really horny all the way through tend to go off afterwards, but dh is the other way so annoying

I heard that its about the spasms of an orgasm that help - not the semen. Worked for me without