Established Labour and Refusing Internal.Exams

[FirstTimeBumps]

This post is out of sheer curiosity as it came up on a thread the other day and I wondered what would likely happen in he following situation. I reiterate I am nowhere even near my due date before anyone decides to have me hung drawn and quartered for this...

I know lots of women decline internal exams during labour because all it tells you is where you are at that moment and gives no indication of how much longer labour will go on for etc. Given lots of trusts are currently only allowing birth partner's when you're deemed to be in established labour, how are they to establish established labour if you decline examination?

When I was in labour I wasn’t offered any examines at all due to it being a MLU and very hands off. They apparently could tell I wasn’t in established labour because I could manage the pain without pain relief and I could talk through contractions... and kept sending me home. I was too naive to argue and due to not being in too much pain thought they were right.

When I rocked up at the hospital for an induction the next day I was 10cm and they said I could have had the baby in the car park. If I ever have more kids... I’ll be demanding an internal exam. I don’t know how a midwife can tell I’m not in established labour over the phone!

I had my third on Saturday.

They said they would determine if you were in ‘active labour’ by the way you’re handling things not just a VE.

As it happens I went in, in a lot of contraction pain but I guess managing it. I was so sure I was like 4/5cm but had an internal and was only 2cm!! No way would they have sent DH out as he was helping me beyond what they could.

I was going to be induced yesterday if she hadn’t have come. Situation would have been to do the induction (ARm or whatever) and he could come in once in active labour. So i don’t know if they would have them not let him in when I was at 2cm? I bloody needed him that’s all I can say! Luckily I went from 2-6/7cm fairly quickly

The problem with that is that every woman handles labour differently. I was told I was not in active labour and they would give the consultant led ward (where I was due to have my high risk baby) a ping. They only kept me in because I had cholestasis and they said they'd do a quick trace. My daughter was born 18 minutes after that statement was made, on the antenatal ward.