Sex the night before a sweep?

[Maybemaybenot76]

Any reason not to? Will they know? 😯

Please tell me that’s not a regular issue?!

I did and every midwife and doctor I saw in the 2 weeks I was overdue told me to! It was the only time we did and the combo of the sex and sweep brought labour on a few hours later.

I didn't think after 12 hours if you are active and walking around that there would be much left!

@Maybemaybenot76 honestly OP in this kind of job, no one cares. they've seen it ALL. especially midwives, that job is not for the squeamish! no way could I do it.

Ah no don't, it's a bit grim to get a handful of your fellas spunk

@feralunderclass the semen mainly

Can't imagine a midwife caring even if they did notice.

After my first I kept shitting myself because of medication and the midwife looking after me (121 care as was in intensive care) said that she doesn't understand why they give that medication all the time as this always happens. I couldn't feel my legs she was having to clean me and the bed every couple of hours the poor woman

So yeah semen on a glove I dont think they will give a shit (excuse the pun) about

How is semen any more grim that vaginal fluid, excrement, blood and waters. All of which midwives deal with on a daily basis?!?

I didn't say I care. I answered ops question that yes we can tell

My word 😦 they certainly haven’t chosen the job because they don’t mind grime !! Their over riding thoughts will always be the safety and clinical side of things and providing sensitive care so that takes their mind off inevitable grime but hell they are certainly not immune to it!! A bit like when your caring for a play date child who is throwing up all over you, it’s hardly pleasant but your biggest concern regards is that poor child ok, what do you need to do to keep them safe and comfortable.
I wouldn’t do the deed literally just before a sweep but really wouldn’t stress too much if had forgotten either

That's a whole new level of ignorance on the midwife's part then (unless you mean the icu nurse (if in actual icu not maternity hdu where you wouldnt have both a midwife and nurse, as I wouldn't expect them to know necc)

The drug is given to control ongoing haemorrhage...the side effect is diarrhoea but yeah we give it to save lives not be an inconvenience

I'm quite surprised that any genuine midwife would be pearl-clutching about a tiny bit of semen. Especially when they have to get rid off poo when people are in labour

To be honest of the things they have to stress about they really wouldn’t be that bothered, they would probably assume you just didn’t know. It will far from be the worst part of their day! The woman who comes in with a face like thunder as clinic ia running 20 minutes late is another matter entirely. At the end of the day the midwife has done all those years of training and works incredibly hard because they want to do a job that makes makes mums and families feel supported through pregnancy and saves lives/reduces injury.
If a woman knowingly doesn’t care about being grimy or rude as thinks that is part of the midwives job then that is quite disrespectful, therefore as an expectant mother I always tried to be clean and polite. However on the other hand the last thing a midwife would want you worry about is involuntary pooing in labour, it’s something they are quite used to and are expecting and they want to do the job to support you, not for you to have to worry about things you have no control over.

I stand by what I said. There are lots of clinical jobs that don't involve attending births, but if you train in a field that specifically revolves around managing birth, you pretty much have to be OK with bodily fluids. Birth is messy (and almost always involves poo).

That doesn't mean you should be rude to your midwife or not wash for a month. But it does mean you have nothing to apologise for in having a sex life, fgs.

I doubt anybody would know but if you are going to have a sweep you are presumably nearly due. Do you really need to have penetrative sex at the moment?

I think you have to be caring and sensitive if you are a midwife and your over riding concern will be making that woman feel supported. Dealing with the involuntary messy side without fuss is part of that. A bit like if you choose to become a parent you are inevitably going to have to deal with some bodily fluids but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a nice day when your not changing nappies anymore.
Going back to the OPs original question, no it’s not something I would personally do literally a few hours before but it’s not a big deal either if she has as the midwife will just think the lady didn’t realise or may not even notice if she’s got a blocked nose

It might induce labor. Like the sweep. She wants to know if she should do it before or after the sweep.

@Gwlondon Personally would just wait until after, if sweep not until late in the afternoon the night before probably isn’t going to be noticeable

I’ve got lots of friends who are teachers and nursery nurses and you might assume they are totally chill with snotty noses, toilet accidents and vomiting children, I can tell you they are absolutely not 🤣 however they would never make a child feel bad about it and accept it is an unfortunately inevitable part of the job. Same with healthcare staff, they didn’t go into the job for that but they accept it as part and parcel of all the great bits of the job. As a mother of children at school/nursery or patient I’m very grateful for everything they do and have to put up with and not going to make the job any more grimy for them then it needs to be

This made me laugh! 😆 imagine going to a medical appointment where someone actually inserts their hand in your foof and you haven't washed 😭😂

@Destiny123 yeah was definitely a midwife I didn't even know what drug she was referring to I was on so many so actually glad you replied and explained what it was for. My birth was never really a explained to me I had to go back i to surgery after rmy csection as was haemorrhaging and I don't even know what they did or tbh anything. Was four years ago now and had the pandemic inbetween

@LBFseBrom What a strange question! Why do you think sex would be an issue? It’s actually advised to help bring on labour.

Sex definitely does help to bring on labour. The sperm has the same effect on the cervix as the stuff they put in when you're going to be induced.

If a woman knowingly doesn’t care about being grimy or rude as thinks that is part of the midwives job then that is quite disrespectful, therefore as an expectant mother I always tried to be clean and polite.

Oh definitely. No arguments from me on that point.

I found this in 'The Bump' online:
"A smaller 2014 study looked at whether vaginal intercourse could induce labor at term and similarly found no direct relationship. More recently, a larger 2019 study, using data sets from three trials and close to 1,500 women, also found that vaginal intercourse didn't help induce labor at term."

There are several articles that say the same and others, the opposite.

I can't imagine wanting penetrative sex so close to giving birth but at the end of the day, it is up to the individual.

Nobody at the clinic/hospital will know, presumably you will bathe before going.