Unrequested Sweep (longer than I thought it would be - sorry)

[Skimty]

Hi all.

DD is now 10 weeks old and all is well. However when I was pregnant she had an ectopic heart beat which was monitored by consultant foetal cardiologists. At my last appointment they cleared me for a home birth if I really wanted but then a transfer to hopsital to have baby checked by paediatrician.

My consultant at the hospital I was booked in to refused to write me off for a home birth and told me I needed to be continually monitored during labour (something which I knew increased the likelihood of intervention) It was only after a fight and the support of my midwife that I got to give birth in the MLu attached to the hospital.

So, bearing in mind he was fully aware of all my wishes I wonder what you think of the following:

AT 38+3 I went for aroutine check at the hospital. With DS my waters had leaked and i hadn't noticed until I arrived in hospital and I was especially paranoid that it would happen in this pregnancy again. I asked the MW to check my waters were intact. She said she would get the consultant. I heard them talking outside and he said somehting like 'She counts as term anyway'. Then he checked my waters (they were fine) and after he had done the VE he said I gave you a sweep to get things going.

DD wasn't born until two weeks later so it was obviously unsucessful but I'm still fuming about it. Do I have grounds for a complaint? I was so upset afterwards I couldn't drive for a while. I was really lukcy that DS (2) wasn't there as usual.

If I do have grounds for a complaint how do I go about it. I just can't get it out of my head.

Er - yes, you do. Medical procedures require informed consent, don't they? You didn't and would not have given yours.

Congrats on the birth, btw.

I would complain, it's a complete violation. I'm sure there are other people on here who know what the correct protocol is, but I would probably write the letter to the Head of Mid-wifery and copy in the head honcho of the Trust. You can probably find out their names on the hospital's website.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

Thanks.

I seems silly when I have such a beautiful daughter to show for it all but I felt so awful afterwards and still think about it!

you have my sympathy. how dare he do this to you without your consent and without so much as discussing the pros (if any) or cons.
you could have gone into labour within 48hrs!
yes i would complain. write to the cheif executive of the hospital where it happened, or do they have a 'patient liaison service'.
i hope you feel a bit better, try to focus on your beautiful family . x x

Yes, you do, no consent = unlawful. I think it's assault.

Similar thing happened to me. I complained in writing to the head of midwifery and chief exec of the hospital trust and got a full apology and reassurance that the midwife had been disciplined, it had been discussed and reviewed at a clinical meeting and procedures had been changed.

You could approach the hospital's Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) for support but personally I would write to the chief exec and medical director in your case.

Doah - of course PALS would be a good place to start. Once a complaint is received by them it has to be dealt with in a given timeframe.

Thanks. I know I could have gone into labour quickly afterwards. The following day was DS's settling day at nursery and I was up all night really scared that I would go into labour then I he'd ot be able to go. (As it was I actually had DD on his first proper day but at least it was when she wanted to come!)

I'm glad people think it's awful too. I've been wondering if I was over reacting. My friend who was looking after DS at teh time is Spanish and she seemed suprised that I was upset.

Sorry, the Spanish bit is because it happens all the time in Spain apparently

must be one of those cultural differences in healthcare, like Germans preferring injections, French suppositories and Brits pills. (Very Freudian.)

You have every right to feel distressed or angry or however you do feel about this. It's an assault. Just because it was carried out by someone with letters after his name at work doesn't make it any less serious. More so, in fact.

I do hope making a complaint leads to a swift and satisfactory response, as it did in my case. (It was Tommy's in London, btw.)

This happened to my friend and she felt very violated by it. She made a complaint I think, but can't remember the outcome. I will ask her and see if she will pop by to give you some advice on what she did.

I was given a sweep and wasn't even told I had been (just told I might get a show), it was only later that I realised what the registrar had done!