membranes stripped (sweep)

[claire87]

how early can you get the sweep done? i have an appointment with midwife in 2 weeks when i will be 36 weeks and i really want to try it...i feel like i am ready now and i think my dates are wrong x

I think you've got no chance, sorry. Sweeps won't be done before 40 weeks, and in some places 41 weeks. The only way round it is to get your consultant to okay it, but at 36 weeks you're not full term yet. They won't listen to you saying their dates are wrong, they go by the dating scan. You wouldn't want to risk having a preemie baby for no reason surely?

I had a traumatic induction last time I was pg so my consultant has agreed to start sweeps at 38+3.

Why do you think your dates are wrong? It is possible, but you'd need to have a pretty strong case to persuade your MW/consultant to start intervention when (according to the best data they have) you're not even term yet. Labour will normally start when both mum and baby are ready for it - if you're dates are wrong then you may well go into labour sooner rather than later, but I wouldn't be trying to force the issue unless I was very sure I was overdue and I was very worried about going post-dates.

I'd try and sit back and make the most of your last few days/weeks baby free - at least you're unlikely to get to the position of being forced into an induction because your MW considers you 41 weeks and you think you're only 39...

i timed my periods down to the very day and i was trying for this baby so i knew my dates...and tey are saying i am 4 weeks behind what i think i am, i already have a 3 year old and i was the same with her i knew my dates and they were right down to the very day

My MW told me last week that NICE guidelines say that you can request a sweep after 38 weeks and she is happy to do them if requested after that. Keep meaning to look it up!

In what way were you timing you periods? Were you looking at when you ovulated?

Have you get the measurements they took in the dating scan to estimate your gestation? If you have the data and combine them with charts such as these you'd be able to see whether the measurements they took of your baby were still within the expected range for the gestation you think you were at that point - the further within the "normal" range you are for at least some measurements, the stronger your argument.

Was your 3 yr old a small baby? When she came out did she still have a lot of vernix or was she looking well cooked? How long were your mother's pregnancies?

4 weeks is quite a big discrepancy between LMP and scan. You'll need a pretty strong set of data to persuade them that you're 4 weeks further gone than the scan date suggested.

Jupiter118 - Just looked up the [[http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG070NICEGuideline.pdf NICE
Guidelines on Induction of Labour]] and, according to the information I have read, the midwife should offer information about membrane sweeping at the 38wk appointment, BUT a sweep should not be done until 40wks with nulliparous women (first pregnancies) and 41wks with nulliparous and parous women (first and subsequent pregnancies).

Claire87, if you have had a dating scan and subsequent anomaly scan, then I very much doubt that your dates could be as much as 4wks out - dating scans are usually accurate to +/- 1wk. On that basis (and the NICE guidelines on Induction of Labour) you are very unlikely to be given a sweep before 40wks. Unless there is a medical reason for attempting a pre-term induction, I doubt there would be any midwife/ consultant who would agree to a sweep at 36wks just because you feel ready - it is just to risky, especially for your baby.

too risky not to risky

If the dates are wrong, your baby will arrive early of it's EDD regardless of having a sweep or not. I have to say I think it's highly unlikely you will get a sweep, as other posters have said, your not even full term yet. You need to be engaged and your cervix needs to be 'ready'..and at 36 weeks I don't think it would be.

You could ask for another dating scan? But they don't really change dates at this stage.

It had a sweep (holy mother of god..arghh) yesterday...at 40w1d, the only reason I had one was due to the fact I'd already: lost my plug 10 days before, had contractors the weekend before and they stop, followed by cramps and back ache but nothing further was happening. I was 1-2 cm gone. Doctor suggested it not me.

Annoyingly baby will arrive when baby is ready..

Well your baby will come when it's ready anyway, regardless of the dates they give you. It's not about you feeling ready (sadly) but the baby being ready.

A sweep only works if you're about to go into labour anyway and you don't say anything that makes it sound like you're potentially overdue or nearing labour anyway. You're 34 weeks pregnant. I know the last bit drags but even if your dates are out slightly, you're not nearly overdue in the slightest.

It's unlikely that your scans are 4 weeks out, particularly if they've stuck to the same dates and nobody's mentioned you appearing big for dates.

Try to relax and enjoy this bit instead of wishing for a baby that will come when it's good and ready.

I thought I recognised your name.

I replied to you in January when you were 30 weeks and asking about how to bring labour on early.