Refusing sweeps

[fhdl34]

I'm currently 38+4 and am under shared care (consultant and midwife). I've been told by hospital I'll now be considered like a "normal" pregnancy and left to start naturally and offered an induction if I get to 40+12.
In those circumstances, do you always get offered sweeps from 40 weeks (as I've been led to believe) and, can midwives get funny if you refuse them? I do get on really well with my midwife, she's been very supportive of my preference for a natural birth despite the hospital advising the complete opposite once I get into labour, I just don't really want to have any sweeps.

My experience has always been that I;ve had to request sweeps, I've never been offered one despite going over a week over with both. I don't think they'l get funny at all.

i refused sweep, my midwife was fine. but then after one week overdue i was VERY fed up and then requested one. my midwife was more funny about that, because i'd been so adamant about not having one! anyway it didn't work, but it did help prepare me for the numerous internal procedures and examinations involved in teh horrible induction i later underwent

I'd refuse them this time. This is DC3 and I don't anticipate any problems at all. Everyone has different opinions and I don't sweeps are one which anyone gets overly het up about. If you are at 40+12 they are likely to start talking chemical induction more than sweeps - sweeps tend to be something offered earlier, and in my experience if the women want to get things going rather than the midwives.

With DC1 I just took everything suggested. I can't blame the medical professionals for that, all women are different and they aren't psychic. With DC2 I said at the outset I wanted as few internal exams as possible and they completely respected that.

Sorry I meant that this is DC3 and I don't anticipate any problems refusing sweeps...not I don't anticipate any problems full stop...don't think 2 previous pregnancies guarantees that!!

That's good then, I can relax a bit about it now then. I'm still feeling really comfortable in pregnancy (although my braxton hicks/tightenings are getting stronger and more uncomfortable/tighter when I get them but that's temporary when it happens) so am certainly not desperate to get the baby out. I suppose I feel like because I'm still comfortable, I feel like baby will be really late because it doesn't feel like it's running out of room. I have no basis for this theory, I just have too much time on my hands for thinking :)