what actually happens at a sweep

[keely027]

hi first baby and approaching 40 weeks on monday. what in detail does a sweep entail so i am not freaked out on the table. do you go to mw or do they come to you? I figured they pop their hand up but what are they trying to feel for? etc

I'm in the same position expecting to have a sweap on Weds. I think the midwife basically agitates the membrane at the top of you cervix to get things going. I've heard it can be 'uncomfortable' but friends tell me it's not that bad. Hope someone will be along to advise in a minute.

fingers crossed x or should i say legs crossed :(

That's about right... I would liken it to having a smear, but it takes a bit longer.

Also you need to be at least 1cm dilated for MW to be able to do anything. Sweep didn't happen with my first for this reason. Worked like a charm 2nd baby though.

Good luck!

Sorry, it was not like a smear for me. I think mainly because my LO was not near ready to come into the world.
The top part of the midwives finger goes around the cervix. If you are not 1 cm dilated (I was not), it is really painful. However not quite like giving birth. The midwife explained as "losening the seal". So that should give you an idea.
I know it works for lots of people, just did nothing for me.

I say the same as the above poster. It is fairly uncomfortable but nothing in the same league as labour. It also did nothing for me but I had it at 37 weeks as attempt to avoid induction. It is unpleasant and kind of feels like a smear that covers more surface area and last longer, For me I found it odd but not in any way unbearable. I would say though when compared to all the indignities we go through to get a baby in our arms it is nothing!

I had one at 38 weeks during a consultant appointment. She asked to examine me, it bloody hurt and then she said, "oh I've just done a sweep" I'm still pissed off she didn't ask for permission, but i know she did it as otherwise I'd be induced. In the end it worked in that my waters broke overnight, but nothing else happened and I was still induced.

I had one for dc4 at 40+5. Was fine, slightly uncomfortable. Consultant accidentally broke my waters, so I dashed home and dc4 born about 4 hours later. So it worked well for me!

I had one with DC2 (he's now 9 so things may have changed). It was as if the midwife was lifting me off the bed by my fanjo. I was trying to keep my bum on the bed which took my mind off things.
Anyway that was at about 7.30pm and DS2 arrived at 3.30am.

I had three sweeps with dc1.one at 40 weeks with my me- which I barely felt a thing. The other two as I was admitted for induction prior to two pessaries. The mw was an 'old pro' to be polite, and I was like a cat clinging to the ceiling!! Not painful but very uncomfortable I could feel her having a good prod up there was bareable but made my eyes water. Still didn't work mind, this time I'll just try a sweep once if I'm over

Not me I meant mw silly phone!!

I had a few sweeps in the end...

1st one was at the MW's office at 40 weeks, baby wasn't fully engaged but apparently I was 1cm at the opening of my cervix but not all the way through and my cervix was about 2cms in length still. The MW found my cervix easily and gave me the sweep and honestly I barely felt a thing, it wasn't even as uncomfortable as a smear.

2nd one was with a Dr at the MDAU. I'd gone in with some back pain and as I was 41 weeks so she offered me a stretch and sweep. She told me she could do it or the MW could do it. She told me it'd bloody hurt if she did it but it'd do the job . She did it in 3 stages with a break between each stage. 1st stage was to have a feel and warm me up ie do what me community MW had done at 40wks. I was still at the same stage 1cm on opening and 2cms in length and baby still not fully engaged. 2nd stage was to use her fingers to stretch open my cervix enough to get 2 fingers all the way through. This was uncomfortable but didn't hurt. 3rd stage was to get her fingers back inside my cervix and to sweep the membranes. She seemed disappointed that it hadn't made me cry and she did insist I'd need to hold someone's hand but it wasn't that bad at all. I had to stay laying down for 20 minutes after as I did feel a bit light headed and I did bleed for a few days after.

3rd one was with a MW at the MDAU at 42 weeks. I my cervix was still open all the way through but had gone from 2cms dilated (thanks to the Drs S&S) back to 1.5cms. So the Dr's S&S hadn't worked. MW did similar to the first sweep and again not even uncomfortable and again didn't work.

The next day I went in for induction and had lots of internals / sweeps over the next two days and they became painful for me once the baby's head was fully engaged and labour started establishing. I do think that the earlier ones hadn't been too bad because I'd been used to having internals, smears and cervical treatments so I know what it feels like. It is a weird feeling having your cervix fiddled with, for me it's the kind of "I want to throw up" feeling that I'd imagine men would get having something down the end of their willies, weird and not nice but not always painful.

Sorry for the essay, remember if you don't want one then you don't have to have one and they don't always work especially if your body and your baby aren't ready.

thanks for all the responses. good to know the truth before diving into something

I've just found out that what I've described as my 2nd S&S is not the norm so please ignore it.