To refuse a sweep or not?

[Monkeyandanimal]

I'm due Wednes and i know that i'll be offered a sweep next week if baby hasn't come. Has anyone refused a sweep? It sounds horrible to me, and as much an intervention as any other medical procedure. And can they prove that they work, seeing as women are overdue by the time they do them? I am considering saying no, even though i would hate to have to be induced (again). I was never offered sweeps with previous two births; DS 1 was induced at 40+10 and DS2 came a day early. I'm not that squeamish and seem to cope ok with pain, so its not those factors about the sweep that bother me...it just seems as wrong as a induction or ARM....

I had a sweep last Wednesday and it didn't work, although she did discover I was 2cm dialated (not that it has made a blind bit of difference)

I am at the mw again this afternoon and will be asking her to do another... I will have to be induced on Friday and I am desperately trying to avoid that. The sweep did not hurt at all, she did say they can hurt some people but injust felt a little discomfort.

I have heard they are successful for lots of women so at this stage I am clinging onto all hope.

Good luck with whatever you decide :)

Thanks for your reply Miserable; hope your baby comes soon so that you can stop being miserable and up the duff!

I would and have refused not just sweeps but all internals (and inductions or any interference for that matter).

I believe my sweep caused my waters to break prematurely, causing my baby to drop down in the wrong position, giving me a very painful and long back to back labour where he could not move easily into a better position to be born. I suffered a prolonged second stage, and though he eventually turned he was also registered as distressed and swallowed meconium. I had an assisted birth and blame the whole experience for triggering his autism predisposition.

2nd and 3rd births I had no interference at all, perfectly positioned babies (though one considerably overdue), very little pain and no autism.

I am still pg with my first but from what friends have experienced and the advice of my antenatal teacher, I would refuse. As starlight says,often they seem to start a chain reaction of intervention, all caused by forcing things to start unnaturally.
Though I may change my mind if I get very overdue and desperate...

Thanks Starlight, i really am thinking i'll refuse the sweep and hang on a bit longer with no intervention...though i'm not sure i'd refuse induction if i was the full two weeks over.

I am pregnant with DC2 and I was fully intending to refuse the sweep this time round. Not because it was bad last time but because it was first intervention of many that did absolutely nothing and, to be perfectly honest, the fewer people who stick their fingers up there better! By the time DD was born I think I had been examined, poked and proded by eveyone possible. I didn't like it one bit and none of it seem to help and I wanted to avoid it as much as possible this time.

However, I have actually just had the 1st sweep today and I have another one booked in for Wednesday. When it came down to it I have decided that even if there is a slim chance that having of the sweep will kick start a 'natural' labour then I will take it. I am provisionally booked for the induction on Saturday and the closer it is getting the more desperate I am feeling not to go through that again.

You don't have to decide about the sweep until you are overdue and even then you can cancel or refuse at anytime.

Induction is harder to refuse from my experience!

hmmm, decisions decisions! thanks for your input ladies, and good luck with your births!

I dunno. Induction is fairly easy to refuse if you refuse a sweep. Everyone kind of knows the score and is forewarned that you are 'one of those' and give up trying to persuade you otherwise ime.

It's pretty easy to refuse anyway. You just say 'no thanks, ain't happening, don't need to talk to a consultant about it, or anyone for that matter'. Midwife ticks a box to show she has followed protocol and everyone waits for labour to start.

I suppose what I mean is that I felt no pressure to have the sweep. It was offered and the midwife said that it works for some women but I felt like it was something the midwife was offering to do for me instead of it being expected.

For me personally I feel like there is a lot more pressure on inducing at 40+10 or 40+12. The pros and cons were never discussed, I was just given my date and time at the 40 week appointment and I am expected to turn up for it in the same way as I am for the antenatal appointments. When I tried to discuss my concerns with the midwife she just said that it would be all very different as this was DC2 and things would happen quicker and, anyway, that date was 2 weeks away and I probably wouldn't need it anyway. Hmmmmm.......now she is on holiday and saturday is approaching fast!

Honestly, I refused induction and it was no issue. There was a different issue though and the midwives were being difficult about it.

I went overdue, and then overdue some more. An hour after the midwife called me to say 'okay, you win, all pressure off', I went into labour.

Stress stalls labour. Hovering induction date imo stalls labour.

Send a letter cancelling your Sat induction and you'll increase your chances of going into labour before then.