Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Would you have a sweep at 39+1?

75 replies

Comps83 · 12/12/2019 10:23

I’ve been offered a sweep next Wednesday when I will have just clocked over to 39 weeks
I’m very undecided
Most people I’ve asked have said they would wait until after the due date
I’m not sure I want any intervention before the actual due date and there are no problems with baby or myself
DH would like me to give it a try but I know it’s just because he’s bored of waiting and hopes to still be able to have an Xmas day if he comes early
What would you do? I have no other children and I’m not at all bothered about missing Xmas this year if it means he comes naturally when he’s meant to ( obvs I will accept intervention when he overdue)

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

fonxey · 17/12/2019 20:46

I would have bit only cos by 38 weeks I'd really had enough, lol.

Anyway i have had one this Monday which i asked for (originally they wanted to wait until next Monday but i would be 41+4 by then such i thought a bit late and if i have one now and it didn't work i will have time to try again).

Anyway, it wasn't too bad. Obviously everyone experiences this differently. It isn't comfortable but i just breathed through it and it was fine. I imagine labour will be worse.

Anyway, it seems to have sent me into some kind of labour but not much. Just vaguely crampy and uncomfortable but not in pain. Belly tightening more than it was before. She said i was already 2cm dilated.

So i reckon had i waited might have progressed to this stage at some point anyway but maybe the sweep has just sped it up by a day? Who knows, results inconclusive!

Original poster

Comps83 · 18/12/2019 11:37

Luckily it was yet another Different midwife who said she didn’t see the point or any positives in doing it early so I’m going back on Monday, which is still early but I’m giving him a further 5 days incubating which can’t be a bad thing . She said this front of Dh too which made me feel Pretty vindicated

OP posts:

Original poster

Comps83 · 18/12/2019 11:44

Induction also booked for New Year’s Eve ! Hopefully won’t be needed

OP posts:

Dec19baby · 18/12/2019 12:57

I'm glad you're feeling better about it!! I agree that there's no need for anything to be done early. Babies need whatever time they need! And hope your husband is more on board now with waiting lol

aliensprig · 18/12/2019 16:35

My baby is "measuring big" on the 95th centile and I'm still not going to agree to sweeps/induction before my due date (31st)! The NHS is too willing to medicalise everything to the point of ridiculous. Our bodies are designed to have babies ffs!

Dec19baby · 18/12/2019 23:00

Couldn't agree more with you @aliensprig. NICE guidelines do not recommend inducing just for big babies, taking out diabetes etc. Since learning about labour more and more, it very much feels like the NHS is too induction happy, for times when women would probably go into spontaneous labour anyway.

RockingAroundTheXMasTree · 18/12/2019 23:02

I wouldn’t unless there was an actual medical need for it.

pollysproggle · 19/12/2019 09:42

@Dec19baby @aliensprig
That's great until your baby gets stuck for 5 minutes like mine did and you end up split in two to get his shoulders out with permanent damage to your spine.
It's fine if you don't want intervention but if you do you should be listened to...

Piixxiiee · 19/12/2019 09:45

Personally I would. I did with my second, no big deal and I'm certain it started something off. I was 12 days over due with my first and had to go in to hospital and then were planning to induce. Rather have a sweep.

Dec19baby · 19/12/2019 09:48

Absolutely no one said to not listen to the woman. That's actually my exact point. There's way too much of this booking induction dates without even actually having a full blown conversation with the woman about what it is, risks and benefits. How many woman get "booked in for a sweep" but they haven't actually asked for it or even know if they want it. Nothing should be done without the woman's explicit consent. That's the issue.
So don't imply that I'm saying everyone who gets intervention is wrong, coz you know that's absolutely not what I ever said. And language like "ripped in two" doesn't help anyone, not yourself, nor others like me who were petrified of labour.

pollysproggle · 19/12/2019 10:02

Well obviously I've not experienced being booked in for something I didn't need or ask for. I've experienced not getting what I ask for and getting the advice you're giving 'woman's bodies are built for labour etc' and bloody NICE guild lines.
Yes my body was built for labour absolutely but I could have done with a bit of intervention which isn't dished out as freely as you seem to think.
I know one woman who was induced and she had to go through hoops to get the induction. I've never heard of anyone having a sweep when they didn't want one...it's quite intrusive.

Split in two is a fact of what happened, sorry if that offends. Should birth experiences be kept quiet unless they're perfect?

SirVixofVixHall · 19/12/2019 10:04

My view is that sweeps only “work” if you are starting the labour process anyway. Otherwise they are just painful and invasive.

SirVixofVixHall · 19/12/2019 10:09

Oh and I had one when I didn’t want one. I wasn’t told that was what she was about to do, I had been told she was going to insert a pessary. (Induction due to pre eclampsia) .it was very painful, to the point it made me cry and my husband had to ask her to stop -I had told her she was really hurting me and she still had not stopped !I was shocked and upset , I felt assaulted . I would not have agreed to a sweep .

Nat6999 · 19/12/2019 10:59

I had a sweep at 37 weeks, it was agony & didn't change anything, the induction failed as well resulting in emcs. Unless there is a medical reason like placenta failing or pre eclampsia, I would leave well alone & let nature take it's course. You won't be pregnant forever & don't bank on getting a bed for induction on NYE, chances are you will have to wait at least another day due to staffing levels

Dec19baby · 19/12/2019 11:03

Plenty of people have sweeps without being asked if it's what they want, or being explained the risks Vs benefits. Consent isn't just about being given yes or no as answers, it's about being informed before you can give a yes or no.
And you may brush off "bloody NICE guidelines" but they are there for recommendations for healthcare professionals from labour to chest pain to cancer. They're not made up just for the sake of it. They're based on clinical facts and evidence available at the time. So it's important that we all know this surely. We need all the help we can get with any healthcare issue.

And no, again, you're putting words in my month. Where did I say only "perfect" stories allowed? Intervention is always going to be needed in some cases, obviously. And I wasn't taking about emergency interventions, which sounds like yours was (baby stuck in the birthing moment). Sweeps and induction for no medical reasons are usually not emergencies. I'm sorry you had that experience, but it's how people put it across that make people so terrified of giving birth. Healthcare professionals included.

pollysproggle · 19/12/2019 11:20

My experience and for most woman who are approaching full term or going over due is they're happy to have or try anything to get labour going.
A sweep isn't pretty but it's worth a go and preferred to a hospital induction, at least with a sweep or two that works there's still hope of a natural birth with no intervention which most woman want.
There are no real risks to having a sweep to you or baby. It either works or doesn't.

@Dec19baby
My first post was my annoyance at not being listened to at all about my big baby. You replied with generic NICE guidelines. That's not supporting mothers concerns being listened to. It's supporting me not being listened to because NICE guidelines say so...

Dec19baby · 19/12/2019 11:31

Well, I get your annoyance to a point. The reason I quoted the guidelines is because people are being told you need to be induced because of a big baby, and yet, that's clinically NOT what is being recommended. So people are being slightly mislead into things they maybe don't need to be. That's all I was saying. Either way, the whole birthing process to me is flawed coz women aren't being listened to at every stage, even though it's our bodies. That's what is really frustrating. And I only realised this once I've come closer to labour and educated myself. I was pretty naive before this whole situation! And I work in healthcare!

There are risks/cons to every procedure, including a sweep. It's invasive, it can be painful, and it's an intervention to start induction ("natural" induction, if you want to think of it that way), that's a fact. So if people aren't told this then how can we make a decision on it? I'm expecting to get the whole sweep talk again on Monday when I have my 40 week appointment.

On another note, it's good to see so many babies being born across a few threads right now. Fingers crossed those of us approaching 40/41 weeks are soon following! Husband is convinced it'll be Christmas Day for us, hoping not!

aliensprig · 19/12/2019 12:34

@pollysproggle sorry you had that experience, that must have been awful for you. No one is saying you shouldn't be listened to, and yes in your case intervention was necessary. That being said, instances like those are few and far between - most people are being offered or being forced into interventions they don't need. At 26 weeks I was told I should think about booking an induction for my due date! It isn't fair to scare heavily pregnant women with comments like "split in two." Quite frankly, at almost 39 weeks, I don't need that shit right now.

aliensprig · 19/12/2019 12:37

@Dec19baby I'm expecting sweeps and induction talk on Monday at my consultant appointment, so that'll be a fun day for both of us! Fingers crossed we both get our little arrivals before next Wednesday 🤞

Dec19baby · 19/12/2019 12:40

Yep, I had the talk with a consultant as well. I haven't seen one before coz I'm low risk, I think my MW thought it would help with my anxiety.. nope. Made me worse lol
No need for induction talk at this stage. I've still got 2 and a bit weeks before I'm 42 weeks! But yes! Very hopeful that we both come back here soon with babies instead of pregnant bellies!

pollysproggle · 19/12/2019 13:21

Good luck to you both- I hope your birth experiences go by the book.

@aliensprig FYI 'split in two' is actually the PG version of what actually happened. It's the nicest way to put it quite frankly.

Dec19baby · 19/12/2019 13:46

There is no by the book birth. Everyone's is different. That's the point. Felt that was sarcasm. Maybe it's not and I'm just touchy (not unlikely given my hormones!).
I hope my birth is a positive one, whatever happens.

Selfsettling3 · 19/12/2019 13:52

I had a sweep at 36+6 at the suggestion of the consultant. I was desperate to avoid a c section booked at 39 weeks but I had turned down an induction at 38 weeks.

If it’s is healthy pregnancy and no reason to rush the process then I wouldn’t have a sweep. Most countries don’t do them as they carry risks of artificial breaking waters and introducing infections and there is no evidence that they work.

pollysproggle · 19/12/2019 13:58

No not sarcasm at all, I'll rephrase. I hope they're positive. My first birth was great, natural birth just gas air. I was so happy with it my second was booked in as a home birth so I definitely know and agree that having little intervention is good and not needed all the time. It isn't my experience for myself or anyone I know to have inductions booked and unwanted sweeps before you're at least a week overdue.
It was only towards the end of the pregnancy I knew dc was big and worried about giving birth at home so went to the birthing suite. No one, doctors or midwives seemed to care about my concerns perhaps because they were following guidelines- this is my point.
I still had another natural birth with just gas and air but I shouldn't have.

Goldenmother · 20/12/2019 23:11

I ask for a sweep just over -0 days before my due date as the mucus plug was coming away I would get a jelly like stuff in my underwear so when I had my antinatal appointment I ask for a sweep they gave me one on. Thursday and my son was born on Sunday 5 days early weighting a healthy 8lb 3oz I would definitely have a sweep again

Flip

1 2 3