Painful sweep

[mrpoopybutthole]

Im currently 41wk+4, so at yesterday's midwife appointment she offered a sweep. I accepted happily, understanding that it was going to be very uncomfortable, possibly bit painful. It was so painful that she couldn't do it. She had three attempts, then said she'd have to stop as she didn't want to force it and distress me or the baby too much. Each time I asked her to try again but as soon as she put her fingers in I was squirming and moving up the bed. I feel like such a failure I normally have quite a good pain threshold, not bothered about smear tests etc & other women talk about their sweeps like it wasn't painful at all.
Am I the only one who found a sweep unbearable? I'm now due to be induced on friday and terrified of any internal exams I'll have to have at the hospital.

I found it horrendous. I don't want one this time.

It was awful
I wished I'd had something to hold on to
And it didn't work

I had 2 with my 1st.
One didn't hurt at all the 2nd made me bleed.

With my 2nd baby I had one and omg the pain.. I wasn't impressed lol. I went into labour not long after that sweep.

I had a sweep with dc2 and it was the worst part of the entire birthing process.

Well glad it's not just me who's found it horrendous. Most annoying thing was that I got the pain but didn't even manage to get the actual sweep. she said she couldn't do it as it was proving too painful for me. Fingers crossed getting the induction started won't be as painful.

Hate to break it to you but I had 3 sweeps as part of my induction. Not sure if that's the same for everyone ? The initial one was to put the tablets in and then 2 more to check dilation

Why would you need sweeps for induction? Do you mean internal examinations? I know I'll need to have examinations and they'll need to insert the pessary

Yep really painful

Painful but over quickly

I found that what they had to do to put the tablet in was the same as when I'd had the sweep . Maybe it's just because my cervix wasn't playing ball . I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone so maybe others can advise if this was the case for them

Mine was painfully horrendous, I ended up bleeding with clots straight away and had to go straight to hospital and be induced. I ended up with a pph and emergency blood transfusions. The consultant could not rule out my sweep as the cause. I won’t be having another (if I have another baby).

It’s a big fat NO THANK YOU from me.. I felt like I’d been assaulted and it hurt far more than it should. I wouldn’t ever tell anyone it was ok. I’ve birthed 4 back to back babies, two with no real pain relief and I still squirm when I think of that sweep.

Arghh reading this just made me terrified! Am I right in thinking I can refuse a sweep if it's offered? I'm 24 weeks, sorry to hear about how painful u ladies found it. The only comparison I have is when going through a miscarriage a nurse put a pessary in and I wanted to kick her right in the face, she didn't even warn it'd be uncomfortable, let alone agony, bitch 👊🏼

Yes you can certainly refuse
I will if I have another baby

@rainbow1982 you can refuse any medical treatment you are offered.

Great thankyou, I think because mine is a high risk pregnancy I'm a little nervous of 'going against the grain' but I certainly do not want a sweep, or to be stuck on my back in labour, or for them to cut the cord the second the baby is out, is that something I can request?

I had one as part of my induction to bring on labour quickly as I had preeclampsia and it was utterly horrendous. The pain was off the scale. I felt really assaulted after it and had not been warned at all.

I felt violated after my first sweep with DC1 but then the actual induction process inc multiple internals, pessaries/tablets etc were an absolute breeze, still mildly uncomfortable but nothing compared to the first sweep.

rainbow1982 - You can absolutely refuse a sweep. They are offered in the hope that they will kick start labour, but "no, thank you" is a perfectly reasonable response!

As for being on your back, you should always be able to choose to labour however you feel comfortable. I believe if they have to monitor baby's heartbeat more closely (or continually), you may have to be on the bed. However, thus wasn't my experience so I can't be sure.

When you write your birth plan, there will be a section to specify that you would prefer delayed cord clamping. Your midwife will double check with you just before delivery!

In short - your birth, your choice!

And delayed cord clamping is now considered best practice and is in the nice guidelines. Still doesn't hurt to ask for it.

I had a sweep with my first it was horrendous! There was a student midwife who tried 3 times and then the actual midwife tried 3 times and it did absolutely nothing bar make me cry in pain. I actually refused one with my second because I remembered the discomfort way more than the actual giving birth.

Hope it all went ok op?