Can an internal exam do more harm than good? 19 weeks

[llihl13]

I had some watery leakage yesterday and worried myself after Googling that it could be amniotic fluid so I went into triage and got checked out. They did an internal exam with a speculum, swabbed for infection and did the amniotic swab - came back fine. I'm now worrying myself by Googling AGAIN that having the internal with the swabs has done more harm than good because of the risk of infection.

As a FTM, I'm finding this whole pregnancy thing so anxiety inducing :( I'm now scared I'm going to bleed and/or get an infection and lose the baby because I was worrying unnecessarily about a bit of stupid discharge. Please be kind, I need some reassurance!

No the chances of it doing harm are very small. However the risk of not identifying if your waters have broken, particularly at 19 weeks, are much higher. The Drs/midwives will have weighed this up before advising the examination.

If you are struggling with anxiety please speak to your midwife about some extra support!

Hi
don’t worry, I had this done twice when I was pregnant. The third time and didn’t as was told not to come in and it actually turned out my hind waters had broken. I therefore had to be induced the same day as there was risk of infection past 48 hours. It is always better to get checked, speaking from first hand experience :)

@WonkyBricks @FTMaz thanks both for putting my mind at rest. I am cramping a bit now and not sure if there was a slight tinge when I wiped, is this normal? Just to add to the worry 😩

Hi,
I’m not sure I can’t remember with mine if I’m honest. If you’re worried just ring the maternity unit, they are always really helpful and they will gladly check you and baby :) don’t ever feel silly for ringing xxx