How much does a membrane sweep really hurt?

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys, I’m currently 36+1 and I have agreed to membrane sweeps at weeks 38, 39 and 40 as I want a VBAC. My 38 week midwife appointment is at 38+4 which is when I will have the sweep, if I don’t naturally go into labour before that (I’m guessing I won’t). Tbh I’m really scared because I’m not good at all with internal examinations. I’ve only had speculum exams before including one last week (which they tried but were unsuccessful as I was too scared) because of reduced movements. Anyway, are they as bad as speculum exams or worse? How much do they hurt? I feel like maybe I’ve made a mistake in choosing VBAC instead of another ELCS.. the only reason I chose VBAC is because maybe the recovery will be easier with a toddler but now I don’t know anymore. I’m more scared of the internal exams than the labour pain.

I’m a midwife - if you’re favourable and they can reach your cervix easily, a sweep will feel quite intense and strange but shouldn’t be painful and you might get a rush of heat up your body (a hormone surge) which means we know we’ve done a good one. If it is painful tell the midwife to stop and they will. Also if you don’t want one, then you absolutely can refuse and that’s totally your choice.

FYI I had sweeps with all my 4 pregnancies, sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t and it was really dependant on whether I was favourable and they could reach my cervix to do a good one and if so bingo, I went into labour that night! I always went overdue so was pretty desperate by then!

Having a sweep isn't obligatory OP. Especially not at 38 weeks !

I refused a sweep because the midwife hadn't even mentioned it, then rang at 9am on my due date and told me I needed one, without giving any reasoning.

I'd just finished washing the kitchen floor, sat down to relax, and this horrible woman phoned and started ordering me around 😠 so I told her no.

I went into labour naturally four days later so it was unnecessary anyway.

Go with your instinct OP. Don't assume your midwife knows better. Ask your GP for advice if you are unsure.

Ooo that’s interesting - I’m gingery brown and I had an endoscopy under sedation and was totally aware of everything, it was awful. Not as bad as childbirth though! It didn’t occur to me to ask for more.

You do not have to have a sweep or an induction or a vaginal exam. It is your choice.
You should absolutely not feel silly for not wanting a vaginal exam. It's your body.
On top of that, they are often routine rather than for any specific reason, and offer little or no benefit to you or your baby.
There are lots of other ways to assess progress that don't involve someone shoving their fingers in your vagina!

I've had 2. I didn't find them painful. Not really uncomfortable either. They didn't do anything and I still needed to be induced.

Not as much as giving birth

1st one hurt A LOT but was over in 10 seconds, but I lost my mucous plug and had a show so it was effective. Second one not at all and did diddly squat.

Why do you need a sweep at 38 weeks?

Just reporting back after mine, had it 38 weeks on dot, first time mum. Wasn't that bad, intense sensation but not very painful just odd. I was quite bloody after. Said I was already about 3cm dilated and could feel baby's head, and 4cm once she was done as she said she was able to stretch a bit. Over next 24 hours I think mucus plug was coming out in drabs, not sure I've lost it all. Otherwise it's it's now about 40 hours ago and no signs of labour. Had consultant appointment and she said its very unusual for a ftm to be walking around 4cm dilated not in labour so not sure what's going on 🤷‍♀️ .

But basically I found sweep unpleasant but ok, wouldn't have anxiety about repeating it.

@Babybaby2025 cervical dilation is a strange thing! Both times I’ve attended hospital in labour I’ve only been 1-2cm and not effaced but have given birth a few of hours later (zero to hero!). My friend (FTM) was walking round 3cm dilated until 41 weeks when she was induced. I hope it gets things moving for you though!

@heroinechic thanks, that must have been so frustrating for your friend! I've got an induction booked in 8 days, so I definitely won't reach that point, but I'm hoping to pop before then.

I won't lie, mine really hurt for some reason! I was 40+2, and actually shouted out loud hahaha smears don't bother me, but the sweep i found painful. I assume from the comments it's different for everyone as many seem to say it was just uncomfortable xx

Midwife offered a sweep at 38 weeks but I declined, if you’ve not even reached 40 weeks why start interfering and not try let nature take its course. I went into labour at 41 weeks and only at that point did they do a sweep whilst they was up there examining cervix, I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort but that could be because things had already started

Just to agree with PPs about vaginal exams. Not really necessary but this isn’t made clear. Once I realised after first birth I didn’t have any with two subsequent labours. So many things are routine and not always justified.

Unfortunately, most of the time, you do need to have vaginal examinations. If you're not a first timer mum and progressing well then you don't need them, but this isn't the case of the vast majority of first time deliveries.

Why would a FTM “need” them? They can always say no. If they refuse then the staff will need to base their plan of care around other things. They put too much weight on dilation anyway IMO!

Unless labour is rapid, which is unusual in first deliveries, then it is important to monitor progress to avoid a prolonged labour which can be dangerous for mum and baby. Obviously throughout time women were not examined during labours, so it is perfectly possible to deliver without this information, but it just makes things safer. Pre-modern medicine many women and babies died in labour, so declining things isn't without risk just because people have survived it in the past. Medical monitoring and interventions are often (although not always) useful to reduce risks to mother and baby. Of course you can decline, it just means the medical team has less information and therefore is less able to keep you and your baby safe. Most of the time you'll get away with this and it does mean you don't have to have the discomfort during the labour.

@Cosmos24 they can monitor the baby’s heart rate and your contractions - this will let them know if the baby is in distress and the frequency/strength of the contractions. Regular BP/temp etc checks on the mother give them an idea of how she’s coping, alongside observations of her pain levels/what she can feel happening. A VE is only a snapshot in time of what a cervix is doing, too many midwives rely on this to estimate how labour is progressing.

I’m probably biased as VE’s have only ever hindered me accessing proper health care rather than helped. I was assessed at 1-2cm as a FTM in a lot of pain with more frequent contractions than what is normal. I was left in a room to “see what happened” and the next time I saw a midwife (2 hrs later) I was 10cm and pushing - by which time I was told it was too late for gas and air after being refused it on arrival. Hadn’t planned on an unmedicated birth tbh.

With my recent birth I went from 4cm to baby in my arms within 25 minutes and only made it into the labour room with minutes to spare after being kept in triage. You let them do a VE and all of a sudden they don’t care about your history, pain levels, other symptoms of progression or what you can tell them you are experiencing.

It’s a personal choice but I won’t be accepting them again. Maybe it’ll force them to listen to me and the other physical signs instead!

Yeah definitely sounds like you don't need them with such speedy labours! Just a shame everyone's births aren't that quick!

But yes you are right that it's easy to get too focused on just one thing (ie more or less than 4cm), but it is a useful tool in the majority of labours. You can't safely fill every delivery suit room with women at 1-2cm as there aren't the resources for that, sadly.

I think the point I was trying to make was it isn't perhaps super helpful for the OP/other first time labourers to expect not to need them. They might be lucky and not need them, but it's not guaranteed and so could be distressing if they did need them and thought they were definitely not going to.

Thing is how do you know your baby wouldn't have come 2 days later without the sweep?

It's also not true that they 'have' to check how dilated you are internally OP. Yoj don't 'have' to have anyone do anytning to you you don't want or consent to.

Why would you have a sweep at 38 weeks when there are still another 2 weeks of growing left to go?

Uncomfortable but not awful. A mere tickle with a feather duster compared to the hideous gut crusher that is a syntocin drip which I had the pleasure of experiencing with both deliveries (the sweep didn't work). Successful VBAC in the end though so happily ever after.

The consultant midwife offered for me to have sweeps at weeks 38, 39 and 40 to increase my chance of having a VBAC without being induced (they said induction would be at 41 weeks if I hadn’t gone into labor naturally). I’m thinking to decline the 38 week sweep which is after 4 days at 38+4, but to take the 39 week one a week later if I haven’t gone into labor by then. Thank you so much guys for all your answers ❤️

@heroinechic i was the same with my second. Went from 1cm to 8cm in less than an hour, no one was looking at me and I even said to someone there is hardly any break between the contractions and was ignored. By the time they started to take me seriously i couldn’t even walk I was in so much pain and there was zero pain relief given. It was time to push soon after that.
People say oh you are lucky it was so quick but I disagree. The contractions were unbelievably strong from the start. I preferred my first labour which was slow.

I had one without consent when the midwife was breaking my waters during induction. My mum had gone in search of a coffee & sandwich for my husband, she heard me screaming in agony from the other end of the corridor. I would never have consented to another one had I had to give birth again, it felt like my insides were being ripped out.