We are nearly there - I am 37 and a half weeks now and enjoying the last few weeks of pregnancy.
I am booked in for a sweep this Friday 23rd and then if that doesn’t work, will be induced on Thursday 29th. I just wondered how successful your sweeps have been so early in pregnancy (and this is our first) and when induced, has it gone on for days and days? Feeling slightly nervous about it all. I would love to avoid an emergency c-section if possible but recognise that I need to be open-minded and a lot of it will be out of my control.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts xx
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Gempuddleduck
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Try not to worry about the sweep- the midwife/Dr will explain all that is happening - just take it a step at a time Thinking of you and wishing you well for the future
Hello, I don't have a good experience of it all, the sweep didn't work for me even if the midwife thought I was favourable. But I know some for who it worked. I also had to be induced as I was getting late but it wasn't a good experience for me simply because they were so busy at the hospital that they left me for days suffering with contractions. I escape the C-section but had a forceps delivery at the end. However baby is all good and doing very well now! Much better than me. All I want to say is whatever happens to you it will be fine. Good luck xx
I’m not sure about sweeps, I’m afraid, but my step-sister was induced last month at 38 weeks, had quite a positive experience and from admission to holding baby was just under 24 hours.
Best of luck for the birth and your beautiful little one. xxx
I has sweeps in my 1st pregnancy, my personal experience is they were a waste of time. I am refusing them this time round...but maybe they work for some??
Sweep at 40 weeks and nada. Induction at 40+5 and nada. The baby didn't want to budge!! After 3 pessaries and no dilation and no contractions I requested a c section and, although it was the opposite of what I'd wanted it wasn't an emergency situation and it was a really positive experience. The most important thing is not having everything going according to your birthing plan, but feeling you're being listened to and your wishes are being respected. Hope it all goes smoothly!!
Can I ask if there is a medical reason why they want to do a sweep so early on and not wait and see what happens till you are actually 40 or 41 weeks?
I haven’t had a sweep but as far as I know they can only be done if your cervix is already softening otherwise they simply cannot get in. If so you could wonder if your body is already prepping on its own and a sweep can have a risk of waters breaking meaning birth has to happen within 48hr and you are more on the clock and small risk of infection. I would ask for risks and benefits and why they want to do it and what happens if you don’t. It very much is your decision by the way so don’t feel pressured into it. I know these days they can offer it from 39 weeks I belief but if there is no medical reason to get it started, you can decline and just let nature happen. I hear so much where they start these things early on yet full term can be up to 42 weeks so sometimes your body and baby are just not ready yet and allowing time is much better than forcing induction. Unless there is a medical reason, for example for me it was stagnation of growth of the baby and wouldn’t want to risk a higher chance of still birth so we went ahead at 39 weeks with induction. But if that wasn’t the case I already said I would refuse a sweep till 41+4 days to allow nature do it’s thing. But that was my opinion. Things can change and just speak to your midwife and ask for pro’s and con’s and if not doing it, what the consequence will be. That way you can decide what you want to do. Remember your body, your baby, your birth! You are allowed to say no. (If safe to do so of course).
I had by baby 3 weeks ago after being induced - went for a sweep on my due date, but wasn’t dilated at all, so midwife couldn’t perform one. Two days later I was admitted to the ante natal ward for induction. Started off with the pessary which caused me to have hyper contractions, meaning I was having lots close together, but they weren’t strong enough to be doing anything positive. Had the pessary removed and they tried using dilapan rods instead, which they insert into the cervix with the hope they will expand and cause the cervix to dilate enough for them to then break your waters. These also didn’t work - they tried them twice but I only got to 1cm dilated, which wasn’t enough. Then tried the pessary again. This time it triggered fairly tegular contractions and caused my waters to break without further intervention. However, although the contractions were fairly strong, they never got to the 3 in 10 minutes needed to be considered in active labour and transferred to Labour ward. Instead I had to wait about 24 hours from when my waters broke, having contractions about every 5-10 minutes until there was space for me on the Labour ward and was then transferred and put in the hormone drip to get Labour progressing. I asked for an epidural before I went on the drip as by then I hadn’t slept for 3 nights - ante natal ward is busy and noisy and once I started having contractions they kept me awake too. I also heard the trip can make contractions come in intensely very quickly and is often considered to be more painful than a non-induced labour. Epidural worked wonders- I was worried that I wouldn’t know when to push being numb, but they allowed it to wear off just enough for me to feel contractions coming and directed me how to push. Baby was born after about one hour and a half of pushing and without any further interventions.
On the whole I consider it to be a positive experience- I was able to give birth without instruments or c-section ( I was offered a c-section twice when the induction attempts initially failed, but after much deliberation, decided against) I just wish I had been prepared for how long the whole process would take - I gave birth five days after I was admitted for the induction and had no idea it could take that long. I was on the ante natal ward with other women who had to wait even longer because even though the induction attempts worked for them and they were dilated enough for doctors to break their waters, because they weren’t in active labour they weren’t a priority and had to wait ages for a room on the labour ward. I think if you go in mentally prepared for a wait then that makes things somewhat easier.
I’d also add that on the ante natal ward I was on, they monitor babies heartbeat every six hours and I found that really reassuring. I’m sure if I’d been waiting at home to go into labour naturally I would have been obsessing over movements and feeling very anxious- I was anxious throughout my pregnancy, despite it being relatively smooth and free of complications
I hope all goes smoothly and quickly for you, but I think it’s good to be prepared for a long process.
I had both sweep and induction on my ivf daughter born in august the sweep done nothing for me but I knew it wouldn’t as on my first daughter I had 4 and they didn’t work, I went in for injunction on the 31st July she was born the morning of the 2nd the pessary gave me lots of pains which then they took it out to examine me and they could take me to labour ward to break my waters as soon as I got to 1cm and put me on a drip but I had a lovely labour and all went smoothly I was home 3 hours after giving birth to her, I didn’t like the pessarie but had a really nice labour everyone is different tho but hopefully it all goes smoothly for you all the best xx
Hey, not long to go now & very exciting for you. No matter how they start the labour it’s all so worth it when you get to hold your beautiful baby. Try not to worry about the sweeps and any interventions. The medical teams are amazing & will talk you through everything as you go & any choices you have to make. They were amazing with us and gave us a good explanation as to why each thing was needed. If you are not happy with anything you can always ask what the alternatives are so you can make an informed decision throughout.x Also, everyone’s time line is completely different so pack for a few days and see how you go. ( a pack of maternity disposable pants are really used to pack ) Good luck.x
hey Gemma. I’ve had experiences of both of these in the last couple of weeks. I had a sweep at 39 weeks…it was fine, a bit uncomfortable but nothing to write home about. I then also had an induction at 39+3. Pessary was inserted on Saturday night at 8pm. Contractions started the following morning at approx 5am, waters broke at 7.30 am and he was here by 3pm. Completely naturally, no instruments and no pain relief (mainly cos I got to the hospital too late).
Like you, I thought that induction would make me more likely to have the oxytocin drip/c sect but for me it was a really positive experience! I would do the same again if we’re ever lucky enough to have another!
Good luck over the next couple of weeks! Hopefully your experience will be positive, whatever happens!
Thank you all so much for your replies! By the sounds of it - I’ve just got to go in with an open mind and expect to be there a while! I’ll let you all know how it goes - keep your fingers crossed for me xxxx
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