![]() It feels amazing to reach your cervix and feel the baby’s head behind just nudging your fingers! I’ve also known a couple of partner’s do the honours (much more gently than a midwife – more of a bit of inquisitive searching than an in depth examination), so don’t feel that you have to rely on a midwife if you are already confident in your body. If your midwife explains the procedure to you and you don’t much fancy it then why not do it yourself? If you squat on the loo you’ll be able to reach but you won’t hurt yourself because you’ll be in control. Personally, through my teaching I have noticed the biggest success rate with a combination of nipple stimulation (3xdaily for 1 hour and for 3 days on the trot), together with a stretch and sweep. Sex, of course, is the one you will most often hear about but if you can’t face that, then female orgasm alone is great (and it’s good for getting labour started too!)! Some people swear by acupuncture, others by osteopathy, and some by homeopathy. There is naturally occurring prostin (Synthetic prostin is used in inductions) in semen which has some effect on the neck of the womb. It really depends on the softness of your cervix. If you are not post-mature it may not have the desired effect. Sweeping the membranes can be quite uncomfortable. What does it feel like if anything? As I’m not even at my due date, what effect would a sweep have? What are the arguments for / against sweeps? The midwife would happily sweep my membranes for me tomorrow, but I know so little about this. ![]() My due date isn’t until the 5th and I’ve had 3 long bouts of pre labour (two over the past two days). I’m getting frustrated with having pre labour contractions. ![]() In summary, as a method of induction of labour, it is poor, but at the end of pregnancy, sweeping the membranes is a safe way of doubling chances of spontaneous labour over the next week It does make the vaginal examination more painful is associated with light vaginal bleeding and brings on irregular contractions not necessarily leading to the onset of labour. It is not associated with any increased risk of infection of the mother or baby, premature membrane rupture, forceps or caesarean section. The review found that overall the intervention is associated with a 24% increase in chance of delivering within 48 hours, a 46% increase in chance of delivering within a week and a 74% reduction in likelihood of going 2 weeks over dates. It brings about release of hormones and has been advocated as a ‘softer’ way of inducing labour. ![]() Membrane sweeping is performed during a vaginal examination & involves placing a finger just inside the cervix and making a circular, sweeping movement to separate the membranes from the cervix. The need for more than one membrane sweep is associated with less likelihood of spontaneous onset of labour.Membrane sweeping safe but of limited useĪ review of all the literature on sweeping of the membranes at the end of pregnancy was published in May’s British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. It has a high level of acceptability among patients and is highly recommended by them to other patients. Two in three women (65%) thought that membrane sweep helped them to labour, and over 80% would recommend it to other pregnant women despite 63% of women reporting moderate discomfort with the procedure.Ĭervical membrane sweep is associated with spontaneous onset of labour within 7 days in the majority of patients, more so in the presence of higher Bishop score and better quality sweep. Nine in ten women (91%) had previously heard of cervical membrane sweep. In the presence of a Bishop score greater than six, the rate of spontaneous labour was 97% in our patient cohort. Three quarters of both nulliparae (73%) and multipara (76%) delivered within 7 days of membrane sweep. A quarter of nulliparae (25%) and 18% of multipara had labour induction despite membrane sweep. Spontaneous labour occurred in 79% of women following membrane sweep. Postnatally, patient perception of the experience of membrane sweep was evaluated as well as their recommendation of the procedure for other women.Ī prospective multi-centre cohort study of women who had cervical membrane sweep at term was carried out which assesses labour and delivery outcomes as well as patient perceptions in women undergoing membrane sweep. This study is aimed at determining if cervical membrane sweep at term has an effect on duration of pregnancy and delivery outcome in an Irish population. There is no published data on obstetric outcomes following membrane sweep in an Irish obstetric population or any studies on patient perception/recommendation of membrane sweep in the international literature. Cervical membrane sweep is a mechanical method of cervical ripening at term gestation with the aim of avoiding prolonged pregnancy and reducing the need for labour induction for this indication.
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