It pinches, it’s uncomfortable, and every time it lead to cramping I thought had to be labor but was not. I had my membranes swept not once, not twice, but *four times* as the 42 week mark crept up and I checked natural induction methods off my extensive list. I would recommend waiting until your due date or later to make sure the baby is really ready to come out! Maygen, from Sneakers & Lipstick I think 39 weeks may have been too early for the sweeping to be effective. I didn’t have the baby until 10 days later, though, so it didn’t work to speed things up at all. I didn’t find it to be any more uncomfortable than a regular cervical exam – really not bad! My doctor swept my membranes with my first baby at 39 weeks. This is something, as a mom to another mom I would not recommend without informed consent and knowing that it doesn’t always result in a baby being born 14 hours later, like in my scenario. It was not a comfortable experience and definitely felt yuck, and weird as she ran her finger to separate the membranes of the amniotic sac. My cervix still clamps up when I think of the pain of having the membrane swept. We needed to convince this baby to be born or to stay put for a few more days.

So, I begged my midwife to consider a sweep despite my hesitations for any interventions. I had spent the past few days in early labor without much progression and my husband needed to go to back to work unless a baby was going to be born. The morning my daughter was born, I had a membrane sweep. The same doctor delivered my baby at 6:08am the next day, less than 24 hours after doing the membrane sweep.īaby may have still decided to come on her own but I’m glad the sweep seemed to work and that I avoided induction. I had contractions off and on all that afternoon and real labor kicked off just after midnight. It was still quite painful but I let her do as much as she could. It was a last ditch effort on a Friday to try to get things moving before opting for chemical induction the following Monday if baby still refused to come. I must be a glutton for punishment as I let them do another sweep at 40 + 2. The doctor encouraged me to breathe through it but it felt rough and exactly like what it is, having someone’s fingers jabbed up where they aren’t supposed to be. It was extremely uncomfortable, probably made worse by the fact that I waited 40 minutes for the doctor to come in and had a pretty full bladder by the time they did it. I had a sweep done at exactly 39 weeks with baby #2. The experiences of myself and 6 other real moms.īe sure to check out my pregnancy page for great information for every trimester My personal experience Other moms to share their experiences with getting a membrane sweep. What does a membrane sweep feel like? 7 moms share their experience Now that you know what membrane stripping is and the risks involved let’s talk about what you really want to know…what does it feel like and what are other moms’ experiences with the procedure? Please don’t try to do this procedure on yourself! When researching this article, I saw that there were women searching for how to DIY a membrane sweep. This is why such a procedure should only be done by a doctor or midwife. Infections is greatly increased once the sac is ruptured. They would likely want to induce you with something like pitocin as the risk of If labor doesn’t start on its own soon after Washing their hands appropriately and using the correct protective equipmentĪlso accidently rupture the sac. So long as things are clean and the doctor is Low risk of infection as the procedure does involve the doctor sticking their Always discuss the pros and cons with your healthcare provider before agreeing to any procedure. There are also minor risks involved with cervical checks and membrane sweeps. Sometimes itīetter not to know and just let nature take its course. You can also walk around at 3cm dilated for a week or more. Say that you are not dilated at all or very little which can be disappointing.Ĭan go from not dilated at all to having a baby overnight if your body decides its Unless your body is on the verge of being ready to go into labor a stretch and sweep is unlikely to be effective.Ĭhecks and membrane sweeps can often be frustrating as well as the doctor may This report seems to support the 1 in 8 statistic.

Another mom said her midwife told her 1 in 8. My doctor quoted me as them working 1 in 7 times. Unfortunately, the answer here is often they are NOT effective.

Membrane sweep 39 weeks