Stripping membranes - good idea or not?

[bluedaisy]

I'm 5 days past my due date...I have an appointment on Wed to get an ultrasound and nonstress test, and as long as everything is ok I'll be able to go until Dec 1 before they recommend induction.
I'm planning a hospital delivery with midwives and according to hospital policy, at midnight on Dec 2 I'll be past 42 weeks and considered high risk, so I'd have to become an OB patient. Therefore, if I get to Dec 1, I'll probably agree to the induction.
I've been doing lots of walking, sex, RRL tea, etc. and I'm considering asking the midwives to strip my membranes. Ideally, I'd like this baby to come when she is ready, but I REALLY don't want an induction. I'm concerned even stripping the membranes might cause my body to go into labor when it's not ready, resulting in a long or difficult labor.
Do any of you have experience with this? Was it beneficial? If it caused you to go into labor, how was your labor? At what point did you have them stripped?
THanks!

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by bluedaisy

I'm 5 days past my due date...I have an appointment on Wed to get an ultrasound and nonstress test, and as long as everything is ok I'll be able to go until Dec 1 before they recommend induction.
I'm planning a hospital delivery with midwives and according to hospital policy, at midnight on Dec 2 I'll be past 42 weeks and considered high risk, so I'd have to become an OB patient. Therefore, if I get to Dec 1, I'll probably agree to the induction.
I've been doing lots of walking, sex, RRL tea, etc. and I'm considering asking the midwives to strip my membranes. Ideally, I'd like this baby to come when she is ready, but I REALLY don't want an induction. I'm concerned even stripping the membranes might cause my body to go into labor when it's not ready, resulting in a long or difficult labor.
Do any of you have experience with this? Was it beneficial? If it caused you to go into labor, how was your labor? At what point did you have them stripped?
THanks!

I've had my membranes stripped twice so far. Once at 39 weeks and again at 40 weeks. I'm 40+3 right now and it hasn't done anything for me. According to my midwives, if your body isn't ready it won't work.

[mwherbs]

yes , stripping membranes is a decent consideration at 41 + weeks it may very well stimulate labor and is a fairly low tec intervention that does not require you to be in the hospital and it doesn't loosen your bowels

[PassionateWriter]

my mw did it at 42 weeks 5 days. i weny into labor that day.

[SeekingJoy]

I might consider it on Nov. 30.

[angelpie545]

I would imagine that the membrane sweep effectiveness would depend on how ready your body is for labor. I had my membranes swept as a last resort to get me into labor before a hospital induction, and because my baby's non stress test wasn't that great. She hadn't moved that much throughout my whole pregnancy and her heart tones were always on the lowest end of normal (around 120s). I personally think there may have been placental damage from an abdominal injury I suffered when I was about ?6-8? weeks along (long story).
Whatever the reason, I was almost at the 42 week mark and things were getting kind of scary. When my midwife did the sweep I was already 4cms dilated and I think I was pretty effaced. Anyway, because my body was so ready to go I started having contractions almost immediately and gave birth the next day. It was a good thing that we did because when my daughter came out she was all wrinkled (obviously post dates) and the placenta had aged some. She was (and is) healthy though, so I think that intervention at that time was a very good thing.

[dahlsk]

I had it done at 41+4 because I would have been induced at 42 wks and wanted to avoid that. I went into labor that night (though ds wasn't born until 36 hours later!!).

[jennert]

i had mine stripped at 40wks. it hurt. i bled. Mr. Pants wasn't born for another week and even then had to be induced. it's worth a shot--it just didn't work for me.

[alegna]

I wouldn't. But I wouldn't agree to an induction without medical reason either.

ds was 43 weeks 5 days. I feel very strongly that if he'd been kicked out early there would have been problems. He did not look at all overdue.

-Angela

[layla983]

I've never known anyone it's worked for, though I'm sure there are examples of it working. Personally, I won't have it done this time around. A doctor did it my last pregnancy without consent, it hurt, & I had pelvic pain the rest of my pregnancy. I couldn't even go up or down stairs without shooting pains after my appointment.

[nalo]

I requested it and got it done by my MW about 9 days past EDD. I was so anxious and knew my exact date of conception so I wasn't concerned about an "early" baby. Who knows if it helped or not....baby was born 12 days past EDD and I had been doing all the other natural stuff too (not saying membrane stipping is natural....that didn't come out right).

[southernmommie]

I don't agree with internal interventions. (other than sex...lol) Every woman is different and has a different pregnancy length according to each baby they carry. Outside interventions are unneccessary in my honest opinion.

[Devaskyla]

There's a risk of it causing ruptured membranes, so I personally wouldn't take the chance, but I know a lot of women do. I'd rather do nipple stim/sex to try to get things going.

[SeekingJoy]

Devaskyla, great suggestion. OP, what about using a breast pump first?

[Kappa]

I had a membrane sweep at 38 weeks (didn't know it was a big deal at the time) when I was about 1 cm dialated. I had it done on Tuesday, started having contractions Thursday morning, and C was born Friday evening. I labored naturally without intervention. I think it worked, but you never know maybe C would have been born that time anyways.

[bluedaisy]

We've been trying sex...a lot I've also been walking every day and drinking tons of RRL tea.

I personally would prefer not to get my membranes stripped and let this baby come when she is ready, but I'm thinking it will still probably be preferrable to a pitocin induction.

I really, really do not want to be induced, but if I make it to 42 weeks and refuse the induction, I automatically become an OB patient. Then I'll have to have a male OB who I've never met deliver my baby instead of my female midwife.

I'm hoping to wait until Fri to try anything...but if I still haven't gone into labor by then, i'll probably ask to have my membranes stripped. If that doesn't work, I'll try castor oil or something. anything seems better than pitocin:

[LorenaAZ]

How about swimming or riding a bike? When riding a bike became uncomfortable for me I started swimming for exercise, and I guess I over did it because I'd get contractions afterwards. Once that got uncomfortable I started doing yoga.

DH and I went for a bike ride the other day and the contractions came on strong once we got back home. We use our bikes to commute to and from work & school so it wasn't a new exercise for me. Maybe worth a try if your midwife gives you the go ahead?

[MegBoz]

I also knew my exact conception date & wasn't worried about an early baby.

Hospital policy was routine induction at 42W. (I could refuse & my MWs knew it, but I would rather have avoided the stress of the lectures they were obligated to give me...)I had it done in the morning at 41W4D. Cntrx started 2 hours later - DS was out just over 6 hours after that!!!

MW said I had "a perfect cervix" & was already at 3cm when she did it. I suspect labor would have started that night if she hadn't done it, but I'm glad it got started in the morning, because that allowed me to labor in the sun in the pool in our backyard! As opposed to labor starting in the middle of the night.

[devon]

I had it done at 40w with DS1 and 38w(without consent) and 39w(with consent) with DS2. My OB for DS1 said that it is only going to 'work' if the body is very ready for labor and wouldn't do it unless the Bishop score was nice and high. He also said that if it works, the baby would be born within 48 hours. With DS1, it did work and he was born about 48 hours later. With DS2, the 38w was done without consent and didn't do anything but make me have a lot of mucus, but when done at 39w (for various reasons, of my choice), he was born about 20 hours later.

I also have been told by many people (medical) that if your water breaks because of it, there are two things possible: 1)your water was going to break soon anyway because a simple sweep should not do it, or (2) your dr was trying to break your water. A gentle membrane sweep should not break your water - the bags are very strong. When they do an AROM, they use a hook to break it. A soft finger being run around the rim of the cervix should not break your water.

I would definitely do it if the other option was an induction - much less intrusive and isn't going to cause those horrible contractions for the baby that pitocin causes.

[jmcqabigler]

get acupuncture done to try to help start labor I was 2wk 5day over and had 1 session went home went for a long walk had baby next morning. I am not sure if it actually induced the labor but it sure relaxed me and allowed my body to do its job.