im getting a sweep on tuesday

[emamum]

anyone know if theres anything i can do to make it more effective?
im having it at 2 then will have to walk for an hour (half hour there and back) mostly uphill to pick ds up from school, hoping that will give baby a kickstart, any other ideas?

[mom2p.m.]

I don't really know. By sweep do you mean your getting your membranes striped? When is your due date?

I do know that some more natural ways of inducing would be walking, sex, nipple stimulation and spicy foods. There is also suppose to be a pressure point near your ankles that will bring on labor. But IMO none of that stuff really works until your body and baby are ready.

If you don't mind me asking why the sweep?

[Malva]

Emamum, I don't have any tips or anything.

And mom2p.m., I started getting sweeps weekly at 37 weeks during my last pregnancy. I really didn't want to have to be induced again and was doing everything possible to avoid it, including membrane stripping.

I still ended up going over, baby was born at 41w4d (after I took some caster oil, I really didn't want to be induced at the hospital)... So I guess the sweeps didn't help me since obviously he wasn't ready to come out yet.

This time, I got my due date postponed by one week at the start, buying myself an extra week before anyone brings up the "I" word so I'm not stressing about it. I've had no internals at all the whole pregnancy.

[mom2p.m.]

okay, I guess I don't know what getting the sweeps is. What does it mean to get sweeped?

[joyfulgrrrl]

Originally Posted by mom2p.m.

okay, I guess I don't know what getting the sweeps is. What does it mean to get sweeped?

I presume it's referring to sweeping the membranes - midwife/doctor runs a finger inside the cervix (assuming it's soft and can be dilated a wee bit with a fingertip). This promotes production of prostaglandins, which can bring on labour.

To make a sweep more effective, you can follow up with an appointment with a qualified acupuncturist, and you can also have sex.

I had two sweeps last pregnancy - the first wasn't very uncomfortable, and the result was lots of contractions that stopped. The second made me want to scream it was so uncomfortable. I had been labouring for about 6 hours at the time and it definitely got things moving more quickly. If it's not painful, my MW tells me it probably won't work.

It's a useful technique, if your body is ready. I won't be doing it this time though.