Sterile versus Non-Sterile Speculum Exam during Pregnancy?

[twilitemoon]

Last week, I experienced some urinary incontinence. This is the second time I have gone through it. The first time, I was almost 36 weeks and they did a sterile speculum examination to detect membrane rupture. The second time was when I was 37 and a half weeks and the doctor used a speculum from the heated drawer that was not wrapped to check. I am really concerned why the first exam was done with a wrapped speculum while the second exam was not. I am currently 1 centimeter dialated and lost my mucus plug two weeks ago (although I am still having some mucusy discharge). Do I need to be worried? Are sterile speculums the only speculums allowed during pregnancy?

[umsami]

My guess is that any speculum that is placed in the heated drawer has been autoclaved or otherwise sterilized. There may be an issue of heating it in the wrapping. Probably standard office procedure. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine a physician using a non-sterilized speculum on anybody... pregnant or not.