No, I don't want to have my cervix checked!!!

[momma2finn]

Am I weird? Is this a normal thing that gets done? I'm 39 wks. I know I'm not going into labor. I don't want to obsess about how I'm 50% effaced and not dilated at all. It will happen when it happens! My midwife asks me everytime shes sees me if I want her to check me and speed things along. Look, I'm not having a grand ole time carrying this kid around, but I also know that nature gave me what I need to birth. SO EVERYONE JUST PLEASE STOP TELLING ME I SHOULD KNOW WHAT MY CERVIX IS DOING!!!!!! I know what it's doing-nothing!! It's not time yet!


Thanks!!

[Godiva]

I'm 41 weeks and I haven't checked my cervix once. I don't think you're weird at all, I don't want to check for the same reasons as you stated. What good will it do knowing this? cervixes dilate wether we know about it or not!

[erth mama]

ditto for sure. nobody has asked to see mine, i think it just wants to be left alone right now to tell you the truth.

[mamabeth]

Yep, I had mine checked twice and all it did was make me anxious that "nothing" was happening. Good plan, mama, stick to it.

[allgirls]

my midwife said last appt...I am making assumptions her but you don't want your cervix checked do you? She assumed I wouldn't want it checked and she was right!

I am 40wks5days right now...my cervix is doing what it's supposed to. Last time I was checked at 41wks and had cervix stripped..this time not a chance!

[freestyler]

My doc always asked me during the last few appointments---"Would YOU like me to do a cervix check? It isn't necessary, but I can do it if you like." A couple of times I had it checked because I was curious, but if I had another baby I'd skip it altogether. All it did was feel uncomfortable and provide NO data. Just angst. Gee, I'm already 1 CM? But it's only 37 weeks, blah blah blah. That's what was going through my head. Next time I'd skip it, yeh.

[3for3hb]

my MW's don't even offer... they'd probably skirt around the issue if I asked :LOL . I've been checking on my own and I think it's pretty cool how it's gone from being way posterior to what it is now. I think if anyone else did it other than maybe dh I would probably feel a little infringed upon.

[RiceMomma]

I'm not having my cervix checked either, and i'm getting sick and tired of everyone asking me how dilated I am and what my doctor says. I'm sure I come across as snarky because they all look at me weird, but I'm 9 months pregnant, and I don't want anyone sticking their hands up where, and I'm not sick, so I don't need a doctor!

That's just me, though.

[momma2finn]

Ricemomma I think you and I are completely on the same page. So many people have said-What do mean you didn't let them check you? I thought everyone had to be checked?

[FitMama]

I agree. I was not checked until I was admitted to triage. And then they discovered I was 8cm with a bulging bag of waters. Hey, time to get this lady to L&D!

I didn't want to know about my progress prior to that. I felt like it would put me into some kind of head game. Let nature take its course, I say.

[Sagesgirl]

Gah, prelabor cervical checks are one of my great pet peeves. Or the idiocy that surrounds them, at least. I was offered one once in my first pregnancy, but the doctor who did it was honest enough to tell me it wouldn't mean anything. I don't even remember how the topic came up, to be honest, but I knew already it's one of the more useless things in existence. Not to mention the fact that I find cervical checks incredibly uncomfortable. I don't understand why any woman voluntarily undergoes that.

[guestmama9911]

My midwife checks me every visit now. I didn't know it really didn't matter. If I wanted to check it myself, what exactly would I be looking for? Right now it is so far back my midwife can barely reach it, and it feels hard.

[Sagesgirl]

There is really no more reason to check it yourself than there is to let anyone else check it. You learn NOTHING from cervical checks prior to labor. Being dialated now doesn't mean labor is imminent (especially true for multiparas)--had a cousin who walked around over a month 4cm dialated & was finally induced for no other reason than that she was dialated. Not being dialated likewise does not mean you're a ways off from labor. I truly do not know why cervical checks are routine, though I'm starting to lean more towards asserting dominance over the patient. (There's nothing empowering about being flat on your back with your legs spread!) Allowing them can also, frankly, be dangerous--more than a few women have had their membranes stripped without their knowledge or consent, a practice that is tantamount to assault in the UK.

There are some circumstances where cervical checks can be useful--if preterm labor is suspected, for instance. I won't even deny their possible use during labor, though many a woman has labored just fine without them.

The theory is that the more dialated you are prior to labor, the faster said labor will go. Might be true, might not. Personally, I'd want a detailed explanation from anyone who wanted to put their hand up inside of me.

If you want to check it yourself, there's a good thread about it here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=358850

The theory is that your cervix starts out feeling like the end of your nose, and as it ripens (softens), it begins to feel more like pursed lips. Some women have described checking their own cervix as empowering, but checking oneself for prelabor dialation still makes no sense to me.

[guestmama9911]

Thank you for that information. I had never considered or heard that checking your cervix may not be helpful. I have been very nervous that my cervix isn't doing anything, and it's nice to know it doesn't matter.