Another Internal Exams Thread

[Selesai]

I'm not "due" until the end of this month / beginning of July, but this week I had my first internal exam. I had been feeling very peaceful and unafraid about the birth (my first) and then the pain when she checked my cervix was just horrible! Of course, no dilation or anything, and maybe 50% effacement.

I know numbers don't mean anything but the fact that finding out discouraged me makes me think it's pointless to have internals at all.
And is it normal for them to be so painful! I really don't need anything messing with my mental preparation for the birth.
My DH says the dr knows best what to do and to let her do internals if she wants (for the record, this wasn't the dr, it was the cnp, and she asked if I wanted the exam) but I don't know.
Thoughts?

[MyLittleWonders]

This time (my third) I didn't have any internals until I went technically over my "due date". Since then (I'm not 11 days over), I have had two just to see if something is happening (for instance, my cervix was high and posterior for quite a while). I have checked myself out of curiousity for internal changes in my own body, but that's about it. I don't see any need for internals, at least until you are close to due or "over". So many women will walk around 3-4 cm dilated for the last month and it means nothing; and then there are those that walk around maybe 2cm for a while and dilate completely only once labor begins.

Oh, and doctors do things completely routinely and by rote, regardless of your individual situations (not to say your ob isn't a great one ... I loved mine before switching to my mw, but she still did things by training and not by taking into account my individual situations or needs). So, no, they don't always know "what is best" (just look at the insane induction and c-section rate in this country). It's your body, your pregnancy, and your baby ... you get to decide if you want an internal or not, not your doctor.

[StacyL]

I don't have internals done while pg. I don't think it serves any useful purpose, nor is it "natural" to have somebody poking around my cervix when it's supposed to stay shut until it decides it's time to open up, KWIM?

That said, the only internal I had was when my MW arrived 30 min. before I delivered and she said, "His head is right there - a half inch in!"

[earthmama369]

I didn't do internal checks until the end of my last pregnancy (I think I had one a week before dd was born) and I did the same thing this time -- I had one last week (at 39 weeks) and one yesterday. If I could reach my own cervix, I would do that instead. If done properly, imo, they shouldn't hurt. Last time and this, with my own doctor, they've been very gentle and I haven't felt any discomfort. A supervising doctor also checked me yesterday and he was rough; I was NOT comfortable and he won't ever be examining me again.

That said, I've gotten them mainly to satisfy my own curiosity, and that can backfire if I don't keep it strictly in mind that the numbers don't mean anything with regards to when I'll go into labor and how long that will last. I don't think there's a strong medical reason to get checked before your due date.

[*guest]

I do see a practice that thinks internals are pointless, even during labor. Sure, they'd check if they suspected unusual changes pre-term, or something like that. But at term, I see no point. Either you are in labor or you aren't. There are so many external indications of progress, like mucus or bloody show or contractions that get stronger and closer together or water releasing. An exam showing dilation is one random data point, and not predictive of anything (unless perhaps they are trying to assess favorability for induction, which is a whole other issue).

And yes, how discouraging to hear the same stats every week and feel like things are not "working." I like not knowing these stats at all. Go by how you feel - if you don't want the exams, don't have them. A good doctor should respect that or give you a darn good reason as to why you need to have one. It's not like they give specific information about the health of the baby either.

[grace's voice]

I normally don't do internals, but with this pg I had a couple when I was bleeding and having a lot of contractions at 32 weeks. They wanted to check to make sure my cervix wasn't dilating, which I totally agree with. I'd rather have known so I could do something to stop labor if that was really what it had been.

Yesterday I made the mistake of letting the mw tell me how my cervix was doing while she was in there doing a swab for STDs. I KNEW I shouldn't have let her tell me. In fact, on the way to her office I said to DH, "I don't want to know how dilated I am because if things haven't changed after all this prelabor, I know I'll be discouraged, even though rationally I know dilation doesn't mean anything." ... Next thing I know we're driving home in silence, me doing all I could to hold back tears.

I know how it is, and it is hard. I would highly recommend not getting routine exams. They serve no purpose in a healthy pg except to discourage, or sometimes even give false hope. Personally, I choose to have one exam in labor when I feel like pushing. I don't want to have a cervical lip and push against it, wasting my energy, only to have it swell up and cause further problems. Other than that, that is the only exam I feel is necessary in a low-risk pg.

P.S. I have never had an exam "hurt." They're certainly not always comfortable, but they shouldn't hurt either. I wouldn't think you should be feeling any pain on your cervix during an exam, they should just be feeling, very gently, how many finger widths open it is.

[broodymama]

Not in your DDC, but I did have an internal exam that was painful when I was pregnant with my DS. I was in the hospital for preterm labor and the on-call OB checked me - WOW! I thought I was going to come up off the bed it hurt so much. None of my other exams hurt so I think it was just that practitioner.

[chiromama]

I havent' had one, and don't plan on it (although who knows how i'll feel tomorrow). Tomorrow I'll be 41 weeks, and still dont' really want to know. it will happen when it happens....

[mamamilkbar]

I had an exam last wk at the OB but i requested to be checked thinking I was dialting or something since i'd been having contractions.... My OB was quite surprised as he knows I don't like being checked and doing routine things etc... Mine are normally very painful as my cervix sits really high up etc... When I went yesterday I did not have one though, I never get asked to do it either. Right now i'm 40 wks and 4 days and we haven't even talked about induction or anything either. The baby will come when is ready he said Also testing and checking goes with the urine tests every time and the glucose test earlier in the pregnancy.

[Selesai]

Thanks for your support everyone! I'm also relieved to know I'm not the only one who has experienced pain during these exams-- the cnp said my cervix was far up there but i thought it painful pretty much from the beginning.

i think i'm going to avoid the exams, like pp said, even though rationally i know the numbers don't mean anything, i can still be discouraged by them, and i think that my mental attitude is really important to the success of my birth.