cervical checks hurt anyone else?

[earthknitter]

Anyone experience this?

My OB checked my cervix for changes yesterday and since I am only 1 cm open, I could completely feel his finger in my cervix. So after telling me I am 70% effaced, he wiggled his finger side to side kinda hard, and IT HURT. What do they do that for?! Try to push it open more? Anyway then he said I might see some blood from that. No sh#*. Jeez. I am due Saturday and am glad he's not on call!

[lifeguard]

I haven't been checked by anyone (but me!) yet but I know a friend of mine was shocked (& angry no one warned her) by how much it hurt when she was checked the first time.

[Bee21]

I think it hurts pretty badly. And it's excruciating pain when they check you in labor! At least it was for me anyway. I'm glad my mw doesn't do routine cervical checks before labor. She checked me when she did my GBS swab and hasn't since. That was enough for me anyway!

[bigeyes]

my 1st ob never hurt me at all, but when I moved mid pregnancy to another state, my new ob literally sent me climbing off the table every time she touched me. :

I don't think it has to hurt.

[Amber Lion]

Every doula client I've had has complained that they hurt, especially in labor. I haven't had one done yet so I don't know though.

[D_McG]

I won't let them touch me until I'm in labor but yes it hurt a LOT in labor!

[earthknitter]

yes in labor it is the worst! lol...I won't let them check me if I make it to next week's appointment, it is silly anyway!

[k in canada]

I was checked once in my first pregnancy before I knew that there was really no point to it and yes it hurt.
I did not have any checks with Babe #2 and won't with this one either- I have all the discomforts I need already!

[Bella Catalina]

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like maybe he was trying to sweep your membranes? They usually don't tell you they're going to do it, either.

[freedak]

I had my first check on Tuesday, and it HURT! My mw doesn't usually do checks this early (36 weeks) or even prior to labor, but she asked if it was okay since it looks like we MIGHT be inducing next week due to pre-e (not definite that I have pre-e yet). She said an induction may go better/easier if my body's already starting to do something, which it is (1 cm, 50% effaced). She warned me it would be uncomfortable, then she turned her fingers around and pressed down on my rectum to give me a feeling for the pressure that would come with labor. Uncomfy, but definitely tolerable!

[leurMaman]

It depends on the checker. My last one didn't hurt, though.

[lee1203]

I've only had one, and while it was uncomfortable and I definitely felt a lot of pressure, it didn't hurt per se. The midwife even said she could *just* get a fingertip in, and even that didn't hurt. Even so, I plan on having them check as little as possible in labor.

[bigeyes]

FWIW, my lousy OB was unavailable when I was in labor, and none of the checks done by the delivery nurse hurt.

[zoebugsmom]

Originally Posted by Bella Catalina

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like maybe he was trying to sweep your membranes? They usually don't tell you they're going to do it, either.

That is SO wrong! Why would a dr/midwife think they have the right to do that with out asking? Grrrr.

I was checked today and it was in the "very uncomfortable" category. Fortunately my OB is pretty hands off and not only didn't sweep my membranes said "I know you want to go as naturally as possible so I won't do it unless you really want me to."

[lasciate]

Only once has a cervical check hurt and that was when it was being done by a resident in my first pregnancy (haven't had any checks this time around). None of the checks done by my doctor or by the nurses hurt at all - in fact, I never felt a thing including when my membranes were swept. I wouldn't have known it was being done if I hadn't been told.

[~Stephanie~]

I've only had a normal check hurt once and that was by a student doctor. It is painful to have your membranes stripped and it kind of sounds like what your doctor did to you. They put a finger in there and sweep it around. I also have never bled from a normal cervical check, but I did after having my membranes stripped.

[Dahlea]

It hurts me because my cervix has always been really high, so they have to really jam their hand/fingers up against my pubic bone-it usually feels bruised for a day or 2. I'm still completely closed, so I can't say as the touching of my cervix hurt too much.

[trimestersdoula]

I had one cervical check at 29 weeks due to what we thought might have been preterm labor. The doctor that did it at the hospital was VERY rough. He had super short, super fat fingers and was not gentle about it at all. My pubic bone felt the same way after as yours, Dahlea. All I could do was clench my fists, crinkle my face and stare at DH (like I was hoping he could do something about the pain I was in LOL).

It was my first and only cervical exam thus far and I can honestly say, I don't want to go through one again. It was excruciating.

[PassionateWriter]

Originally Posted by Bella Catalina

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like maybe he was trying to sweep your membranes? They usually don't tell you they're going to do it, either.

yep, that sounds like what he did. Cervical exams hurt me during my first 3 pregnancies and that reason, plus teh increased chance of infection...is why i dont have them now.

[Faerieshadow]

My first pregnancy it hurt when teh male OB did it - and he did strip my membranes as well. I was sore for the next two days and bled off and on. And the nurse who checked me (without warning me first) while I was in labor hurt me unbelievably.

This time around I've had a couple checks by the midwife and it hasn't hurt a bit, she's very careful and it makes a huge difference.