39 week checkup today. 2 1/2 centimeters dilated, yeah me!
Dr. said we could talk about inducing me, but that increases the odds of a C-section quite a bit. She recommended that we wait until next week, do a non-stress test test then and see if things happen by themselves. She said I am going at 1 cm a week, which is good progress. She predicted I will be done within a week. That’s not exactly going out on a limb, since I am 39 weeks pregnant, but she sounded so perky when she said it, that I believe her.
I would prefer not to have a C-section, so I will wait it out. The Dr stripped my membranes today, which can help move things along. Btw-I had read that alot of women do not like to have the membranes striped because it hurts too much. Well, it does hurt, but in the grand scheme of things, its not the worst thing I am going to get before this is all over. The actual stripping of the membranes does not hurt, its the hand 5 inches up your yoo-hoo that hurts. If you are Group B Strep positive, it can lead to a dangerous infection and some women believe in only letting nature take its course but those don’t apply to me, so I was Ok with having it done. But! I will say that it was good that I already knew it was a possibility at this appointment and what it meant because I had about 2 seconds to protest between the time the Dr mentioned it and when she started doing it. If I was unaware, I could have been subjected to something I did not want. I guess the lesson is, do your research first and don’t always expect the white coat to ask your permission first.
What is “stripping the membranes?” According to www.gynob.com/stripmem.htm
One thing alone won’t necessarily push a woman into labor, including “stripping membranes.” What your doctor is talking about is essentially just an aggressive pelvic exam in which he will feel around just inside your cervix where the membranes (”bag of water”) are attached to its rim. By running an examining finger around the inside of your cervix, he can separate the amniotic sac from where it’s stuck there. Theoretically, this will allow the bridging molecules that stick the membranes to the inside rim of the cervix to break–all at a molecular level, mind you–and so be released and then converted into prostaglandins, which are powerful stimulants of labor. You would think that one time and wham! labor! But it doesn’t actually work that faithfully after only one time. Usually it’ll help irritate things just a bit so that an induction will “take” better. Repeated “strippings” may end up being performed before spontaneous labor develops, but then no one knows whether this is a coincidence or the result of finally enough stripping. It’s done frequently so that spontaneous labor can be conjured up so as to have women have their babies at or just before term (39 weeks-40 weeks) before the baby gets any bigger, increasing the chances of C-Section.
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That sounds like what we call ‘Sweeping the membranes’ over here. I hated having it done, and as I was 18 days over due, and having to travel an hour to the hospital each day for check-ups, I had it done much too often for my liking.
One midwife was rather cool though, as while she was fiddling around up there she was making pleasent conversation regarding my clitoral hood ring! lol It didn’t quite take my mind off the pain completly though!
Must have been a bot of a shock to you having it done so abruptly though! I sympathise, but if it does help get things started then it’s for the best.
WOW, This is the first time I ever heard of such a thing……where have I been? It was good to read the update though. Love MOM
Whoo hooo! Go mommy go!
I had that with T-man and ended up with a C. With 2 Cs behind me, I have to say it sounds much more pleasant than your route of choice!
I haven’t had anything unpleasant yet. The membrane stripping was not painful, really. When you have been through 2 egg retreivals, a cyst drainage, hundreds of blood draws, hundreds of shots, 6 ivf transfers…and then a twin vaginal birth with hemoraging a D&C and 2 blood transfusions….someone running their finger inside your Va jay jay is no big deal. The baby has been head down for months and is perfectly lined up, it would be unwise to do anything right now to increase my chances of a C-section. If I end up with one, fine. But I am not going to do anything to encourage it.