SWEEP 1 (39+5)
My own midwife.. very gentle although very slightly uncomfortable... said she could easily reach cervix although slightly posterior and she managed to sweep the membranes and i was 1cm but she could stretch it to 2. No mucus or loss on her gloves... no pains... no discharge.. nothing at all except regular braxton hicks that night for a couple of hours which then dissappeared.
SWEEP 2 (40+6)
Different midwife... very rough... more uncomfortable than the first and she kept her hand in and had a good few goes at getting 2 fingers in the cervix but with no luck... but she said she could get 1 finger in. I'd say she had a good 4 or 5 goes at my cervix. When she removed her fingers there was bloody loss, which then continued til the next morning and eased off a bit... then got a mucousy dark red brownish clot about lunchtime the next day. Was very uncomfy after this sweep immediately and had bad period pains and cramps all day and night. Gradually eased off a bit the next day (today!).
I really think it depends on the midwife you get and how big their hands/fingers are and how "rough" they want to be!!!
The first midwfie said it was very easy to reach my cervix and she said she had long fingers and big hands... the 2nd midwife found it difficult to reach (although both of them wrote down cervix slightly posterior) and she was a shorter, plumper lady than my first midwife (didn't think to look at her hands at the time!!) The first midwife didn't need me to sit on my hands to raise the pelvis but the 2nd one did!?!
I think i am now a firm believer of sweeps can work but only if your body is really really raring to go... i was 1cm, soft cervix, starting to dilate and only slightly posterior yet both of my sweeps appear to have failed!! Although you do hear stories of women who weren't favourable for a sweep at all who then go into labour within hours of an attemped sweep?
I find it interesting to see what they write down about the cervix etc afterwards but then you think "ooh that's good i'm 1cm.. or soft cervix" or whatever, but then nothing still happens!!!
It's a shame when you have a sweep, get the pains and some loss/discharge cos then you REALLY think things are starting to happen... and then it all just goes away again!
I'm not sure if this is the same everywhere but here before they do the sweep they have to say "would you like me to proceed with the examination"... now i remember this from being induced last time too and EVERY time they examine you "can i go ahead and examine you" "are you happy for me to proceed" etc etc etc... when i was in being induced i had so many internals my bits were getting rather sore and i HATED having to answer this every single time.... "yes of course.. go ahead and rummage round my private parts and make me even more uncomfortable - AGAIN!"
oh well rant over! lol!
