FTM and having a sweep?

Hi I had 2 sweeps once I was 40 weeks. I had my baby 2 days after the second sweep at 40+9. For me it was very uncomfortable but only lasted about 20 seconds. I had mild cramping after the first one but it wore off and had the same with the second.
I had it done at my gp but I know others that have had it done at home too.
I don’t think it had any impact on recovery as that will depend on how the birth goes 😊

I had 3 sweeps with the first at 39+1 and non of them worked and I ended up being induced with the at home 24hr induction, 6hr pessary and then my final sweep. I got to 1.5cm and they broke my waters after 18hrs ish. After that labour was 9hrs with the hormone drip.

The sweeps varied in pain with one being uncomfortable and the other 2 were painful but they really don’t last long and I’m glad I gave it a go.

Your midwife is able to do them in the community clinics.

I personally wouldn’t have a sweep next time. It seems to be really pushed as the best option and done before you’re actually due. I refused any kind of induction but when I went in with sporadic contractions at 41 weeks I accepted a sweep because I was impatient for my baby to arrive by then. It brought the contractions on really fast and strong within an hour. Then I had very painful coupling contractions most of the way through the next 15 hours. I do wonder if my labour might have been shorter and less painful if I hadn’t had the sweep.

The sweep itself was quite painful but only lasted a few seconds. Once you’re in established labour they check your cervix every few hours anyway which is a kind of similar feeling.

My midwife offered to do mine initially but I didn’t want one. I had mine done in hospital because I’d gone in with excessive movement which turned out to be caused by contractions. You should have a midwife appointment booked for 38 weeks, so could discuss it then.

A sweep is just like an enthusiastic smear test. It may or may not do anything at all. I had one with my first and it did nothing. I had three with my second and I feel it helped him on his way. He was in my arms a few hours after the third!

You just have it as part of the midwife appointment so it's nothing major. It doesn't change anything about your labour, how you give birth or your recovery. It's literally just a poke around up there to try and get something started. If your body is ready then it might help, if your body isn't ready then it'll just be a slightly uncomfortable couple of mins for no reason. They offer them because they're one of the least invasive ways to get things going and are obviously free and easy to do.

There’s no way to tell if a sweep has worked - going into labour afterwards could mean your body was ready anyway! For me, the risks (infection from having fingers or anything else stuck in there, waters accidentally being broken) outweigh the benefits so I won’t be accepting any sweeps. I also think it could put me into a disappointed or frustrated mindset if it doesn’t do anything, which won’t help the oxytocin to flow and labour to start naturally

I had one sweep that didn’t do anything. My midwife did it at one of my appointments. It’s not painful, just feels uncomfortable. She felt my daughters head and went ‘ooh she’s got a lot of hair’