i feel so stupid for asking.... but what is a sweep?

[kimbobaloobob]

lots of you are on about having a sweep and i really am curious as to what on earth one is... sorry for the stupid question

 

[aly888]

it's not a stupid question. How are you meant to know if you've never known anyone who had to have one!?? if you are embarassed asking on here, just remember this...my boss (who is a man) mentioned something about his wife needing to have a "sweep" for his second child (we were talking about babies anyway coz I found out i was pregnant whilst he was on paternity leave) and i stupidly asked "what the hell is a sweep?"...he still explained it to me though, bless him! but i did feel pretty stupid afterwards. needless to say, the conversation soon changed back to work...

but anyway, basically it's when the midwife goes in and disturb's the membranes. it's supposed to kickstart your body into thinking 'oh right, you want this baby out do you?' without actually having to burst the membranes, and in most cases labour usually starts within the next few days!
oh yeah, and i think it's also to stimulate your cervix to get it to start softening...

 

[gemini xo]

I wanted to know this too, lol

 

[cinnamini]

it's not a stupid question. How are you meant to know if you've never known anyone who had to have one!?? if you are embarassed asking on here, just remember this...my boss (who is a man) mentioned something about his wife needing to have a "sweep" for his second child (we were talking about babies anyway coz I found out i was pregnant whilst he was on paternity leave) and i stupidly asked "what the hell is a sweep?"...he still explained it to me though, bless him! but i did feel pretty stupid afterwards. needless to say, the conversation soon changed back to work...

but anyway, basically it's when the midwife goes in and disturb's the membranes away from the wall of your womb. it's supposed to kickstart your body into thinking 'oh right, you want this baby out do you?' without actually having to burst the membranes, and in most cases labour usually starts within the next few days!

Lol aly ... that's brilliant! Bless him indeed .. my ex boss would have defintely got very and probably shuffled off to an imaginary meeting!

I had a sweep with my first ... it was ok until the midwife doing it told me and DH that we should have checked she wasn't a cleaner

 

[aly888]

I am quite lucky that me and my boss get on really well!! he was actually the first person I told that I was pregnant (excluding my OH, of course) so hopefully he wasnt too embarassed...i think i went more red than him for asking him so blatantly. good job we have our own office and that no-one else was around lol

Did the sweep work for you!? I am 4 days over-due now and hopefully, assuming baby has decided to finally engage, I should be having a sweep in next couple of days. Dont want to be in hospital over xmas!!

 

[kimbobaloobob]

you mean they go up your foof :/ does she use some sort of instrument, and is it painfull or uncomfortable.... sorry for all the questions

 

[summerarmahni]

oh right thats wot it is i didnt know either, is it like when your in labour and the midwife checks wots going on down below, that hurts a litle aswell x

 

[cinnamini]

Don't think the sweep did the trick actually. I was a week overdue and my waters had broken (well ... I say broken ... more of a slight trickle!!) but I didn't go into labour. They decided to get me in at 8am on New Years day (!!). They did the sweep, although I'm not sure if that's recommended once waters have broken due to risk of infection, but nothing really happened. They put me on syntocin in the end and that soon got things moving ... my son was finally born at 12.15pm on 2 Jan.

 

[aly888]

you mean they go up your foof :/ does she use some sort of instrument, and is it painfull or uncomfortable.... sorry for all the questions

haha, yup, i'm afraid so!! Dont think they use anything, other than the instruments god gave her (her fingers)...and I have no idea if it's painful/uncomfortable!! I cant imagine it would be the most pleasant thing in the world, but considering what you are about to squeeze out through that area it probably doesnt feel like much! I have a feeling I will be having one in the next few days so I will try to remember to let you know...

oh right thats wot it is i didnt know either, is it like when your in labour and the midwife checks wots going on down below, that hurts a litle aswell x

I guess so, coz doesnt the midwife need to check how 'dilated' you are once you are in labour (?), so she is basically poking around at the same part...niiiice!!

 

[cinnamini]

yes ... the midwife does it ... with her hand ... no instruments of torture ... honestly! It's a little uncomfortable but not totally unbearable considering the discomfort/pain you've probably had along the way. It's over quite quickly ... it is a little strange to have someone rummaging around down there but you get over it once the main event starts!

Seriously ... don't worry about too much

 

[kimbobaloobob]

lol, my OH can poke his fingers up there then if it gets me going. I though it would be something like a toilet brush going up there

 

[summerarmahni]

i didnt have a sweep, but the midwife did poke around me alot while in labour and its not very comfortable lol x

 

[cinnamini]

No .. it's not the most pleasant of experiences. They do have to go fairly high and it's more than just a couple of fingers BUT like I said, it's over fairly quickly and put it this way, it won't make you cry .. it's more uncomfortable than pain iyswim

I hope I'm putting minds at rest and not freaking you all out by the way!!

 

[aly888]

lol, my OH can poke his fingers up there then if it gets me going.

lol, I was thinking of asking my OH the same...dont think he would be willing though just in case he ended up doing something stupid like actually breaking my 'waters'!!
uv still got plenty of time yet so you may not even have to go through it...start thinking about it when your due date comes and goes without even a whisper of anything happening "down there"...

 

[aly888]

No .. it's not the most pleasant of experiences. They do have to go fairly high and it's more than just a couple of fingers BUT like I said, it's over fairly quickly and put it this way, it won't make you cry .. it's more uncomfortable than pain iyswim

I hope I'm putting minds at rest and not freaking you all out by the way!!

I'm guessing the more you relax the easier it is!???

and, incidentaly...how many fingers is it!? When my boss described it (coz he said he accidently walked into the room whilst it was happening ) he said it looked like the midwife's arm disappeared up to her elbow but he exaggerates. alot!!

 

[kimbobaloobob]

lol ill wait till christmas is over so he can have a decent drink. Im just so glad its not a 'instrument of torture' as someone put it.
Thanks DDD

 

[cinnamini]

lol, my OH can poke his fingers up there then if it gets me going.

uv still got plenty of time yet so you may not even have to go through it...start thinking about it when your due date comes and goes without even a whisper of anything happening "down there"...

that's true about the amount of time ... don't worry about it for now. I don't know many women who have had to have it done ...

 

[cinnamini]

No .. it's not the most pleasant of experiences. They do have to go fairly high and it's more than just a couple of fingers BUT like I said, it's over fairly quickly and put it this way, it won't make you cry .. it's more uncomfortable than pain iyswim

I hope I'm putting minds at rest and not freaking you all out by the way!!

I'm guessing the more you relax the easier it is!???

and, incidentaly...how many fingers is it!? When my boss described it (coz he said he accidently walked into the room whilst it was happening ) he said it looked like the midwife's arm disappeared up to her elbow but he exaggerates. alot!!

Yes, try and relax, if you tense I'm sure it will actually hurt more ... I had to look away as it was weird having a "stranger" looking up at me from down there

Not sure about the number of fingers ... felt like a lot it may have been all of them ... [eek]

 

[eddjanuary10]

lol, my OH can poke his fingers up there then if it gets me going. I though it would be something like a toilet brush going up there

lol! well i'm sure glad its not a toilet brush!

but ewwwww at whole arm up to elbow as someone else mentioned. oh man, i'm eating my lunch

xxx

 

[katekatekate]

I wanted to know this too! Ta. x