To be Checked or not be checked...

After talking to quite a few friends who have recently had babies I thought I would post a blog about the normal procedure of being "checked" from 37 weeks on at your doctors appointments to see how dilated you are. With our first pregnancy I believe I was checked once and asked not to be for the next few, simply because it was uncomfortable and it was a bit depressing to hear "Yeah, you're not dilated at all." At 40 weeks my husband was with me and the doctor said it was mandatory, so he checked me and did a membrane sweep as well. I hadn't known he was going to swipe my membranes, so my gosh was that unexpected pain! I was sore for a while, still un-dilated, and grumpy. I looked up online what sweeping the membranes actually accomplishes, and couldn't find anything other than "it supposedly can increase a woman's chances into going into labor".

When I was interviewing our new doctor I straight up asked him if sweeping the membranes had any medical sounding at all and if it actually did anything substantial. He was quick to say that it didn't, and in fact actually could potentially be a lot more harmful than helpful for the patients because of the chance of accidentally introducing bacteria or breaking the membranes and risking infection for both mom and the baby. He said that it's not worth the risk, because those mothers whose water did break or who did start contracting most likely would have gone into labor on their own anyways.

Mental note: Do not request get membranes swept. Got it.

I then asked him if he had a problem if I didn't want to know how far dilated I was once we were full term, and he actually surprised me by saying "Not all all. In fact, checking for dilation doesn't prove anything unless you are planning on getting induced that day. Being dilated or not being dilated tells you nothing about when you will go into labor. I've known women who were not dilated at all, the baby had not dropped at their doctors appointments in the morning - and they had gone into labor and were holding a baby later that afternoon. I've also had women dilated to a 5 for weeks and still go over 40 weeks and have to be induced. Checking for dilation for the sake of seeing how far along you are does nothing to prove when you will actually be going into labor, and you have the chance of introducing bacteria and risking infection. The only time you need to check for dilation is if you are there, in the hospital, getting induced so the doctor can determine how successful your induction will be. When you are forcing your body to reproduce hormones to get contractions going and your cervix is still hard and you are not dilated at all - you will have a much harder delivery than a woman who is already dilated to a 4, etc."

Another mental note: There's no reason to check how dilated you are at your pregnancy appointments because it tells you nothing about when you go into labor. Double check.

Isn't it nice having a doctor who is up to date on things and who answers questions that you've can't find information about?

I'll have to remember to post another blog about our conversation about natural induction measures... All I will say is I definitely won't have to waste all my time going on bumpy rides, eating spicy food, or jumping on trampolines with this pregnancy. :)