Skip to main content

Is a Membrane Sweep Right for You?



Hey Tranquility Tribe! When you’re an expecting mama, you’ve probably been anxious and ready to meet your baby since the day that test came back positive! Pregnancy is quite the journey, and as you get closer and closer to your due date, you may be counting down the seconds for that day to finally come. But what about when the big due date arrives and there has not even been a sign of labor starting anytime soon? Your mind need not automatically start to prepare for an induction - there’s another option too! Today we’re going to be giving you all the information you need to know in order to know if a membrane sweep is right for you!

First of all - what exactly is a membrane sweep? The name sounds a bit terrifying, but it’s a fairly low-key process! The sweep is done physically by your provider’s gloved finger, who inserts it in your cervix to physically, manually separate the membranes of the amniotic sac away from the uterine wall. The sweep is supposed to stimulate the release of prostaglandin, a hormone that aids in starting labor. At 40 weeks or more, 1 in 8 women went into labor within 48 hours post-sweep. Repeating it multiple times may be necessary in order for the effects to take place.

The sweep can be really painful for some women and can also cause bleeding or an accidental rupture of those membranes. However, most women only experience a bit of discomfort during the process, similar to what is felt during a routine vaginal examination. If the sweep does rupture the membranes and labor does not begin soon, you will most likely need to be artificially induced with medication. 

It’s important to note that these sweeps haven’t been found to be effective unless you’re over 40 weeks, and they shouldn’t be done in conjunction with other labor-inducing techniques. The process is also only recommended for pregnancies that aren’t high-risk, as high-risk pregnancies usually require immediate use of medication for induction. Also, your cervix must be dilated even just a little bit in order for the sweep to be performed, as the membranes can’t be reached without some dilation. Above all, this is not a DIY type of situation! As with any vaginal procedure, there is a risk of infection, and that risk skyrockets up if you don’t know what you’re doing!

Overall, if you’re 40 weeks or over and have been on a low-risk pregnancy journey, a membrane sweep might be just what you need to get baby to begin to wiggle on out of you! However, if this doesn’t sound like your jam, this along with so many other aspects of pregnancy and labor are, at the end of the day, up to you! Do your research, talk with your doctor, chat with your village, and make an informed choice from there! 



Don’t forget to join our private Facebook, The Tranquility Tribe Podcast, and follow us on Instagram at @tranquilitybyhehe!


"Welcome to the Tranquility Tribe"

Comments

  1. I am FRED and i want quickly recommend DR NCUBE for a Job well done by
    curing me from the genital herpes disease that have be giving me sleepless night. if you want to contact him, Simply do that via email drncube03@gmail.com or 
    call/whatsapp +2348155227532
    he also have #herbs for
    #hiv/aids
    #cancerdisease 
    #fibroid 
    #diabetes

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vagina Whispering: Everyone's Doing It

Meet The Vagina Whisperer [This is also an episode of Friday Free Talk on The Tranquility Tribe Podcast on iTunes. Listen  here .] Hey Tranquility Tribe!  I’m so excited to bring you this episode of the Tranquility Tribe podcast!  Today, Hehe talked to Sara Reardon, also known as the Vagina Whisperer.  As you may be able to guess from her nickname, Sara is an expert in all things vagina, which means that this episode is full of super essential and often understated topics! Who is the Vagina Whisperer? Sara Reardon is a physical therapist who currently practices in New Orleans.   She specializes in men and women’s pelvic floor health, and she is passionate about speaking up when it comes to treatment and prevention of pelvic health issues.   By bringing humor to the often sensitive topic of staying healthy “down there,” Sara helps to unpack countless vagina-related topics that many women have experience with but few are comfortable talking about.   In addition t

Sexual Wellness with Rebecca Alvarez Part 1 of 2

Sexual Wellness Products with Rebecca Alvarez (Part 1 of 2 of our interview derived from The Birth Lounge Podcast Episode 130 ) You GUYS. I am SO excited to bring this interview to life here on the blog. Did you know that 98% of all feminine care products has at least 1 toxic ingredient? That's scary! Rebecca Alvarez earned her BA in Women’s Health & Sexuality from UC Berkeley and her MA in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State and is the founder of The Bloomi. She is joining me to dive deep into what’s wrong with traditional sexual wellness products, how to spot harmful ingredients and false labeling, and what you need to know about long term effects of these issues in sexual wellness and women’s health! So Let's have Rebecca introduce herself! Rebecca : I consider myself a sexual wellness expert. I'm also an entrepreneur and my passion is bringing clean intimate care products to women and femmes. I'm sure we'll talk about why that's important and wha

8 Questions to Ask During a Doula Interview

8 Questions to Ask During a Doula Interview  Ever see something on the internet that makes you cringe... Do you ever see anything on the internet that makes you cringe so hard that you want to scream? I can name a couple: the incessant bickering on FB, the mom's groups that everyone thinks they are a medical doctor or a licensed psychologist, and don't forget about the person who post what they are doing when they are doing it every single day (I also worry about their safety!). Whew, it's exhausting.  Over my time as a doula, there is one thing that still makes me cringe just as hard now as it did the very first time I experienced it. There is nothing worse than an expectant parent who shows up to an interview with printed questions from the internet. The worst questions are the ones that highlight the fact that this person truly has no idea what a doula can truly do to transform their birth experience. The questions of "How long have you been a doula?&quo