Membrane sweep...how effective?

I'm 40 weeks 2 days now with baby2 and have an appt on thurs. OB mentioned at last weeks appt a possible membrane sweep this week. Just wondering how far dilated ppl were when they got one done and how effective it actually was? I'm eager to get things going!

A membrane sweep will only kickstart labor if your body is completely ready... It didn't work for me when I was pregnant with my son, but it did kickstart my labor with my daughter. When I had my membranes swept I was 4 cm and about 80-90% effaced... I had random contractions for about 14 hours after the sweep, then active labor hit me like a freight train and I had my daughter just under four hours after that. So roughly 18 hours after my sweep. It's worth a try, but be aware of the risk of infection... Best of luck to you!

<blockquote><b>Quoting Toni B:</b>" A membrane sweep will only kickstart labor if your body is completely ready... It didn't work for me ... [snip!] ... that. So roughly 18 hours after my sweep. It's worth a try, but be aware of the risk of infection... Best of luck to you! "</blockquote>




Thanks! I did have it with my son as well, but I honestly think my dr did it when she shouldn't have. I don't think my cervix was ready really at all. It felt like she was killing me she had to ram her hand up there so hard. I ended up in labor with contractions 3-5 min apart 1.5 days later but my labor was 84 hours! I am kind of weary about doing it this time bc I often wonder if it put me in labor before I was ready and caused the 84 hours. However, I did switch dr this time and she is MUCH better. She was going to do a sweep last week but said my cervix wasn't open enough. It's very soft and I've been having tons of shooting pains down there so I'm hoping I'm more dilated. If I am, I'll probably go for it.

Didn't do anything for me at 37 weeks. Good luck.