Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Membrane Sweep

I saw the midwife this morning and had the membrane sweep that I was hoping for.

First she had a feel of my belly and told me that the baby is barely engaged. Nooooo!

Then did an internal and told me that I have a posterior cervix, which means my cervix is facing backwards rather than forwards. Nooooo!

Essentially, she had to reach around the baby's head to do the sweep. At one point she said 'hello baby' and told me she was touching the baby's head. How weird is that??

My understanding of a posterior cervix is that it often moves to an anterior (forward facing) position during labour. If it doesn't, however, it can lengthen and exacerbate the labour and make it slightly trickier for the baby to manoeuvre his way out. This can result in a forceps rotation or ventouse delivery.

My worry (if you can call it a worry) is that I have a posterior cervix anyway. I've had several smears and examinations over the years where the professionals have indicated my cervix is 'quite far back'. Does that mean it has less chance of moving forward during the labour?

Anyway, the long and short of this morning's antenatal appointment is that I'm not going to experience labour any time soon. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

2 comments:

  1. Ohhh nooo!!
    I'm so sorry, I was hoping for a quick delivery for you.
    a sweep is good tho, a day or 2 tops?

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  2. My cervix is usually posterior...it has never been a problem though...I've had four vag deliveries, and none of them overly complicated...the last two very short! It can move when it needs to! Good luck to you!

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