#Membrane sweep at 39 weeks success rate how to
#Membrane sweep at 39 weeks success rate full

There is a lot of variability over women’s attitudes towards it, with some loving its potential for bringing on labour, while others would gladly risk the pregnancy continuing and decline its performance. This procedure is not performed on every patient who enters the later gestations of pregnancy, however, it is certainly not uncommon. When asked why he was so successful, this clinician of few words simply said, “Two fingers, rotated each direction, three times”. When I was training in obstetrics and gynaecology one of my more senior colleagues was renowned for his great success with strip and stretches. It does stand to reason that a more vigorous stretch and sweep is more likely to result in the release of more prostaglandins, and cause more cervical dilatation, and therefore be more likely to succeed. However, some women are so eager to bring on their labour that they are prepared to tolerate the discomfort that this procedure can sometimes bring!

Indeed, if the patient finds it too uncomfortable then it can and should be immediately ceased. However, sweeping of the membranes should not be abjectly painful. So, if an obstetrician is able to perform this without causing discomfort, I would suggest to you that they could be found to also be able to walk on water and divine for water using a pair of rusty forceps. Is it uncomfortable?Ī strip and stretch involves performing a vaginal examination and then mechanically stretching the inner aspect of the lower uterine segment. In order to do the strip and stretch the cervix needs to be partially dilated, so this is one of the factors that restrict its performance before the very late stages of pregnancy.

#Membrane sweep at 39 weeks success rate full

Having said that, it is typically performed as close to full term as possible so as to increase its likelihood of success. Some run a mile at the suggestion, while others practically beg for it to be performed, as they are keen to try anything to bring their pregnancy to a close! Indeed, there is a lot of variability about if and when different women want it done. There is no specific time when a strip and stretch should be performed. This procedure is one of the forms of induction of labour in an obstetrician’s armamentarium, along with prostin gels and tapes and mechanical dilation with specialised catheters. Secondly, it can result in direct dilation of the mother’s cervix. Prostaglandins are intimately associated with the onset and progression of labour. Firstly, mechanically performing this stretching causes the release of hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins from the membranes, uterine lining and cervix. This technique can result in labour by two mechanisms. This results in separation of the fetal membranes from the inner uterine lining, and – hopefully – results in the onset of labour. If the cervix is open enough, the examiners finger is inserted through the patient’s cervix and rotated circumferentially in each direction. What is stretch and sweep?įar from a medieval torture technique as it name may suggest to some, a ‘stretch and sweep’ is the colloquial term for membrane stripping which is used as a form of induction of labour.Īlso called a ‘strip and stretch’, it describes the process whereby the obstetrician does a vaginal examination and, using his fingers, attempts to stretch and expand the area inside the pregnant woman’s cervix. Here, obstetrician Dr Brad Robinson answers the most commonly asked questions regarding this relatively common labour-inducing technique. The words stretch and sweep when combined to describe a pre-labour procedure are enough to make any pregnant woman’s eyes water.īut while most of us have heard of the procedure, few of those who haven’t experienced a stretch and sweep would know exactly what to expect from the process.

#Membrane sweep at 39 weeks success rate how to

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