Vaginal Exams in 3rd Trimester?

Kitty Holland · July 2011

I don't want an exam to check how far I am dilated prior to labor - just wondering how common they are. If you have them, when did they start and what does your Dr. say the purpose is.

mabma80 · July 2011

My doctor starts them at 38wks. I don't know if you have a choice in getting the exam or not. I don't see why you wouldn't want to exam in the first place. They want to see if the baby is head down and if you are dilated or not.

flutiefrostie · July 2011

My doctor starts at 37 weeks and they are optional. They can tell if the baby is head down by feeling your belly, and it really doesn't matter how dilated you are before you're in labor. I got checked with DS simply because I was curious, but won't this time. It's fairly uncomfortable.

kathymarie · July 2011

If you don't want it, you may decline it.

marciejbee · July 2011

I refused to be checked until this week at my 40 week check up. you technically do NOT have to be checked. If you don't want it and you have a healthy pregnancy, there is no reason to do it. You'll go when you are ready

rookiemom9 · July 2011

I asked my MW and she said it was up to me, but that they are uncomfortable and it just introduces bacteria to the area. I opted not to get one last week, and I don't know if I want to at my appointment on Tuesday. I'll probably do it at 40 weeks though.

CNAMamaof2 · July 2011

I would say if your due date has come and gone you should have a cervical exam. If you aren't even dilated a cm or effaced, you should know so you and your doctor can discuss the options, late babies can have even more problems than slightly preterm ones. Other wise go ahead and ask if you can refuse the exam. Honestly, I can't wait till I get the first one, I want to know if all the pressure my baby is putting on my cervix is doing anything or not.

gferg · July 2011

Mine is going to start checking in two weeks. I dont mind, a girlfriend of mine started dialating at 36 weeks. She stayed at 1 for a while but it would be good to know.

tabbitha2 · July 2011

it's to see if the baby is breech or correctly head down as well as to see if your dilated. if your dilated a certain amount it can determine how close you are to labor. I did it and it let me know 5 days prior that i was going to go into labor. but it depends on you.

kkasper13 · July 2011

My doctor did my first internal at 35 weeks. They only did it then because they were doing to Step B test so why not while they were down there. One of the doctors in my practice does them every week after that, and the others make it optional. So it will depend on who we see each week whether we will get one. I didn't think they were too bad, so my curiosity about progress usually outweighs my feelings about the fact that they are a little uncomfortable.

sunandsurfmama · July 2011

My MW does not do them at all unless you are high risk or request them. I am declining.

christinemurray91 · July 2011

They are totally optional And painful. lol. I have a posterior cervix, so it may hurt more for me than others, but if I hadn't been in the hospital for preterm labour and they HAD to check, and I'd have known how much they wouldn have hurt, I probably would have passed.

They don't really predict anything, they hurt and they can introduce bacteria up there that otherwise wouldn't have been there...

sydlc88 · July 2011

My doctor starts then at 36 weeks, you absolutely do not have to do them. Part of the exam they double check baby is head down but that can be done without an internal exam. Basically it's just to check dilation and effacement but those results aren't an indication of when labor will start so it just depends on if you want to know.

futuremrsmcnichols · July 2011

Its just nice knowing that you are making some progress. For me, I have had internals starting at 36 weeks and its just nice to know that you are making progress sometimes, it can kind of gauge when you will go into labor, and its just sometimes reassuring that any progess you've made in dilation is that much less you have to progess during labor! Also for me, my doctors have been talking induction since 36 weeks, but my doctor mentioned last week she wanted to keep LO in as long as it was safe because as of now, I am not favorable for an induction (not effaced, posterior cervix). The only way she would know this is if I had an internal.

CCinLove · July 2011

My doc starts at the 39 week appt, but I declined. I didn't get checked until I was in labor with DS last time, and they were incredibly painful. My doctor can tell that the baby is head down by feeling my abdomen. The checks are to confirm how dilated you are.

forensicmama · July 2011

My schedule of events says I'll have a cervical exam at 36 weeks and then at 38, 39, 40 and 41+ weeks I'll get a cervix check for dilation. I'm not sure what this "cervical exam" is. They make it sound like a different procedure altogether, but maybe it isn't. Who knows?

Yes, you may turn down cervix checks, btw!!!

mabst196 · July 2011

They don't start till the last couple weeks and you can defer them if you'd like.

Karen1998 · July 2011

flutiefrostie:
My doctor starts at 37 weeks and they are optional. They can tell if the baby is head down by feeling your belly, and it really doesn't matter how dilated you are before you're in labor. I got checked with DS simply because I was curious, but won't this time. It's fairly uncomfortable.

Actually, they can't always tell this just by the top of your belly. My doctor was willing to wait until 38 weeks to start the cervical exams, though I did have the swab for Strep B at 36 weeks. I would not refuse the Strep B test. I don't find the cervical exams particularly uncomfortable. They're actually less uncomfortable than a pap smear. However, there is more knuckle pressure on the perineum during the cervical exam than during a pap and the usual vaginal exam.

AmandaRoxann · July 2011

The only exam I've had was my last weeks appointment (39wk2d) and my doctor only did that because I lost my mucus plug. Had I not lost my mucus plug she wouldn't have checked. It all depends on the doctor and I'm sure, so long as there is nothing wrong you can decline the internals.

kalioury · July 2011

My doctor's office starts doing them at 37 weeks but it depends on the doctor. I haven't had one yet and I will be 39 weeks tomorrow. I'm thinking they're only going to do one if I say I've experienced any contractions or any problems - which I haven't. They don't seem to be too concerned.

Stellar1 · July 2011

My doc did the first one at 35 weeks and then again weekly starting at 37 weeks. They check for dilation, effacement, to see if your cervix is soft, high, low, etc. I am very glad I got them. The doc was also able to tell how far down baby's head is. Even though I was dilated/effaced for weeks and never went into labor on my own with either child, I was happy to know my progress each week. I was induced 10 days late with my first and 4 days late with my second. It helped the dr. figure out how easy/hard my labor was going to be. She knew with my second that I was probably going to go quickly once I was in active labor and boy was she right! Once she broke my water, I had the baby within like 30 minutes. Dh and I were so relieved that I was in the hospital being induced and not driving in the car to the hospital with my DH delivering my baby!!!

SBZapp · March 2014

I had to go in at 35 weeks to be monitored because I was having frequent menstral like cramps. The nurse put me on a monitor to track the contractions and told me that checking the cervix is not necessary and that due to my small contractions, she doubted they were changing my cervix. She also said that checking the cervix is not always a necessary thing anyhow and that you know when you go into labor. However, the doctor came in to look over my progress and she told the nurse that because I an "already passed 34 weeks" to do a cervical exam. What?!.. It was really painful and the nurse said she could not even reach my cervix because it was really high. It seems to me that for the most part they are not really necessary, but doctors do them routinely and I hated feeling like a subject to that... Especially since many pregnant women find them painful and they know that. Thank you for all of your responses. I will speak up next time and decline the exam. However...there is no escaping them during labor. BUT, my doula says that you can request minimal vaginal exams on your birth plan.

Melissa72777 · March 2014

My OB starts it routinely at 38 weeks but I was having contractions starting at around 34 weeks and ended up in L&D at that time. I have continued contracting throughout so my doc has checked at every visit since. I don't think they would have done that if I wasn't having issues. Personally I don't enjoy them but they aren't the worst things in the world.

Avion22 · March 2014

For normal pregnancies, my practice doesn't do them at all. I think they might at 40 weeks if you haven't had any signs of labor, but I obviously haven't gotten that far yet. We also don't do weekly appointments -- the most often they see us is every 3 weeks and that's only at the end -- so they do 32w, 36w, 39w, then I guess they do another one at 40w if you haven't gone yet. Again, this is only if everything is normal -- some people get seen more often, like if they have GD, high blood pressure, are measuring big/small, etc.

KariB509 · March 2014

My OB starts them at 38 or 39 weeks. I was 38w2d yesterday and had a regular appt and the nurse asked if I wanted to be checked. I said yes because I wanted to know if I was making any progress in that direction. If you don't want to be checked, then it's not a big deal if you request not to be. I think they're just checking to see how things are progressing but it's not essential to know. You'll give birth eventually regardless!

Rrrrrachel · March 2014

There's absolutely no reason to do them except curiosity. They aren't necessary to tell if baby is head down (and honestly I don't think they even give you info on that) and being dilated tells you nothing about when labor will come. My cervix was high and tight at 41 weeks and I was so discouraged I cried and cried, only to deliver after a fast and relatively easy labor two days later. Plenty of other women have the opposite experience, where they find out they're 3cn and think labor is coming any day and then it's weeks and weeks.

PrimRoseMama · March 2014

Kitty Holland said:
I don't want an exam to check how far I am dilated prior to labor - just wondering how common they are. If you have them, when did they start and what does your Dr. say the purpose is.

I was offered at 38,39, 40 & 41 weeks. I waited until 41 weeks for a cervix check & membrane sweep.

My Midwife advised me that since things can change rapidly that the cervical (they are checking thinning & progress with dilation-- not your vagina itself FYI) check really serves no purpose.

There is the possibility of introducing infection, so it's been my choice to minimize checks in all my pregnancies.

HobokensFury · March 2014

I had one at 36 weeks when I got my strep test. I also got one at 37 weeks only because I was having bad Braxton hicks otherwise it's every 2 weeks.

hlm184 · March 2014

I let them check at 36 since they were all up in my business for GBS test anyway, but I will decline after that until at least 40 and probably further. Zero point to them, as others here have said.

RebeccaY1 · March 2014

I will be declining the checks since they just introduce bacteria into the area. I also don't really see the point. If you have a good doctor then they should be able to feel your belly and know the position of the baby. I don't really see the point of knowing if I'm dilated or not since that could change.

vszapp · March 2014

My MW doesn't do them and I am happy with that.

MA&CB · March 2014

I haven't had any for this pregnancy. I had the option, but neither me nor my OB really saw the point especially since I'm having a c-section Friday. We agreed at this last appointment not to 'stir things up in there'. I had them about every other week with my first pregnancy, and they were extremely uncomfortable. She had a really hard time reaching my cervix, and it was painful everytime. And disappointing to not be making any progress week after week.

SandiaLiz · March 2014

I am too curious not to! I know it doesn't tell you much, but I still wanna know! It seems like the info is at least a guide to how you are progressing since so many docs do them. I see the other side, but I let my doc at 38 and will at my next few.

Verstej2 · March 2014

My MW doesn't do them until you are well past your due date and then they are optional. Last time she did one just after my due date since I was having such cramps and I was almost 7cm dilated. I didn't have DS until a week later. They don't serve much purpose as far as I am concerned and they give you very little indication of labour. Plus they introduce foreign bacteria that can pose an additional risk. I don't understand why some doctors routinely start them so early unless it is to see how favorable you are for induction.

desertmouse39 · March 2014

It is optional with my OB - I chose to have one at 36 weeks mostly because I was curious to know and since this is my 2nd, if I know going into labor that I am already several centimeters dilated then I need to get to the hospital sooner than later (rather than laboring at home for too long). This check has not been uncomfortable for me (the GBS swab was much less pleasant) and I will probably have another at 39 weeks or so. DD#1 was quite late and required an induction and this time they won't let me go past my due date so I'm really hoping for a natural labor and delivery before the 27th!

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