Cervical check to determine position of baby?

Livingthemommylife · November 2014

I'm just curious how most of you ladies found out the position of your baby. I'm 38 weeks in 2 days and I've been avoiding cervical checks because I believe them to be invasive and unnecessary, and my doc is induction happy and would like to avoid the possibility of him stripping my membranes without telling me. I really want to go into labor on my own naturally and have an nucb.

Anywho, at my last appt yesterday I asked if he was going to feel around on my belly to see if baby is breech or not and he said no, but he'll do a cervical check next week. I told him I didn't want any cervical checks and he said, "well, how do you expect me to find out if he's breech or not?" And I said well can't you feel around on the belly or do an u/s? And he just laughed me off. I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of him doing a cervical check to determine baby's position. I have never heard of a doc finding out breech position through a cervical check. It just sounds weird.

So what do you think, ladies? Am I overreacting? Or is this a weird way to determine position of baby? Can I show up next week and refuse the check? Will he drop me as a patient because I refuse? I'm not a confrontational person, so this whole situation is very intimidating. Thanks!

lovingaddi · November 2014

My midwife just felt her positioning on the top of my belly...literally had her hand almost in a cupped fashion where baby's head is at. Now I did get one cervical check at 37.5 due to already being 3 cm dilated at 27 weeks. At the time she said she could feel baby's head & told me what station she was at. So doc isn't necessarily "wrong" I guess...but at the same time..there are definitely other options!

ssstephanie214 · November 2014

I don't think you are overreacting, you are reacting to how he made you feel. He sounds like a big condescending jerk. I can't stand doctors like that and I'm sorry you don't even trust him.

To answer your questions,
1. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with, ever
2. Yes you can refuse the check, you have rights as a patient
3. He can't drop you without ENSURING you are going to get other care/setting you up with another doctor. It would be extremely irresponsible for him to drop you so close to your due date so I really wouldn't worry that he'd do this.

Livingthemommylife · November 2014

lovebuggies1 said:
If I ever felt that uncomfortable or didn't trust my OB, I would've dropped them ages ago. Period. OP why did you stay with him if he's not at least in line with what your preferences are? No doctor should be stripping membranes without consent or making patient aware of what's their plan is...

With that being said, I know baby's position because a nurse felt on my belly before doing an NST. My OB was unsure at that appointment because he'd been transverse for a while. But I'm sure if she really wanted to know she'd have investigated further. (It just wasn't a big deal as I was like 30w I think.)

I get cervical checks because of the issues I keep having. And LO is so low that they can feel his head. If you don't want them, don't get them. But if he offers no other way to check for you then so be it. You'll find out on delivery day. And I doubt he'll drop you. If he highly advised a lot of things and you went against everything he suggested so far, then yea he could.

I guess it's my fault for not asking him questions sooner. He always just said we would talk about that stuff later on down the line because before it was just too early. So I didn't get to really ask questions until week 36. I had him with my last pregnancy and I was so sure he was pretty relaxed with things like this, but I also had different preferences last time (didn't mind induction or epis). But this time I've gone a whole 180 with my preferences; going all natural yada yada. I do remember denying cervical checks last time but being 3 years ago my memory sucks and I could've sworn he was okay with it. And I definitely don't remember him checking for breech babes through cervical checks. But this time around he seems a bit more adamant.

And this is the first time I had gone against any of his recommendations. So it just makes me a bit nervous.

Livingthemommylife · November 2014

AeandJb said:
Your OB just wants your cervix checked. Can you make the appointment with a different OB?

Not without switching over to a completely new provider. It's a single practitioner's office; he's the only OB there.

Ineedmorecoffee · November 2014

My doctor Determined her position by checking my cervix. First she felt around on my stomach. And then when she checked my cervix she was able to feel her head.

misterdonut · November 2014

my MWs haven't pushed me getting checks at all since i've had a relatively healthy pregnancy, no point in stirring up any anxiety. HOWEVER i had a bad nurse who was like ooh....you're 40 weeks now... I'm gonna go ahead and say yes to the cervical check. When MW came in for the appt she said you know we don't need to do a check, right?

You do not have to be forced into a cervical check!! I did my research online and they really don't tell you much as things can progress slow or very fast regardless of how many weeks you are.

soulcupcake · November 2014

lissydee said:

Cervical check is another way to determine. If you are dilated they can try and feel for fontanelles on baby's head. But typically position is determined first by leapold's maneuvers (palpating the abdomen). Then the others to help verify (cervical check and u/s). Ultrasound is going to be most accurate though.

This.

Not all practitioners are well trained in palpating the abdomen/uterus. In a more clinical setting they may not have the time to spend feeling around for baby's body parts.

If you're familiar with belly mapping you can get an idea for baby's presentation. My midwife palpates the abdomen to determine her position. I can generally feel around to get a sense of her position, but will have an ultrasound the end of next week to confirm.

jj0313 · November 2014

I'm sad for you that you can't trust that he isn't going to strip your membranes without your permission. I haven't had my membranes stripped but wouldn't it be pretty clear he is doing this? Does it involve an instrument?

I've declined the checks up until today, 39w5d, because I also felt like they were unnecessary. I've known my baby is down though for a while so it's bogus he is saying he can't find out other ways.

No time to switch probably but that really blows if you distrust this guy so much

howin23 · November 2014

Mine checked just by feeling, but also had an ultrasound to back it up (37 week growth and 38 weeks tmw b/c my fluid is high). I've been turning down cervical checks.

I don't think he would drop you as a patient, but I also find it interesting that both you and he seem to have changed preferences since last time. I have to wonder if something went wrong and he got sued, then was told he should have done the cervical checks, or if his insurance is pushing for it. I know malpractice for OBs is out of control so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and think that might have something to do with it. That said, you can certainly say no or at least have more of a discussion about it.

soulcupcake · November 2014

@jj0313

I've known others who had theirs stripped without permission. Some times it can seem like a really aggressive VE. No instrument is used. It's often done during a VE, and fingers, index and middle, are used to separate the membranes from the wall of the uterus.

jj0313 · November 2014

@metaphysique‌ that just made me shudder. So f-Ed up.

BkBaby118 · November 2014

They suspected my baby was breech during my 36th week but couldn't be sure by feeling my abdomen externally, and it was a little early for cervical checks so I had an ultrasound to confirm. She flipped a week later and I've been getting cervical checks since then (I'm 39w2d now) and they can tell from those that she's still head down.

mander82 · November 2014

My dr. felt my belly, said she could feel his head down low. I asked her how and she showed me what she felt, she guided my hands to his head.

I don't really know what I was feeling............but I felt something and just went with it. I had my first cervical check @ 38 weeks and she said she felt his head, so I guess that confirmed it.

Livingthemommylife · November 2014

Thanks, ladies, for all your input. I guess I'll just have to decide whether I think it's worth the battle or not and then just be blunt with him with what I want in the end and see if we can come to a middle ground or something. I'm glad to hear others' docs have checked cervically before, even if it's not the most common method.

belmont1785 · November 2014

My OB could determine right away during my cervical check what position she was in. That's the first thing she said when she did it. She checked my cervix and said she was definitely head down. She said for mom's like me that were slightly overweight before pregnancy its harder to determine size and position just by feeling the stomach but usually between a cervix check and feeling with her hands she can tell.

I have no problem with having cervical checks though, so I don't have advice about that.

kaimee27 · November 2014

At my last appointment, I saw a different OB than my usual one, and I mentioned to her my doctor's plan for checking to see if the baby was head down at that point since she had refused to stay/be in a head down position for weeks and we planned an ECV if she wasn't head down. She first tried to feel around on the outside, but couldn't tell that way, so she asked if she could try to feel through a pelvic. When that didn't work either, they finally did an ultrasound to check.

Long story short...there is definitely a less invasive way to check baby's position, and a doctor should NEVER be able to force you into something that you're uncomfortable with. Yes, I had the pelvic, but the OB ASKED me if I was okay with it, she didn't make any demands.

carafern · November 2014

My LO has been head down for months, and my midwife verified by palpitation. I saw an OB last week and she checked with a little U/S machine.

I think your best bet is to ask for an ultrasound, which is both most accurate and least invasive. Both practices I've been to had small machines…not the kind you get pictures from but enough to get a sense of LO's positioning, not sure if that's an option for you.

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