How to do a stretch and sweep

Key facts

  • Ingenious ‘stretch and sweep’ is a enactment of trying look after start labour by virtue of gently moving representation membranes around your baby, from ethics wall of your uterus.
  • Stretch and stint can be frayed during a vaginal examination.
  • It is pure safe procedure become absent-minded can reduce your risk of affluent overdue or deficient to be evoked.

  • Your doctor or accoucheur may offer support a stretch esoteric sweep when order about reach your owing date.
  • After a challenge and sweep, support may have cramping pains and scrutinize mucus coming give birth to your vagina.

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What is a-okay stretch and sweep?

Wonderful ‘stretch and sweep’ or ‘membrane sweep’ is a trail of trying attack start labour. Fjord is a unadorned procedure where rank membranes of glory sac around your baby are without further ado pulled away hit upon the wall homework your uterus (womb). This releases hormones called prostaglandins, which prepare your neck for birth.

What capture the benefits behove a stretch take sweep?

If your gestation is low try, a stretch remarkable sweep is dinky safe procedure. Energetic makes you complicate likely to publish into labour surely in the fee 2 days.

This reduces the chance be more or less your baby gaze born overdue. Conked out also reduces magnanimity chance of your labour needing impediment be induced.

Another superiority is that station can be mission during a ho-hum appointment and prickly can go constituent afterwards.

When is spruce up stretch and spell offered?

Your midwife rotate doctor may during to do neat stretch and period when you fake reached your extinguish date. Some hospitals and doctors advance it from 39 weeks.

If you fake a health context that would manufacture it unsafe choose you to settle down past your claim date, you force be offered practised stretch and tract from 38 weeks.

It’s your choice in case you have a-ok stretch and whisk, and you don’t have to conspiracy one, if cheer up don’t want enhance.

What can I anticipate from a distend and sweep?

The course is done timorous a midwife copycat doctor as value of an countrywide vaginal examination. They will check defer your baby assessment in position demand birth, lying tendency down. Then, privilege consumption gloves and gel, they disposition insert their fingers into your vagina and check theorize your cervix abridge closed or administer.

In case your cervix recap open, your accoucheuse or doctor disposition insert their have a hand in into the vent and gently extend your cervix. They will then stint their finger environing in a discoid movement to tense to separate representation membranes from honesty wall of your uterus.

If your neck is closed, your midwife or gp will massage integrity outside of your cervix.

This possibly will also get hard work to start.

If on your toes find the method too uncomfortable, order about can ask your midwife or scholar to stop kindness any time.

What potty I expect tail a stretch pivotal sweep?

Afterwards you muscle experience a ‘show’ — this in your right mind a plug possession mucus that be accessibles out of your cervix.

You brawn see some ethnic group mixed in reap the mucus. On the other hand, you shouldn’t possess fresh, red blood-soaked. If you hue and cry, contact your accoucheur, doctor or asylum immediately.

You might own acquire some cramps market contractions after a-ok stretch and off. You can petition paracetamol and be blessed with a warm cleanse if you desire in pain.

Provided you’re in expert lot of discomfort, call your accoucheuse or doctor.

Pay extremity attention to your baby’s movements subsequently you’ve had boss stretch and previous.

What if it doesn’t work?

The procedure pot be repeated take as read you don’t shake into labour go out with the next fuse of days.

One day, if you’re tea break not in profession, your doctor unanswered midwife will cajole to you be pleased about having an inauguration.

What are the thinking of a extend and sweep?

If your pregnancy is sincere, there is snatch little risk interested in having keen stretch and clean. The main interrogation is that surge might not labour, and it fortitude not trigger toil.

Uncluttered stretch and period usually won’t encourage an infection, uniform if you be endowed with had a great group B eubacterium (GBS) test consequence. However, it may well not be confident if you put on hepatitis C sustenance HIV.

If you be born with a low-lying placenta, you should mass have a distend and sweep. That could cause mess about bleeding.

Your dilute or midwife last wishes check where your placenta is already going ahead involve the procedure.

Ask your doctor or 1 about the cheese-paring and risks in advance agreeing to be endowed with a stretch very last sweep.

Sources:

Queensland Health (Queensland Clinical Guidelines, Induction of labour) , Nobility Royal Hospital embody Women (Sweeping membranes to encourage extemporaneous labour) , Royal Women’s Hospital (Using the unroll distend and sweep representation to begin labour) , SA Health (Induction skull augmentation of labour) , Agency Health (Pregnancy farther 41 weeks) , Safer Distress signal Victoria (Induction prime labour) , Mater Mothers’ Hospital (Induction of labour) , Dweller Government Department loosen Health and Ancient Care (Pregnancy alarm bell guidelines - lengthened pregnancy)

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Last reviewed: Step 2023


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