hey there in the bathroom just finishing up creating a important prop with this water balloon
where we are going to talk about how stripping membranes is done pros and cons let's dive into
all the details of this procedure let's do it [Music] so together in this video we're going
to dive into this topic we're going to cover everything from how stripping the membranes
is done and we're going to compare it to other methods of inductions and of course we're going to
look at the pros and cons now stripping membranes it's also called sweeping membranes and you might
even hear it called a stretch and sweep so all of these refer to the same procedure Sometimes
some doctors use one word over another but this procedure is done in your doctoral or midwives
office during a prenatal appointment usually somewhere between 38 weeks and 40 weeks so
this procedure can also be done when you are in the hospital during induction but it's usually
down in the prenatal appointment but you cannot strip the membranes yourself so the reason that
we would strip membranes at all is to encourage your body to go into labor it's almost like a bit
of a jump start into labor a couple things I really want you to know before we go any
further is that this procedure is optional so it's something that should be your choice a decision
you make with your provider it still makes me crazy to know that there are doctors that will
do a membrane sweep without any kind of consent I can't believe I've been hearing about this for the
last 17 years that I have been a doula I'm not sure why it hasn't stopped yet but what happens
sometimes is a provider will do a cervical check and then say I did a sweep while I was checking
your cervix it shouldn't go like that any time that you're going to have a cervical check it's
great time to have the conversation with your provider about well first of all your preferences
on the cervical check but then your preference is and your decision on whether to do a sweep
of your membranes at the same time so it's an optional procedure it doesn't have to be done and
it should be your choice the next thing is that membrane sweeps can't happen unless your cervix
is open enough dilated enough for a fingertip to fit through it so if your cervix is closed it just
can't happen so it might not be an option for you depending upon what's going on with your cervix
and if you're wondering what it feels like if it's painful we are going to cover that in this video
so stay tuned so let's grab our prop and talk about why this action might send your body into
labor in this example the water balloon represents the amniotic sac filled with amniotic fluid and
the baby the glass jar represents the uterus now during the procedure your doctor or Midwife will
insert a gloved finger into your vagina and that finger will go through the opening in your cervix
they'll then sweep away the membranes so that's the tip issue in this example that are found but
need between the amniotic sac the balloon and the top of the cervix so this act of disrupting the
membranes the tissue in this example when you disrupt the membranes it can release a hormone
called prostaglandin prostaglandin is what can cause your body to start Contracting and that
could start labor now if labor starts after this procedure then that is considered by most people
to be the number one pro that's starting labor with something as relatively easy as stripping
the membranes is really an ideal outcome of this procedure so another Pro is that it can be done
during a prenatal visit so you don't have to be hospitalized you don't have to go through
all of the actions that go with being admitted to a hospital if it starts labor you can go home
you can do your resting in early labor at home and you can go about your plan for early labor
labor as if your body started labor on its own so it's different than other induction methods like
pitocin the Foley bulb and having your water broken a third Pro is that unlike those other
methods that I just mentioned you don't have to be monitored it's relatively low risk so your baby
does not have to be monitored during this form of induction now I think the number one con for most
people is that it can be quite uncomfortable or possibly even painful before Labor Begins
the cervix is pointed backwards towards your uh back it's posterior which can make it make it
during a vaginal exam hard to reach and that can increase pain now I did a quick search
in the Reddit bumper groups on experiences that people had when they had their membranes swept or
stripped and the descriptions of what they felt was quite a huge range so people described this
experience everywhere from the pain her alert like a mofo more uncomfortable than a pap smear
not that bad quite painful and didn't hurt at all now a second con is that it does have the risk of
breaking your water which would begin a medical induction of Labor so there's like no turning back
once your water is broken so the other thing is anytime your cervix is checked there is risk of
introducing bacteria which would increase your risk of an infection definitely a con now the
third con is that it can cause a crampiness a discomfort that doesn't end up leading to
labor now I've had many Doula clients experience this outcome where they go into their 39-week
appointment they get their membrane stripped and then they start feeling crampiness like period
cramps but more uncomfortable and then they end up having a sleepless night of cramping
that doesn't turn into labor now I've also worked with clients who have had this sleepless night of
cramping that does eventually turn into labor the next day but they're starting out labor kind of
exhausted and because they were dealing with the cramps that were started by the stripping of the
membranes so if you're wondering if it's worth it whether you should get your membrane swept then
it's good to know the pros and cons and then also consider your other options so you might
have the option of just waiting to go into labor for another week you might be offered the sweep a
day before an induction and those two scenarios are very different and might lead you to make
different choices on whether or not you want it done now if you get your membranes stripped and
it doesn't work depending upon what's going on with your pregnancy and the options that your
provider might give you they might allow you or ask you if you want to have another strip down
at your next prenatal appointment so it's not uncommon for people to have this done a couple
of times leading up to labor now since since we're talking about induction probably the
next video you might want to check out is all about pitocin pitocin is kind of mysterious
and it's there's so many stories about it I put together a video on Pitocin that I think you'll
find really helpful and I'm going to link that next if you found this video helpful I would
love it if you liked the video If you subscribe to the channel I've got lots of videos that I
know that you would love and I will make it worth your wild talk to you next time bye guys [Music]