Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m considering declining them until closer to my due date. My doctors office seems to do them starting at 36 weeks.

OP can you clarify the sequence of events? I'm close to giving birth a second time and this is something i'm considering/anxious about. So you were offered a cervical check at 36 weeks which you declined. But you went into spontaneous labor at 36 weeks and 3 days, went to the hospital, got checked and was at 4 cm, and progressed to 10cm quickly and did not have time to get the epidural (which would have required confirmation through a second check that you were dilated enough). Is this accurate?

If so something like this happened recently to a friend of mine - she declined cervical checks but once she went into labor at 39 weeks everything happened super quickly and she did not have time to get the epidural by the time she got to the hospital. She had an extremely painful birth as a result. I suppose this is one reason to get them after 36 weeks, so you potentially have some mental preparation that your body is more ready than you realize to giving birth? I know dilation isn't always predictive but at least sometimes, it is.

I had a pretty quick first birth with the epidural, and my OB told me this time it's likely to be faster. She offered me cervical check and said if they know I'm already starting to dilate, when i go into labor and call the hospital, they'll likely admit me faster.

Op here. Very good point! At the last check ( second one) when doc said I was 7-9 my water broke when she was doing the check. I was feeling him come out while running out of triage to delivery room. They asked me to hold my legs together. It was a matter of mins after the check that I was ready to push. I should have stayed in the triage room. I also had bad hips so getting in the right position to push was difficult and did wasn’t nice when explaining how to push. She apologized later and did she knew how bad I wanted the epidural and was trying to get me to push so it could be over asap. My doula showed up just as I was getting ready to push and I still tore second degree with the short pushing time! I would advise you to make sure the hospital has tons of doctors available. I think they only had one doctor and she delivered 3 babies in 3.5 hours. One was a c section. The hospital is small but the closest one available.

Sorry OP, that sounds hectic and traumatic. Which hospital was this if you don't mind sharing? Congrats on the new baby. You sound pretty calm and composed for someone who unwillingly went through a natural birth. I'd be very very upset.

Op here. Don’t worry I’m in a suburb of Philadelphia. The hospital is very small. Phoenixville PA hospital. All of my births have been in different states as we have moved a lot. I had an epidural for my second pregnancy but still felt pain and I really had to push for them to check me asap in triage. The epidural did help with my second and I was happy to get it! When the ob checked me last she said they will everything to get me the epidural and less then 15 mins baby was here. Too bad I’m not rich and can’t afford my own OB doctor and anaesthetist. My first pregnancy was similar but baby ended up surprise frank breech as I was feeling pressure to push so they rushed me for a c section. With my history I wish they would have factored in the fast dilation and contractions. Their moto seemed to be every pregnancy is different but in my case there were a lot of similarities and the last one was by far the fastest.

Also just to note fast labors tends to happen with small babies and preterm babies. My baby’s have been small and some preterm. I’m going to enjoy baby now. Thanks for them support ladies and don’t be afraid to get into triage screaming to be checked so you can get the epidural right away!! This isn’t the time to be patient or nice. As we were driving to the hospital I was telling my 5 year old we don’t know if baby will come today but will check with doctor. As soon as I arrived the contractions were so strong and it became obvious to me I was in active labor. The drive is 20 mins.

You can decline all cervical checks during pregnancy as they aren't necessary. I had one with my DD2 and without permission the doctor performed a membrane sweep. So, I declined all cervical checks with my other kids after that.