Manual Cervix Stretching?

Janis Bell - posted on 12/16/2012

Your doctor is doing a highly invasive procedure that has as its purpose to start your labor before you are due. Doctors do this for control and because your doctor does not believe you can birth on your own, which you can. Once your doctor has his hands in your vagina, he can easily also in a flash strip your membranes aka sweeping your membranes which is just another level of ",massaging your cervix.

You can and should say no. At least he is alerting you to his desires. Everyday in America OB do these procedures without warning or permission. I do not know what you call someone putting something in your vagina without warning or permission. I know what I call it.

Aloha, Janis Bush
Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator---Serving Expectant Couples since 1977
808-263-BABY if you have more questions

Krysta - posted on 04/08/2010

yes i had it done with my son,i was over due. and my doctor did it,and it HURTS BADLY! sorry i dont want to scare you or anything. when i had it done i still didnt go in labor.i went into labor a week later.

Niki - posted on 04/07/2010

never heard of it - but other natural ways to induce are with homeopathics, accupressue or accupunture. look online and find a qualified person in your region - they work really really well so long as baby is actually ready to be born (due dates arnt wrong etc)

Andrea - posted on 04/07/2010

It's called "stroking the membranes" lol I was just making a post to 2 other girls on here lol... but yes, I had it done, and within 48 hours I had my daughter. I would recommend it, it's not painful, and it's a natural way to get things going :)

Kristin - posted on 04/07/2010

I had not heard of cervical stretching, but have had my membranes stripped. No, they do not pucture the amniotic sac just kind of pull/scrape it away from the cervix. That has been known to work also. I drank raspberry leaf tea once I hit the 39 week point and that intensified the contractions I had been having. Have you spoken with your doctor about natural methods of inducing labor?

As a side note, don't be afraid of induction. I don't know that anyone wants to be induced, but sometimes it's the best alternative. Yes, they do give you artificial hormones to start labor, but if your cervix is ripe there are generally very few problems. I had to be induced with both of my boys and fully expect to have to be induced again with our final child. While, it is faster (usually) than a non-induced labor, it is still a vaginal delivery. I would choose that anytime over a C-section.

Good luck, I hope you get the delivery you want.

Dianne - posted on 04/07/2010

Hi Mary Renee, DH means Dear Husband.

Every part of sex works on your body to facilitate labor. Semen has hormones and nipple stimulation causes you to produce your own oxytocin,(pitocin - artificial oxytocin), which is the hormone that the Dr can use for induction.
Midwives use nipple stimulation to help contractions get stronger and more regular, naturally. If you are doing this, you should be feeling contractions.

Chantel - posted on 04/07/2010

the manuall streching is just your doctor going inside and kinda massaging the inside of you during an appointment, takes a minute but is uncomfertable of course. I had it done with my daughter but i sitll ended up almost 2 weeks over due and had to be induced. I hope it doesnt happen with this baby.

Mary Renee - posted on 04/07/2010

Thanks for the responses. The Daddy and I have been trying the love making. It's still kind of funny having sex while pregnant and sometimes I have to be like "Woah, woah, we have to change positions" because it's back there and not comfortable and I'm afraid it's going to hit the baby or something (even though I know that's probably totally ridiculous but I'm already a little bit dialated and effaced) With out being too graphic... is it the actual sex or the semen that jump starts labor or both?

As a side not, I see "DH" used all the time and I assume it means the father of the baby but I'm not sure what it stands for! Could you enlighten me so I can use it correctly.

Dianne - posted on 04/06/2010

Hi Mary. Manual cervical stretching is a way to stimulate hormone production.

It's much easier and more fun to make love to your DH. It will stimulate hormone production AND DH will produce hormones that helps labor as well. Nipple stimulation may start uterine contractions.

Frequent love making, with lots of nipple stimulation in the next few weeks will get you ready for labor. What could be more natural than that? :)

Katherine - posted on 04/06/2010

Manually stretching isn't induction its just helping your cervix to stretch, I'm from Australia and dr's do it here all the time especially if you have started to dilate, it just speeds up the process. I had it done with my second child a week before he came and his labour was very quick. good luck