Why do you choose to get your membranes stripped?

Question

I've seen so many posts where people report on getting it done as a standard practice after 37-38 weeks and I'm just curious - why? I went to my 38 weeks dr appt today and she asked if I wanted her to do it, I declined. Full term is now considered to be 39 weeks and the baby's brain and nervous system are still maturing. Not that there will be anything wrong with the baby born at 38 weeks but why force it if it's not time yet? Maybe it's just me (I had preterm labor with my 1st) but I'm going to be pretty excited to go all the way till the finish line 40-41weeks.

Answer

According to my doctor, and this app actually, 37 weeks is considered full term. (It’s even in my daily update today saying I’m full term) 
At this point, lungs and brain are completely developed. Baby is just putting on fat in order to regular blood sugars and body temperature. So it’s perfectly safe to have a baby now. Which is why many women will try a membrane sweep. Some pregnant women are more uncomfortable then others so they choose not to put themselves through a few more weeks when its not 100% necessary. A doctor wouldn’t do it or allow it if it wasn’t safe. 
This is no way in saying that it’s something I would do however. I’m trying to keep baby in until 40 weeks. After that 40 week mark, by all means, i will be doing whatever I can to get this baby out 🤣

Answer

Stripping membranes doesn’t cause labor if your body isn’t ready. Lots of people try it and it doesn’t work for this reason. I had it done last pregnancy at 39 and 4 because I had been having prodromal labor contractions for 14+hours and wanted to see if we could jump it into active labor. It worked. Baby born the same day.

Answer

My water spontaneously broke this weekend at 37-4 so it ended up being a moot point but I would have started my sweeps at 38 weeks. For me the goal would have been to possibly help “induce “ labor without actually having to do an induction. Since I knew I would be allowed to go beyond 40 weeks I was ready to do sweeps at 38 and 39 weeks to try to avoid an induction at 40 weeks.

Answer

I had mine done at 37, doctor offered and I accepted. Although my pregnancy has been full of all kinds of terrible symptoms and just an all around feeling of blehhh, so that of course made me want to do anything possible to not be pregnant anymore. I’m now 37+4 and plan to have it done again at 38 weeks. If it works, it works, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But I still prefer to try.

Answer

just because you have a membrane sweep doesn’t mean you will go into labor FYI

Answer

It doesnt send you into labor most of the time. It just helps with dilation and such.

Answer

Great question. I think it’s common for doctors to at least wait until 39 weeks so I’m not on board for before then but I decided to do it at 40+1 because my sister, who was also my labor support person and who will be taking care of my daughter this time around, was leaving on a work trip a few days later. I really wanted her there for the birth. This time around my husband has a work trip when I would be 41+3 so I will do a sweep at 40 weeks, if I don’t have baby before then.

Why do you choose to get your membranes stripped?

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