Cervical checks at hospital admission. Required? Did you opt out?

Heather

Hey ladies would love to get your input on this. I took a Birthing Class aimed at natural labor in a hospital setting and one of the recommendations they taught was to decline the cervical check at hospital admissions. (Lost of reasons why happy to explain if someone is interested.)

I brought this up with my doctor who I generally like and has a great bedside manner (and who was total fine with my declining in office cervical checks) and she acted like I was asking something really strange. I asked her what the benefit was and she said “the hospital will require it for admission” and “I’m not willing to manage a labor without that baseline information”.

She basically didn’t answer my question and told me I had no choice. It was completely out of character and not at all what my Birth Class taught me would happen. (My birth class was super mainstream - one of the most attended in NYC)

So a few questions...

Did your hospital require them?

Did anyone decline? How did that go?

What would you do if your doctor said something like this/ refused to answer a question?

I’m three weeks away from my due date and this has me so stressed out (not the cervical check I really don’t care if i have to forgo that detail of my birth plan) but that my doctor randomly turned into a bit of a bully/birth dictator).