Stripping your membranes?

Can you ask the Dr to do this?  I will be 39 weeks and 5 days at my next appt and I am super uncomfortable.  Been having diarrhea, cramping and contractions for a week and a half and I am sick of waiting.  I do not want to be induced but I want to speed things up.

Has anyone had this done and went into labor soon after.  I hate to complain but I am SO done with this. 

thanks Karen

i had it done on a monday... by wed she was born... but like you i was 39 weeks and it might just have been time... i hate to say this... but my bag was soooooooooooooooooo bulging that when she pushed the bag back up i felt so relieved... i wanted to hug her LOL

I have no experience with it personally but I fully intend to ask my doctor to do it tomorrow if I've dilated enough for her to be able to.  There's no hard evidence that it works but I'm willing to give it a try!

I don't have any experience on that but good luck to ya!!

I feel like I'm always the nay-sayer, but I really am trying to help.  I was 40 weeks when my doc did this with my last child.  Maybe I'm a pansey, but that was the most painful thing I've ever experienced.  AND, it did nothing.  My little boy still didn't come until I was induced 11 days later.  I think if you're body's going to go in to labor, it will.  If not, stripping the membranes won't help.  But I could be the execption to the rule.

I hope you get some relief soon regardless.
DaNell

I had it done at 38wks. My b/p was starting to go up, I was 2cm and soft and I have major back injuries from a car accident and had been off all meds the entire pregnancy for my back so she said it was worth a shot. I was lying on the table and she said you can sit up now... I said what? your done? thats it? That was a thursday afternoon on friday hubby and I had some fun ;) and saturday morning I starting leaking fluid while I was out at garage sales... later that day my water broke and she was born sunday a.m.

I was so relieved! My docs wont induce until 42wks but anything natural is fine after 37wks!

Hopefully they will do it for you :)

I had it done right around 39 weeks and nothing happened, so my doc did it again about 5 days later and I went into labor 2 days after that.  Didn't feel a thing either time he did it, completely pain free and didn't even know he had done it until he told me we were finished!  I told him I had read online that it hurt very badly and he said only when the doctor performing it doesn't really know what he/she is doing.  Hope this helps!

Monet

I was told that OB's don't do it very often anymore. I don't know if that is accurate though from all the pp's. lol! My best advice- have SEX! I went into full on labor 3 hrs after. It worked TOO well! Haha!

-Ashlie

I am sorry you are so uncomfortable, but you are so close, keep your eye on the prize! From what I have read, stripping works in about 50% of people, but they are not really sure if that is just because that 50% was already ready, or if it's an effective tool, so ask if you want but be prepared that it might not do anything for you.

Another suggetion for starting things though, did you get a breastpump at your shower? If so, use it for about 5 mins (or longer if you can stand it, it can be quite uncomfortable before baby is born though), nipple stimulation can cause contractions that lead to labor.

Good luck!