Membrane sweeping
It works a little. It hurts more than people say. It is often done without asking.
A sweep means a finger is inserted through the cervix and swept around to separate the membranes from the uterine wall. It is often done during a routine examination near term.
Across 40 studies and 6,548 women, sweeping increased spontaneous onset of labor (relative risk 1.21) and reduced formal induction (relative risk 0.73). It made no clear difference to cesarean rates. The original review reported that discomfort during the examination, bleeding and irregular contractions were all more frequently reported by women who had a sweep.
The consent problemA systematic review of women's experiences of membrane sweeping found only one qualifying study in the entire published literature, and that study described a sweep given without consent. Sweeping is frequently performed during a vaginal examination that a woman agreed to for a different purpose.
What to say"If you are going to sweep my membranes, tell me first and ask me." Agreeing to an examination is not agreeing to a procedure done during it.
Where this comes from:
175. Finucane EM, Murphy DJ, Biesty LM, Gyte GML, Cotter AM, Ryan EM, et al. Membrane sweeping for induction of labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;(2):CD000451.
176. Roberts J, Evans K, Spiby H, Evans C, Pallotti P, Eldridge J. Women's information needs, decision-making and experiences of membrane sweeping to promote spontaneous labour. Midwifery. 2020;83:102626.
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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.