Birth Exam

This is my first post so I hope I am in the right area for these questions.

Is having a pelvic exam during labor and birth the same as a yearly exam or is it uncomfortable or painful?

Does the doctor do more pelvic exams after the birth if you have an episiotomy, forceps use during birth or have a vacuum assisted birth?

I have two boys. The pelvic exam during labor can be uncomfortable. But this is to be expected. If the doctor is really good the yearly exam can actully some what nice. After birth you go back to your yearly exams. I had two c-sections. But I still had to go through the pelvic exam at least a few times before birth then when I was in labor the nurse used her fingers to see how far I was dialated. The exams are different with every woman.

I think using the birthing chair/table would be more fun in a role play than a real birthing. And your thoughts are/should be with the child you are bringing into the world during a real birth lol. Although I have read about people have orgasmic births... not saying you can't mix the two.

I had pelvic exams during pregnancy with both of my children. The exams were scheduled at intervals during the pregnancy to see how I, and the baby were doing. I would be weighed, girth of my abdomen measured, pelvic exam to see how I was doing, the baby's heart beat, and position checked, and my blood work, and nutrition examined. The closer I got to term, the more uncomfortable the exams were, but not painful. I did continue to have annual exams after giving birth.

I had several 'internal' exams during pregnancy, during almost every other monthly check up the Dr would palpitate my abdomen and check me internally.

During birth / labour the midwife checked the cervix dilation several times and the Dr stitched me after my episiotomy. The stitches were later removed by the midwife.

During my pregnancy I was frequently given suppositories by the clinic nurse who administered them herself. They were necessary to to keep my bowels clear and to remove pressure from the uterus....she said.

After birth I was given a 6 week exam by my Dr which included internal / pelvic plus a rectal exam to check for fissures.

Ellen, this all happened 40+ years ago but i remember my wife telling me that one of the times the doctor came in to check her, she said he checked her vaginally and said (this might be off a little)something like her being to small and then ask her to roll on her side and he did a rectal.Like I said this was 40 years ago but that is kind of how I remember it going.

Exams (which can be either vaginal or rectal) during labor are different from regular exams because their objective is to determine the degree of dilation of the cervix. They have to be done at the peak of the contraction so it can be quite uncomfortable, especially in the advanced stages of labor. (Of course, if the mother has an epidural, then she doesn't feel anything anyway.) Rectal exams, in particular, can be very painful but have the advantage of not requiring sterile conditions and so seem to be more common in poorer countries. (I've seen a documentary video on birth procedures for doctors in China that included a detailed rectal exam.) I think vaginal exams are more common in developed countries. (I like all kinds of medfet but I particularly enjoy birth so I could talk about this all day.)

My wife had an episiotomy during labour, a young asian doctor was stiching her back together afterwards with her feet wide apart, he suddenly said he needed to check her back passage and planted a finger up there for an eternity. While he was doing it I noticed another doctor came in to check how he was doing, pulling the curtain to one side as he came through. The timing couldn't have been worse, a party of parents to be were just being shown around the delivery suite, so a second doctor, the midwife, me, 5 sets of moms and dads to be and one teenage boy all got a view of my wifes freshly stiched vagina, still being held open by some spreader device and some doctor's finger firmley planted up her anus. The hospital pushed skin on skin contact with the baby so they got two heavy naked breasts thrown in.

Great thread, this.

I don't recall that pelvic exams were particularly painful during pregnancy, although late in term they were decidedly uncomfortable. My husband went with me to all my appointments and was in the room during these exams, with my permission.

During labor, that was another story altogether. I had a nurse with hands the size of hams, and she used them about as well! I know the exams were necessary to check dilation and effacement, but it got old, fast. I recall one rectal exam during labor to check the position of the baby's head, and one after during my six-week check-up.

gaze

I didn't mind the pelvic exams, which were limited during my pregnancy and labor and delivery, to prevent getting any type of uterine infection or urinary tract infection.

Buttt, after delivery, the six week check of was "OMG, Leave my bottom alone," lol. Later I was not so tender to the touch so to speak. I would think considering my cervix was torn and stitched, anyone would feel the same way. I have watched many women who had 4th degree tears, squirm and tear up getting their pelvic exams after delivery and their six week check ups. I know how they feel and I empathize with them.

My wife went into preterm labor at 32 weeks with our oldest child. They kept her overnight at the hospital and administered injections to enhance the baby's lung maturity along with meds to delay labor. It was surreal because every 2 hrs a resident would examine her cervix to see if she was continuing to dilate. I stayed overnight in her room and every 2 hrs they would come in ask her to open her legs and do the digital exam. She was so happy to be released even though it was to go home on bedrest.

My lovely wife had our (only) child at age 34. I did not see the following, my wife told me afterward. Pre delivery she was routinely checked by a nurse for dilation. The nurse asked if she would allow other nurses to do the same two finger check for education purposes. Wife agreed. Shortly after the delivery nurse and four interns or RNs or CNAs came in. Wife had a sheet pulled up over her head for her "privacy" One at a time they took took turns looking under the sheet and inserting two fingers to touch the cervix. She later remarked that one of the examiners, a man, she could tell by his voice as he did the exam, held his fingers in what she said was at least a couple minutes. This was not pleasing to her, under the circumstances. Usually she accepts that digital insertions are just part of a physical or pelvic exam. I imagine the moment was pleasing to the male intern or nurse who took extra insertion time for his exam, though.

She was shortly after asked if she would allow another small group of 3 or 4 nurses to "learn by doing" but she declined. I got the impression that any number of volunteers to do an cervix check would be found as long as she permitted it.

She did say to me that giving birth "made her lose all modesty" and that the

extra digital checks were as much a part of that as being openly exposed on the birthing table.

I had two kids, I was 23 and 25 when I gave birth. The only time I remember the exams being uncomfortable was towards the end of the pregnancy. WHen I was in active labor with my son I was so miserable (after 26 hours of labor and 3 of pushing) that they could have chopped off my foot and I probably wouldn't have noticed or cared. I ended up with a c-section anyway. :/

Other than that I don't remember any exams ever being painful or uncomfortable.

Each case is differant

I have never played this roll before but would like to try it out with a female pt,

Pelvic exam nothing like giving birth ask any mother

I've had 2 pregnancies and the exams are different .The only time it hurt as in more uncomfortable was during the end of pregnancy .At one point a doctor tried to put a speculum in as my babies head was coming down the birth canal ouucchhh !!

Dear niknoks - In your 2 births, was there anything that happened that appealed to the medfet part of you or your partner? Either as it was happening or in retrospect?

My now ex husband wasn't into medfet. My first pregnancy was complicated from 20 weeks .I endured very regular pelvic and speculum exams due to the complications which I certainly enjoyed !

My first labor was nearly 32 hours and delivered by C-section! I went through several nursing shifts and doctors coming in to tell me I was going to have a baby. Each brief exam consisted of checking the monitor and a brief internal and sometimes a rectal, which I really didn't much appreciate. Eventually, the team decided I had to get a C = section so it was off to the OR for me. I got a good sleep!

I've had 4 children and each pregnancy and delivery was different. I have hyperemesis gravidarium which means I have severe morning sickness for the entire pregnancy and it was progressively worse with each pregnancy. I only gained 10 pounds with the first pregnancy, none with the second, lost 25 with the third and over 40 pounds with the forth. Because of this I saw the doctor every week or two for the entire pregnancy and with the last two spent time in the hospital during the pregnancy due to this. That also meant that I had my abdomen measured every time and an internal every second or third in the office and several times while in the hospital. The good thing was that probably due to all the vomiting labor pains were practically non existent and except for the second pregnancy I spent little or no time in labor before delivery in the hospital.

I went to the hospital with my first child because I couldn't stand my house, I needed to convince the nurses to check me because I couldn't possibly be in labor I would know that because of the pain. I must just be anxious. Boy were they apologetic when they found I was fully dialated and fully effaced. I probably would have had the baby at home except he was face up instead of face down. They turned him over (OUCH OUCH OUCH ) and he practically fell out. Of course I spent over an hour getting repaired due to all the tearing.

With my second I was in the hospital because of my hyperemesis and went into labor. Because they physician dis not "like" the way my contractions were showing on the graph they tried medication to make them "better" I abrupted and needed an emergency C-Section and then went into anaphylaxis. spent 3 days in ICU

With my third I had a physician who had agreed to let me try to deliver naturally. That was until the day I went into labor when he told me I could have a C-Section or find another doctor. As he was the head of his group practice he would not let any of the other doctors in the group deliver me by anything but C-Section. No one else would touch me and afterward when I pursued the matter he had the other doctors in the practice agree with him.

I spent a great deal of time researching my NEW OB/GYN. I found one that would allow me to try to deliver naturally and my fourth son was a natural delivery.

The 6 week exam which turned out to be 8 weeks after my first with a check up after 3 weeks was the only one that was uncomfortable and the doctor was very gentle.

I don't know if this is TMI

Role reversal, using Zofran for this condition is now common and really helps with the nausea and vomiting. (Not that you are planning on having more babies)

No I'm too old to have any more children however there were medications available when I was but they had minimal effect on the condition. Thanks for the info

I would love to see and perform an exam on someone it looks awesome

I found the vagina exams more painful in labour. Your cervix is more sensitive. I found I was climbing up the bed during them. They also don’t do a full pelvic after delivery. Just really inspect the vagina.

During labor, pelvic exams are painful. The pains we feel are not enough, and the nurse or doctor comes to analyze the dilatation of the uterus and vagina. It's hard to bear! At the moment of contraction of the uterus feel entering two fingers through the vagina to the bottom is not pleasant but necessary! The nicest thing for me was the enema, but it only happened to the first child. When I had the second child they did not give me the enema.