62: Vaginal Exams
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Episode 62 Content and Overview
Third trimester starts in week 28 and appointments with your care provider increase to every two weeks. The last month of your pregnancy you will be seeing your doctor or midwife weekly. Vaginal exams can be recommended during your pregnancy in the last few weeks leading up to your birth, and during your labor. The question is, are they really necessary and will you benefit from the results? Vaginal exams have become a routine, but questions about what the results show, the risks involved, and the psychological effects of the results have some expecting moms questioning whether they want to opt in to these procedures. Find out what is involved during a vaginal exam, how the results are interpreted, and what the results mean for you and your baby. This episode presents all of the research and evidence to help you make an informed decision about vaginal exams.
Included in This Episode
- Dilation
- Effacement
- Position of the cervix
- Station and position of your baby
- The relevance of a vaginal exam to your care provider
- Interpreting results
- Accuracy of dilation and effacement as a predictor of labor
- Risks
- Study based on interviewing women postpartum
- Psychological impact
- Measuring progress
- Vaginal exams during labor
- Cochrane review on routine vaginal examinations during labor
- Study on accuracy of vaginal exams
- Randomized controlled trial comparing a vaginal examination to a transperineal ultrasound
- Vaginal exams prior to an induction
- Bishop Score
- Risk of cesarean after an induction with an unfavorable cervix
- Your options on vaginal exams
- Talking to your doctor or midwife
- Informed consent
- Questions you can ask your care provider:
- Why would you like to perform a vaginal exam?
- How will the results affect my care?
- Can we delay it? (A week/an hour)
- Your Birth Plan book
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