"Stripping the Membranes" to Start Labor

I had my membranes stripped with my first son, but I was 2 weeks late. Even with sex and other things I tried to get labor started, it never did. I had to be induced with pitocin for both of my babies (my eldest is almost 3 now and my little guy just turned 1).

I had the feeling that babies come when they're ready (I still believe this), but even though both my babies were in good shape in my womb at 2 weeks late, and I still felt great, my midwives really didn't want me to wait longer and therefore I was induced, to my disappointment.

I guess our ideals of what our birth experience should be like and what it actually is can be very different and not the at all the way we planned it. After being induced with my first son I really thought labor would start on its own for my second baby, but that was not the case.

I agree with what other moms said and we should be happy we have healthy, beautiful babies and not dwell too much on things in the past we can't control.

Usually stripping membranes doesn't induce labor because it isn't the natural order of things. Naturally the baby would release a hormone that begins contractions and water breakage. I didn't have my membranes striped but my water broke before labor started. I didn't start having contractions for almost 24 hours. They gave me petocine after another 17 hours of back labor when I told them I could handle it any more and was dialated to nearly 1 cm.

I had it done with both of my kids. It put me into labor with my second but not with my first. And my water didn't break they had to break it for me. I think no matter what even if they didn't strip your membranes you may not have had contractions anyways when your water broke. It is hard to say. But I don't see anything wrong with it. But next time if you would rather just try it the other way. But it sounds like you had a wonderful labor and delivery so I wouldn't worry about it.

Hi C.,
I was a week past my due date when my water broke, and I also didn't start contractions on my own. I got pitocin 24 hours after my water broke and my daughter was born 24 hours after I started the pitocin. My body didn't handle the pitocin very well and I wound up getting an epidural (which I hadn't wanted) when even my nurse midwife said that if I didn't start to progress more, they'd need to do a C-section. Fortunately, I was able to dilate the rest of the way and have my daughter the "old-fashioned" way. I, too, have wondered whether things would have been different if I had a homebirth instead. I think it's good to focus on the positives -- a healthy mom and baby -- but it's also okay to grieve the loss of the birth you wanted to have, especially before you have another baby.
Meanwhile, I now work as a doula (my doula was AWESOME during my birth and inspired me to get trained myself), and my clients have had varying degrees of success with having their membranes stripped. It seems to me that if a woman is "teetering on the brink" of going into labor, stripping the membranes can give her body the final push it needs. On the other hand, if she and her baby aren't ready yet, it's a lot of discomfort for nothing. Unfortunately, especially with a first baby, there's no way to tell at any given point how close you are to going into labor! And, as other folks have said, each birth is different even for the same mom.
Anyway, all this is to say, go ahead and feel your feelings, but try not to let the "what if's" bog you down too much.
Blessings,
Sara

I've had 3 babies and each experience was sooo totally different. With the 3rd my water broke after sex and I didn't start having contractions until 15 hrs later. They threatened pitocin but I refused and they let me have a couple more hours. Thankfully I didn't have to us it.

2 of my friends had their water break and they didn't not go into labor on their own, so I don't think it is an uncommon thing.

Labor rarely goes exactly the way we want it, often times we make hurried decisions because that is what the Dr. or midwife tells us to do and we are unexperienced and believe that they know best. If you want your experience to be perfect and to your plan, you better think twice. I do think that Doulas are a good choice in trying to keep you focused on what you want and they make sure that any choices you make are made because you are informed and not pressured.

Just like every child is different, every labor is different. Be prepared to be flexible :)

I think it sounds like you had a great birth experience! I think many women reflect on their birth experiences like they were cheated, or maybe made the wrong decisions. In reality very few women have the perfect experience, and we should be thankful for having healthy babies. I also wanted the "perfect natural experience" but I ended up with two c-sections and fortunately two healthy babies.

My dr. stripped the membranes with my 2nd and it did absolutely nothing. He was 1 day late and required pitocin to up the contractions (they had started the day before but kept stopping before I could dialate enough).
I have nothing against the procedure, but if your baby or body is not ready (my body is VERY stubborn!), it's not going to do anything for you.
My water had to be broken by the dr. both times right before delivery, so I don't have a clue about your second question.