Some women go through their entire labour with no vaginal examinations, especially in a primary setting, but there are times where you may be offered one to gain some information about where you are at, to aid in decision making.
A vaginal examination, or VE, cannot tell you how long your labour will be, it is a snapshot of where you are at in that moment. Some women will find that they want to know this information at certain points. Other times, it is offered to get a bit more information to aid decision making, for example if you are considering moving from a primary setting like home or a birth centre to a hospital.
A VE involves the midwife or doctor wearing sterile gloves and inserting two fingers into your vagina to estimate how dilated your cervix is. This process is often uncomfortable and may be painful for some women.
Benefits of a VE are that it can be used to assess progress in labour, and can help your midwife or doctor work out your baby’s position and how they are moving through your pelvis. They can also be used to allow an amnihook to break your waters, or to place a foetal scalp electrode, or to take a sample of baby’s blood from their scalp to assess how they are coping with labour.
Risks include increased chance of infection, accidentally breaking your waters, or diagnosis of ‘slow progress in labour’ leading to further interventions.
If you are having an induction of labour, vaginal examinations are part of this process as they can inform the people caring for you what your cervix is doing, and what interventions are appropriate for the stage of dilation you are at. .
Vaginal examinations are always your choice, and should be presented as a choice you make rather than something that you have to do.