# Could swollen cervix have been prevented during labor?



## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

I'm just curious about this. Here is my birth story:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=486093

I can't think of how I could have prevented my cervix from swelling, which stopped dilation. Except maybe gone to a chiro beforehand to try and turn my sunny-side up baby (webster technique). I knew which way he was facing at my 36 or 38 wk appointment but thought he would turn on his own.

I had not even known I was "bearing down" (pushing??) during the back labor.
thanks!


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## angelpie545 (Feb 23, 2005)

I just had to chime and say I did have a similar experience, only I was at a free-standing birth center, and it was with my first baby. She actually instead of being sunny-side up she was at an angle if you could believe that. I dilated to 7cms but then stalled and started to swell b/c her head was pressing at an angle on my cervix. I was so scared and the pain was so extreme I started crying out for drugs after a four and a half-minute contraction I though I was going to die. My miwives were talking transfer and I thought I was headed for a c-section but one of my midwives gave me some homeopathic substance to reduce swelling(I'm sorry I don't remember the name I"ll have to find it) and got up and made me march around the room! They also broke my water b/c they thought that would help disoldge the baby's head, as she was trying to come down the birth canal. Luckily with the help of the medicine and my marching, her head finally came down though still at kind of an angle and I went to ten pretty easily. I made sure to sit upright while pushing and really bear down and she was born a little too quickly I tore some but she was out! Afterwards I though was there anything I could have done to prevent swelling at all? My mom told me later she was really grateful that I was at the birth center or she though I would have ended up with a c-section for sure at the hospital, because they would not have known what to do except cut and also because my daughter weighed 9lb 5oz..and I was only 18 at the time!


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

thanks! Yeah I suppose it happens because of the pressure pushing down when the cervix isn't ready yet.
And yep, if I was at any other hospital I'm sure I would have ended up with a csection.


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## velcromom (Sep 23, 2003)

I experienced cervical swelling at 4cm with my first ds after AROM (because I was laboring too slow to get the OB to dinner on time) triggered pushing urges, and none of my caregivers at the time had the knowledge or inclination to even consider malposition... being squeezed against an unopen cervix was stressful for ds (not to mention for mama) and pretty soon they announced "fetal distress!" they had no solution for me but a c/s, they just did not know what else to do. I was pretty ticked when I learned there ARE ways to try to prevent/resolve cervical swelling and I didn't have the chance to use them because of the doctor's lack of knowledge. Another reason to go with a midwife next time.


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *velcromom*
I was pretty ticked when I learned there ARE ways to try to prevent/resolve cervical swelling and I didn't have the chance to use them because of the doctor's lack of knowledge.

can you tell me what those are?


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

I don't think cervical swelling happens from a woman pushing too early. In fact, there are some cultures in which women push at the peak of every contraction to "help things along".

I think cervical swelling is something that we only see with malpresentations - posterior, asynclitic, brow, etc. Certainly this has been my experience. The only time I've ever seen cervical swelling was with all three of those presentations.


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## ComfyCozy (Dec 7, 2005)

My first inclination would be to have Mom get on her knees, bottom in the air, and resting on her elbows. Baby will come up a little and take pressure off the cervix. Another option, though not a fun one, is to lie down at a decline...meaning at an angle, head down. This is possible in a hospital bed and was done to me to keep my 27 weeker from being born.


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## velcromom (Sep 23, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ophelia*
can you tell me what those are?

Ophelia I'm not at all qualified to advise anyone. All I can say is that in my vbac research I have come across articles that described things that caregivers did when a woman's cervix was swelling, usually involving a baby malposition (which I believe was also the case during my labor) and I was disappointed that nothing at all was tried or offered to me. I have read about postioning/moving the mom in certain ways, I have heard about midwives actually manually moving the baby's head in some cases (ouch!), I have heard about the homeopathic remedies, stuff like that. But I was told the only option in that situation was a c/s.

Quote:

I don't think cervical swelling happens from a woman pushing too early. In fact, there are some cultures in which women push at the peak of every contraction to "help things along".

I think cervical swelling is something that we only see with malpresentations - posterior, asynclitic, brow, etc. Certainly this has been my experience. The only time I've ever seen cervical swelling was with all three of those presentations.
I was told it was the premature pushing at 4cm that caused my swelling. But you are saying it was probably the malposition alone? I really fear having this premature pushing urge again with a future labor, because I was told it caused me to swell. It was almost like they blamed me for the swelling since I didn't (couldn't) stop the pushing. So I should not be worried about the pushing urge, instead, I should think more about baby position then next time, yes?

Man I need to get my records. I was never told a word about ds's position and now I really want to know what it was.


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

posterior or other malpresentations often create an urge to bear down. however, it isn't the bearing down that swells the cervix typically - it's the malpresentation. perhaps a combination of both could be to blame, but I think that you're not going to see that in a well-applied head.

What I've done in the past is try to correct the malpresentation. Homeopathic Pulsatilla helps with positioning, knee chest position (head/breasts on the bed, bum in the air while on knees) with some rocking, homeopathic Gelsemium for the swelling directly.








I don't think malpresentations are paid attention to by many hospital based providers. It's all just "failure to progress" or "cephalopelvic disproportion".


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