Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Cervical Effacement and Dilatation. Top of the page. Cervical Effacement and Dilatation. Topic Overview Effacement and dilatation allow a baby to be born through the birth canal. Effacement As the baby's head drops down into the pelvis, it pushes against the cervix.
Dilatation After the cervix begins to efface, it will also start to open. Credits Current as of: October 8, Top of the page Next Section: Related Information. Previous Section: Related Information Top of the page. Current as of: October 8, Cervical Effacement. When you go into labor, the cervix thins out and becomes softer and shorter.
This is called effacement. It's measured in percentages from 0 to percent, the latter of which means you're fully effaced.
Your healthcare provider will be checking how effaced you are via a vaginal exam. It's not anything that you yourself can check.
Nor is it something you need to worry about; your provider will be keeping an eye on you. So, if you hear your healthcare provider say this, you are half way to percent effacement. If you're 80 percent effaced, your cervix is 80 percent thinned and you're nearing percent effacement. To explain what effacement is, you need to know a bit about the first stage of labor, which is broken up into two phases, early labor and active labor. During early labor you'll start to experience contractions.
This is when the muscles of your uterus tighten at regular and increasingly frequent intervals. Contractions cause your cervix to go through the process of effacement and dilation. This process continues, usually very slowly, until you are in active labor, when the process of effacement and dilation speed up. Unlike effacement, which is when your cervix shortens and thins out measured in percentages , dilation is the term used to describe the opening or widening of the cervix.
How to Tell When Labor Begins. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Allina Health. Stages of labor. American Pregnancy Association. First Stage of Labor. Cleveland Clinic. Mayo Clinic. Stages of labor and birth: Baby, it's time! Signs of labor: Know what to expect.
When will labor start if you are 1-centimeter dilated? Am I in labor? National Library of Medicine. Join now to personalize. Photo credit: iStock. What is dilation? What is effacement? When will my cervix start to dilate and efface? Cervical effacement symptoms. Sources BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.
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