Most women have a cervix that has shortened to 1 cm during the very early stages of labor. This is also referred to as 50 percent effaced. As the cervix continues to shorten, the cervix is gradually drawn up by the uterus, and by the time it is percent effaced, the cervix will have started to open. It's important to know that for a cervix to dilate, it must first thin out efface ," explains HeHe Stewart , a Birth and Postpartum Doula. Once your cervix is stretched and softened, it begins to open, or dilate, so that your baby can pass through into the vagina to be born.
Regular contractions cause the cervix to dilate, and in first labors the cervix dilates at an average of 1 cm per hour; this rate is often faster for subsequent labors. Here, at 2 cm dilation, the cervix has shortened and is beginning to open. Contractions may still be irregular. Studies of the association of cervical effacement with the rate of cervical change in labor among nulliparous women, also known as women who have not given birth before, found that the rate of cervical dilation among nulliparous women is associated with not only the degree of cervical dilation, but also with cervical effacement.
The study results also explain the associations of labor induction and augmentation on dilation and effacement. It is worth reviewing in case you are presented with the option to have your healthcare provider induce labor.
At 6 cm dilation, you are in active labor. Your contractions will be more frequent, regular, and stronger. Active labor is the process that the cervix goes through to dilate from 6 cm to 10 cm. This is typically the point in the labor process where women really need assistance as they face a new stage of challenge.
Mayo Clinic suggests the following at this point:. Try breathing and relaxation techniques to combat your growing discomfort. Use what you learned in childbirth class or ask your health care team for suggestions.
Unless you need to be in a specific position to allow for close monitoring of you and your baby, consider these ways to promote comfort during active labor:. At 10 cm dilation, you are fully dilated. Contractions may be almost continuous and you are nearly ready to start pushing which will help your baby travel through the birth canal in a vaginal delivery.
You will feel an overwhelming urge to push the baby out when it is time. When it is 50 percent effaced, it is about two centimeters long. Effacement: Thinning of the cervix As labor begins, your cervix softens, shortens and thins effacement. You might feel uncomfortable, but irregular, not very painful contractions or nothing at all. Early real labor contractions could feel like strong menstrual cramps, stomach upset or lower abdominal pressure. Pain could be in the lower abdomen or both there and the lower back, and it could radiate down into the legs.
The time between dilating to 1 cm and giving birth varies from woman to woman. One woman may go from having a closed cervix to giving birth in a matter of hours, while another is 1—2 cm dilated for days or weeks. Some women do not experience any dilation until they go into active labor. During active labor, your cervix will dilate from 6 centimeters cm to 10 cm.
Your contractions will become stronger, closer together and regular. Based on the timing of your contractions and other signs, your doctor or midwife will tell you to head to the hospital for active labor.
This phase typically lasts from three to five hours and continues from the time your cervix is 3 cm until it is dilated to 7 cm. What to expect: Early labor will last approximately hours. Your cervix will efface and dilate to 4 centimeters.
Contractions will last about seconds, giving you minutes of rest between contractions. The changes to your cervix during the early phase can be slow or fast and are hard to predict. In addition, as soon as you arrive at your birth location, you will be checked for effacement.
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.
This is measured from 0 to 10 centimeters, the latter of which means you're fully dilated. Your healthcare provider will check both effacement and dilation during labor to see how far along you are. The cervix should be percent effaced and 10 centimeters dilated before a vaginal birth.
Just to give you an idea of how long dilation takes: Once you've begun active labor, the average rate is one centimeter of dilation per hour. Of course, labor and childbirth are unique for every mom-to-be, so this is just an estimate. If your healthcare provider feels that your labor has stalled or that you or your baby may be in distress, she may recommend a cesarean section.
If you experience some occasional and irregular contractions in the last few months of your pregnancy, it doesn't mean that you are going into labor, and that your cervix has started to efface or dilate.
Braxton Hicks do not cause any change to your cervix. Think of Braxton Hicks as a practice run, and as one of the ways your body is preparing for the real thing.
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