Things they are a happening!
1 cm Dilated and 20% effaced.” Says the man with the latex glove.
”
So what does that mean?
Here’s Wikipedia…I love that site…with the answers:
is the dilation (opening) of the cervix during childbirth. In the later stages of pregnancy, the cervix may already have opened up to 1-3 cm (or more in rarer circumstances), but during labor, repeated uterine contractions lead to further widening of the cervix to about 6 centimeters. From that point, pressure from the presenting part (head in vertex births or bottom in breech births), along with uterine contractions, will dilate the cervix to 10 centimeters, which is “complete.” Cervical dilation is accompanied by effacement, the thinning of the cervix.
Now Sarah is at 1cm. Active labor is around 4 cm. She could stay this way for a while…but it does show that things have begun.
is the shortening, or thinning, of the cervix before or during early labour. Prior to effacement, the cervix is like a long bottleneck, usually about four centimeters in length. Throughout pregnancy, the cervix is tightly closed and protected by a plug of mucus. When the cervix effaces, the mucus plug is loosened and passes out of the vagina. The mucus may be tinged with blood and the passage of the mucus plug is called bloody show (or simply “show”).
As effacement takes place, the cervix then shortens, or effaces, pulling up into the uterus and becoming part of the lower uterine wall. Effacement may be measured in percentages, from zero percent (not effaced at all) to 100 percent, which indicates a paper-thin cervix. Effacement is followed by cervical dilation.
Same region of the body, a little different though. And I am sure Sarah is very excited about the Bloody Show!
And, as I as hopping around, I found this post on the next trimester…
December 1st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
[...] then checked her…girl parts. She was still at 2 cm and about 75% effaced at -2 station. Huh? We’ve talked about the others, but this station thing is new. That’s the reference to the spines of the pelvis. -3 is way [...]