How to know how far dilated you are?

[PinkPalace]

I suppose cause bub's head is pushing on your cervix you would be able to feel it?
I have no idea cause i cant reach that far!!
But is makes sense mummymel

[Alan]

Mummy Mel
Yes you can feel your baby’s head through the cervix. You will know when you feel it. Everything else is soft and squishy then you feel this hard lump and that is the baby’s head.

[Meluchja]

Wow that is amazing If you can, does that normally mean that I'm fully effaced or can you still have a thick cervix and feel it. When I can feel it, it seems really hard and just there, what do you think?

[Tanya]

I could feel Violets head and I wasn't effaced Mel... When you are fully effaced the 'rim' of your cervix has disappeared.

Tanya

[Meluchja]

Ah thanks Tanya, now I'm understanding it a little. So when you can still feel the rim or as I call it my 'cervix lips' your not 100% effaced. Do you know how they tell your 25%, 50%, 75% effaced? I know 100% is paper thin or flat against babies head. Do you know what I would be if my cervix lips are about 1cm thick maybe a little less?
Thanks for your help

[Alan]

Mummy Mel
Your cervix is normally about 2.5cm long. So if your cervix is only 1cm then you are about 75% effaced. Don't forget this is only an estimate as the normal length of a cervix can be a little different from onw woman to another

[Meluchja]

Thanks Alan, it all seems to make sense now, well sort of I guess I'll have to wait another 2 weeks to find out for sure what is happening down there.

[Roudysmum]

I had a cheek up yesterday and asked for an internal because i live two hrs away and my DH is going away, so i wanted to know if anything was happening so i was alittle prepared but they told my they wont do one befor 38 weeks as its to hard to tell. At least affter reading this i might be able to check myself.

[~Debbie~]

i had a little 'feel' the other night. Everything felt the same - soft and squishy. But, i was doing it standing in the shower, i wonder if will have better results sitting down.

[Julie Doula]

Yep, palpating your cervix yourself is a great way to feel 'in touch' with what's happening. During my first birth, my midwife encouraged me to have a little feel myself. I could feel the puckered skin of my baby's head - what an awesome moment! My first time to touch my baby! It made it all seem so real! The other thing was, I could feel myself that there was plenty of room for this baby, and that really boosted my confidence (a good thing because it was about another 6 hours before bub was earth-side).

We had a lovely moment at a recent birth (in a birth centre) I attended when instead of doing an internal, the lovely midwife said to my client, "How about you shut your eyes and visualise how dilated YOU think you are?"

My client did so, and said, "5cm." That is exactly what I was thinking to myself would've been my guess, going by her emotional signposts.

This angel midwife then said, "I think your instincts have been spot on so far, so let's go by that, then."

I nearly had tears in my eyes because of how affirming and encouraging this midwife was. She was very encouraging of my role, too: she said, "Do you doulas have a special dictionary that you use? I'm so impressed! Keep doing what you're doing!"

She then left us to it and noticed how energized and encouraged we both were to continue. Wow. I learned something about the dynamics of 'empowerment' that day.

I sure am glad we have midwives like her.

Sorry I've digressed a tad from the original question LOL!

[butterflyz2]

Interesting stuff.

Just wondering, what about the mucus plug?, wouldnt that be in the way, before being able to touch a baby's head??

Mel

[Julie Doula]

Interesting stuff.

Just wondering, what about the mucus plug?, wouldnt that be in the way, before being able to touch a baby's head??

Mel

Hi Mel, the mucous plug falls away as the cervix opens up. My cervix would have been about 8 cm dilated when I felt the puckered skin, like a walnut, of my baby's head. This was about 16 hours after I had lost my mucous plug. Once prior to this, I'd felt the smooth surface of the amniotic sac and the bouncy feeling of the waters - like a waterbed - and just behind that, when I pressed, the hard surface of the baby's head. A few hours later, the water bag must've broken, maybe it leaked away while I was in the pool because we don't know the exact time of ROM, all I know is how different it felt a few hours later when instead of the smooth bag of waters I could actually feel 'soft walnut head'. I could not assess the dilation of my cervix exactly, but I didn't need to - all I needed was to know yes my baby was there, was close and there was plenty of room for her. I imagine that my baby's head would have been about half way out of the 'polar neck' of the cervix and almost entering the birth canal when I felt her head.

This might be helpful:

External and Observed Signs of Dilation, Descent and Progress

- Location of FHT (foetal heart tones) with pinard or fetoscope; good for gauging descent. FHT early deceleration pattern will indicate resistance onto pelvic floor and therefore descent.

- 6cm = cx pattern shifts, flushing over cheekbones.

- 8cm = hot/cold/trembly/irritable/nauseous. Contractions seem to not give her a break.

- Near full = increased pressure, vomits, breathing more ragged, ?catch? in breath, deeper, guttural moaning. FHT?s midline and low. Sacrum seems flat and full. Her energy will be acutely aware during cx but she will retreat just as intensely between them. More show, spotting of fresh blood. Feels like pooing, ROM.

- Purple line that creeps up like a mercury thermometer from anus to top of bum crease. When it reaches the top, the woman is fully (increase in intrapelvic pressure affects veins in the sacrum).

- Vomiting and ROM (rupture of membranes) at the same time = 7 cm stretch

- Look at bottom of foot with the toes pointing up. The spot above the heel and in the center will tighten and release as the uterus contracts IF she is at least 5 cm.

- Full = passing stool involuntarily, pouting of anus, instinctive bearing down begins at the beginning of the contraction and not at the height of it.

- The contracting uterus swells upwards as it pulls in the dilating cervix. Before a woman begins to dilate and is about at term, you can get about 5 fingerbreadths of measurement between the fundus and the tip of the breastbone (xyphoid). As she dilates, this measurement decreases at about 2 cms per fingerbreadth. I.e., 1 1/2 fingerbreadths between these two points would be equal to 7-8 cms. dilation. It's an old trick I learned several years ago. This really works but, like vaginal exams, it takes practice. Unlike vaginal exams, it's not out of the scope of practice as a doula to do this type of exam because it's not done internally and not "really" considered a clinical test.

- Abdominal signs: thin line or crease above/parallel to SP. As baby descends and cervix opens, the line/crease becomes wider from side to side. Near transition = ? across. All the way across indicates that pushing is most likely imminent (bulk of baby?s shoulders closer to SP?)

- When she "pushes" spontaneously, does it begin at the very beginning of the sensation or is it just at the peak? If it is just at the peak, it is an indication that there is still some dilating to do. The woman will usually enter a deep trance state at this time (we call this "going to Mars"). She is accessing her most rudimentary brain stem where the ancient knowledge of giving birth is stored. She must have quiet and dark to get to this essential place in the brain. She usually will close her eyes and should not be told to open them.

- Does she "push" (that is, instinctively grunt and bear down) with each sensation or with every other one? If some sensations don't have a pushing urge, there is still some dilating to do. Keep the room dark and quiet as above.

- Are you continuing to see "show"? Red show is a sign that the cervix is still dilating. Once dilation is complete the "show of blood" usually ceases while the head molding takes place. Don?t mistake another gush of blood which may be vaginal wall tears at the point that the head distends the perineum.

- Watch her rectum. The rectum will tell you a good deal about where the baby's forehead is located and how the dilation is going. If there is no rectal flaring or distention with the grunting, there is still more dilating to do. A dark red line extends straight up from the rectum between the bum cheeks when full dilation happens. To observe all this, of course, the mother must be in hands and knees or sidelying position.


Self-Checking of Dilation and Descent
From: "Childbirth Quotes from Gloria Lemay"

How to Check Your Own Cervix- "it's not rocket science"
"I think it's a good and empowering thing for a woman to check her own cervix for dilation. This is not rocket science, and you hardly need a medical degree or years of training to do it. Your vagina is a lot like your nose- other people may do harm if they put fingers or instruments up there but you have a greater sensitivity and will not do yourself any harm.

"The best way to do it when hugely pregnant is to sit on the toilet with one foot on the floor and one up on the seat of the toilet. Put two fingers in and go back towards your bum. The cervix in a pregnant woman feels like your lips puckered up into a kiss. On a non-pregnant woman it feels like the end of your nose. When it is dilating, one finger slips into the middle of the cervix easily (just like you could slide your finger into your mouth easily if you are puckered up for a kiss). As the dilation progresses the inside of that hole becomes more like a taught elastic band and by 5 cms dilated (5 finger widths) it is a perfect rubbery circle like one of those Mason jar rings that you use for canning, and about that thick.

"What's in the centre of that opening space is the membranes (bag of waters) that are covering the baby's head and feel like a latex balloon filled with water. If you push on them a bit you'll feel the baby's head like a hard ball (as in baseball). If the waters have released you'll feel the babe's head directly.

"It is time for women to take back ownership of their bodies."
- Gloria Lemay, Vancouver, BC

[Meluchja]

Mel, It is very interesting. If I ever had another baby, I would definately do it again.

I kept feeling my cervix right up until the night I went into labor. I had lots of pre labor for a few weeks. I would say the week before he was born I really started to tell some differences, the lips of my cervix were feeling thiner and thiner. Then day before he was born, I would have said I was about 5cm dilated, I could put my two fingers inside the rim as far as they could seperate. Then the night it all happened, I woke up with a niggle of pain, so I went back to sleep, then about 20minutes later another but I still didn't know if it was "it". So I decided to have a shower to have another feel in there. It was then I instantly knew it was on for real, I could not feel a thing other than a hard lump right near the opening of my bits. There was no more "volcano" or "lips" as I had described it earlier, I was obviously 100% effaced, it felt amazing. All I could feel was my babies head, he was definately on the way. And 3 hours later, he was born, got to love pre labor!!

It was such an amazing experience, I would definately do it again.

[Sammiejane]

WHat a great thread

I have tried and tried and i still cant feel my cervix... (been doing it for about a week, every day)
Does this mean that i wont until labour starts or i am still too far away???

When i feel up there there is pressure on the vaginal walls that i assume is the head, but the cervix is higher up. does this make sense?
THanks in advance

[rose]

I was just wondering how many people check this themselves in the last weeks of pregnancy. I am very interested

[Meluchja]

I would definately do it again. It's an amazing memory I have.

[amberj]

Oh I am so grabbing the lube, washing my hands and going off to try this very soon!

I still have a question about the mucus plug- I am 38.5 weeks and have not noticed it come out. Will I run into it before I run into my cervix? Will it blunt the feeling of the cervix? Will playing around up there dislodge it??

Thank you to anyone who can help!!

[paradise lost]

The mucus plug is inside your cervix, so you will feel your cervix first. Unless your cervix is open enough for you to get fingers into it (at your stage i'd not expect you to be more than 1cm and if this baby is your first you might find you can't even reach your cervix as it will be high, posterior and closed) you won't dislodge anything - the mucus plug is released by the cervix opening. I had FOUR stretch and sweeps and only lost a teeny bit of plug each time.

I could *just* reach my cervix when it was still posterior, and could only get one fingertip into it.

Happy exploring

Bx