'effaced' ?

this word seems to be popping up everywhere, and i cant for the life of me remember hearing it mentioned when i was pg with dd1!

im assuming it has somethign to do with being dialated?

:redface:

Hey hun.

Effacement is when the cervix thins out. So instead of being short and thick, it lengthens to and thins... the precursor to dilation I guess you would say :)

You can dilate without effacing, but I don't know about effacing without dilating...?

Effaced or effacement is basically the thickness of the cervix. When doing vaginal examinations things that the dr/midwife are looking for are dilation (how far open the cervix is), effacement (how thick the cervix is), position of the baby and the vaginal station which is where the presenting part of the baby is in the pelvis (how low it is). These things combined usually give you a good indication of the progression of labour or if spontaneous labour is likely to commence within a certain time frame.

Thanks for asking the questions Krystal Ball. I just nodded my head without even knowing what the heck it was. I thought, it's something I musn't be at the moment, so I'll worry about it when someone tells me I'm twofaced. :-))

Ahhh ok! makes sense! thanks girls!