is there a way to check dialation of your own cervix? and is it safe to do so?
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is there a way to check dialation of your own cervix? and is it safe to do so?
Where's Alan when you need him :(
No idea hun,
Pretty sure you shouldn't be checking your cervix, in case of infection, accidental ROM etc...plus, I dong think you'd be able to get up there to effectively check by yourself, kwim?
i thought that maybe the case PZ :(
Yes you can check your own dilation. If your waters haven't broken and you have clean hands. You can see how many fingers you can easily insert and then look at your fingers and try to work out what the diameter they measure. Everyone's hands measure at different widths. Ps he is at a birth ;). Think positive thoughts for one special mumma
Well there you go hun! :) I totally can't get close to my own cervix lol!:
dumb question: if i do that will i know what im feeling is my cervix?
Im assuming that if it is dilating it will be quite soft so it might be hard to determine what you're feeling is your cervix ITMS.:
Yeah hard call. I haven't done a cervical exam during labour myself. I know my cervix well from TTC. You would need to get comfortable Nd feel around. It is going to either be completely closed and feel like a soft little mouth if it is ripe and a nose if it isn't. I heard ripening described as being like feeling your lips as not ripe cervix as like feeling your nose. If you cant feel either of those things then u may not be able to reach your cervix or it may be thinning and dilating and I have no hints on what that feels like sorry.
There are several ways to check dilation also that don't involve actually feeling your cervix.
I will try and find the links for you, hold on.
But providing your waters have not broken, there is no problem with checking your own dilation at all. In fact, many women prefer to check themselves, rather than have a stranger do it.
Make sure your hands are washed properly, all the way to the elbow, immediately before. Basic rule of thumb is a finger per cm.
Will be back with some other links for you. :)
thanks lime :D
omg i am soo impressed that you are even contemplating having a go yourself- i couldnt even see my vag when i was UTD with my twins and i had them at 30 weeks lol!!!
hang in there Mrs S you are doing an awesome job baking those bubbas
Ok, here you go :)
Checking Your Own Cervix
Is Cervix Dilation an Early Sign of Labor?
Birthing Beautiful Ideas | The Pre-labor Cervix is not a Magic 8 Ball
Checking dilation without a vaginal exam « Woman to Woman Childbirth Education
(Follow the links in this one too)
Just remember though that dilation DOES NOT mean "ready to birth" even at 10cms. Dilation does not reflect the imminence of labour exactly and you shouldn't use it as an accurate measure of where you are in relation to birth.
I really want to stress that. You can 2-3cm dilated weeks before going in to labour, and can be 10cm and not ready to push. You can take 12 hours once in labour to get to 6cm, and go from 6 to 10cm in 20 minutes.
Dilation is purely a rough guide, which according to some birth professionals, is so inaccurate and irrelevant that they don't check dilation at all.
This is also really interesting, I am quoting it form another post on another forum: (Probably relates more for checking dilation DURING labour, as opposed to before it)
:
Here is a list I've compiled on what you can find out by simply observing. (I think a lot of this came from the gentlebirth archives as well the sections below specifically from Gloria Lemay)
External and Observed Signs of Dilation, Descent and Progress
From gentlebirth.com archives:
* Location of FHT with pinard or fetoscope; good for gauging descent. FHT early decel pattern will indicate resistance onto pelvic floor and therefore descent
* 6cm = cx pattern shifts, flushing over cheekbones
* 8cm = hot/cold/trembly/irritable/nauseous. Cx 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 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 vag exams, it takes practice. Unlike vag 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.
* 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.
Good luck and HTH :)
*Double Post*
Thanks hunni
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LimeSlice - I was with my sis for her fourth and the middy suggested looking at that line at the top of the "crack" (not very nice word, but you get the picture). It was pretty amazing seeing it get darker as she progressed. Looked kinda like the linea nigra but at the base of the spine, not the tummy. Extraordinary!