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A cervical check is not the most pleasant experience, but it is essential and unavoidable, particularly in the last stages of your pregnancy. Most women describe it as “uncomfortable” and even “painful” at times, as it involves the doctor inserting their finger into your lady parts to determine the status of your cervix. Being aware of what the doctor is doing and saying can help you understand what is going on during the cervical check.
It can be an overwhelming period as your labor is nearing, but you can do away with the confusion if you know how far along you are. Read on to understand what the various terms and numbers mean when you get a cervical check:
Cervical Check During Pregnancy
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You will be subjected to a cervical exam at the early stages of your pregnancy to rule out any complications such as preterm labor or possible miscarriage due to a weak cervix. The next few cervical exams will be scheduled weekly from around the thirty-sixth week until the end of your pregnancy. A cervical exam is done at the end of your pregnancy to determine how much your cervix has effaced and dilated. Knowing your baby’s position and the condition of your cervix can help you understand how close you are to the end of your pregnancy (1).
What Do All Those Numbers Mean?
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During the cervical exam, you’ll hear your doctor spew out some pregnancy lingo such as effacement, dilation, and station, along with corresponding numbers; here’s what they mean:
- Effacement
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The cervix will be thick, long, and closed throughout your pregnancy to protect and keep your baby safe and secure. On average, the cervix will measure around two to three centimeters long at the start of your pregnancy. However, during the end of your pregnancy, the cervix will begin to efface, which means it will become thinner, shorter, and softer to facilitate the opening of the birth canal. You may hear the doctor say that the cervix is “fifty percent effaced”, which means it has reduced to half the length of what it was at the beginning of your pregnancy (2), (3).
- Dilation
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Soon after the cervix has effaced, the process of dilation begins. Here, the cervix slowly starts to dilate or open up, preparing you for delivery. For normal delivery to begin, the cervix must be a hundred percent effaced and dilated to ten centimeters. It is important to note that delivery works differently for every individual. In some cases, your cervix can dilate well in advance before active labor kicks in, so even though you are three to four centimeters dilated, active labor hasn’t begun. The opposite can happen too, where you are in active labor, but the cervix hasn’t dilated yet. Do not worry, as both are normal. Your cervix will begin to dilate more once the contractions start (4).
- Station
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Another common labor room lingo is “station”, which is also accompanied by numbers. Station is nothing but the way your baby is positioned with regard to your pelvis. The metric used here is minus five to plus five. So if you hear the doctor say something along the lines of “zero station”, it essentially means that the head of your baby has entered the birth canal. Everything before zero, that is, minus one to minus five, means that your baby hasn’t engaged yet, while the positive numbers after zero mean that your baby is making its way out (5).
The end of your pregnancy can be an overwhelming time. However, now that you know a few labor-related terms, you may be able to understand how much you’ve progressed when you undergo your cervical check. Do you have an experience to share with us about a cervical check? What was it? Let us know in the comments below!
