No two birthing women are alike.īut both dilation and effacement have to happen before baby will come out. Sometimes, moms will efface and dilate at the same time, sometimes they will begin to efface first and then dilate later. As the baby comes down the birth canal during contractions, the pressure of the baby’s head on the cervix effaces – or thins out – the cervix. The cervix is about 4 cm long and is the opening to the womb, in between the vagina and the uterus. Here, in Quebec, it is quite a common word that we use a lot in French. ![]() ![]() So what is effacement exactly? Its origin comes from the French word ‘effacer’ which means to erase. Almost everyone knows one thing about dilation: ‘When you dilate to 10 cm, you can push your baby out!’ This is reinforced during the usual prenatal class, which informs parents about the importance of dilation, but omits to tell them that she has a twin sister who is just as important!īecause without a fully effaced cervix, you will not fully dilate. Enough to jump for joy! Unfortunately, it is always overshadowed by dilation. What I want to share with you is the magic of EFFACEMENT. Now there are few things during that exchange that got me all riled up, but in this blog post, I don’t want to discuss the discouraging tone and language of the caregiver, or even her seemingly lack of knowledge regarding the cervix. Nurse (looking at me as if I had two heads): But she’s still only at 4 cm…. Me: That’s great!! You’re almost fully effaced! Yay! ![]() Me (interjecting quickly): Can you please tell us how effaced the cervix is now? Nurse (with a look of pity) : Oh, you’re still at 4. The conversation went something like this: Three hours later, after hours of long and strong contractions, it was time to evaluate her progress (aka examine her). When mom was admitted to the hospital she was 4 cm dilated and 40% effaced. Birth is not just about dilation – don’t forget effacement
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