You can't feel your cervix thinning, but you might pick up on a few cervical effacement symptoms. When your cervix effaces, you may feel pressure down there, Thiel says. You might also notice an increase in cervical mucus or discharge. “It may feel kind of crampy,” Cackovic says.
When it is 100 percent effaced, it is "paper-thin." Effacement can happen over days before labor starts. Or, it can happen over hours as labor progresses. With a first labor, it can take quite a while for the cervix to completely efface.
During the first stage of labor, the cervix opens (dilates) and thins out (effaces) to allow the baby to move into the birth canal.
The cervix generally needs to be dilated to 10 centimeters before it's ready for the baby to pass through. Your cervix can be dilated to a couple of centimeters for a few weeks before delivery. This softening can cause the mucus plug to be dislodged and come out.
The pain experienced during dilation is similar to that of menstruation (although markedly more intense), as period pains are thought to be due to the passing of endometrium through the cervix. Most of the pain during labor is caused by the uterus contracting to dilate the cervix.
Early dilation often feels like menstrual cramps as the cervical changes cause pain and cramping noticed in the lower part of the uterus. It is the same sensation and location as menstrual cramps. Active labor tends to be felt in a larger area but can be a similar sensation as cramping (with more intensity of course).
Effacement and dilatation allow a baby to be born through the birth canal. Effacement means that the cervix stretches and gets thinner. Dilatation means that the cervix opens. As labour nears, the cervix may start to thin or stretch (efface) and open (dilate).
When your cervix is 50 percent effaced, it's about 2 cm long. At this point, it's halfway to becoming short and thin enough to allow your baby to pass through the uterus and into the vagina. Most effacement usually happens during the first stage of labor, when your cervix is dilating to 6 cm.
If your cervix begins to open or becomes shorter than a certain length, you might need a cervical cerclage. Cervical cerclage. During this procedure, the cervix is stitched tightly closed. The stitches are taken out during the last month of pregnancy or just before delivery.
Cervical Softening Symptoms
You may, for example, notice that your vaginal discharge is increasing or notice that you're losing your mucus plug (which can be lost all at once or slowly in small increments). You may also feel some mild pelvic pressure or cramping similar to menstrual pain as your cervix softens.
Discharging a brown or pink-tinged mucus is an early sign of cervix dilation. Effacement of the cervix causes small blood vessels to break. This causes the mucus to appear as pink or brown. It's important to seek medical advice about vaginal bleeding.
Check for dilation.
Try to insert the tips of your fingers into your cervix. If one fingertip fits through your cervix, you're considered one centimeter dilated. If two fit, you're two centimeters dilated. If there's additional space in the opening, try to estimate how many fingertips would fit to determine dilation.
Dilation is checked during a pelvic exam. Typically, if you're four centimeters dilated, you're in the active stage of labor. If you're fully dilated, you're ready to start pushing.
So why all the fuss about declining this procedure? Well, for starters, it's uncomfortable! Toward the end of pregnancy, vaginal tissue becomes more sensitive, so a cervical exam (which is not known for being gentle) can feel uncomfortable or even painful.
Second Stage or Active Labor
The second stage is the most painful stage of labor. The baby passes through the cervix, through the pelvis and birth canal, and out through the vaginal opening. On average, it takes one to three hours from the time that the cervix becomes fully dilated to the birth of the baby.
A special type of hormonal imbalance is caused due to low estrogen and high progesterone levels that may create interference in the body's ability to maintain healthy cervical tissue. You can also get cervical pain from allergies from chemicals in douches, spermicides, or from the latex rubber in condoms.
The cervix can be dilated to 1 centimeter for weeks before the beginning of labor. This extent of dilation only signals that the cervix is starting to prepare for labor. Most pregnant women spend some time wondering when they will go into labor, especially as the due date draws near.
As a woman delivers the baby, she may feel an intense burning and stretching as her vagina and perineum stretch to accommodate the baby. This sensation typically lasts just a few minutes, though some women tear during this process.
Baby dropping may feel like a sudden, noticeable movement for some women, while others may not feel it happening. Baby dropping, or lightening, may make it easier to breathe and increase appetite. This is because there is more space in the abdomen and less pressure on organs.
At this point, your cervix will be dilated 3 to 10 centimeters. (Dilating one centimeter an hour is textbook, but like in early labor, it's different for everyone.)
It's narrow and tubular in shape and connects the uterine cavity to the vaginal canal. The tip of the cervix can be seen from inside of the vagina during exams and can be reached and felt by a fingertip.
Your cervix can ripen in just a few hours. This fast cervix ripening, however, more commonly happens in women who have had previous babies, as the cervix have already been through the softening and dilating process and it's easier for it to open up faster in future pregnancies.
During pregnancy, the cervix usually is firm and stiff enough to help hold the baby in the uterus. That's a good thing for most of the pregnancy. But in the final days or weeks before delivery, the cervix starts to soften and open up. Basically, it's getting ready for labor.