Near the end of the third trimester, a woman's cervix will soften in order to begin the process of effacing (thinning and stretching) and dilating (opening up). An open cervix allows the baby to pass ...

Cervical dilation means the cervix opens up to allow the baby to move from the uterus into the birth canal. Signs that your cervix is dilating include losing your mucus plug, a bloody show, and ...

As your due date approaches, you may be wondering how dilated your cervix is and if you are making progress toward delivery. While only your doctor can confirm cervical dilation, you can do a ...

There are 3 stages of labor. Active labor begins at about 5-6 cm of dilation. You need to be 10 cm dilated to deliver vaginally. After the birth, you’ll deliver the placenta. The cervix, which is the ...

In some circumstances, a doctor may recommend speeding up dilation with medication, procedure, or nipple stimulation. While every pregnancy and delivery is different, most women will agree that by the ...

O’Nell Starkey is a visual learner, so when she had to track her daily cervical position for a midwifery school assignment, she opted to take a photographic approach. “I decided to use a speculum and ...