Just tonight I received a call from one of my closest friends who is 38 weeks and 6 days (but who is counting right?). She was driving home from her doctor’s appointment and was dying to know if what her nurse had told her – “You are 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced” -- was “good news” or “bad news”. Going into labor, we all know that being 10 cm dilated and 100% effaced is our goal…but we aren’t always sure how the information the nurse or doctor tells us during an appointment relates to our ultimate goal.
So…for those of you that are dying to know – here’s the low-down on dilating (the opening of the cervix) and effacing (the thinning of the cervix)! I have an analogy – bear with me! If I were to give you a balloon that was as thick as a rubber eraser – you probably would not be too successful at blowing it up, right? Most people when handed a balloon will stretch and pull it for a few seconds before blowing it up. Why? To thin the latex so that it stretches and expands more easily, right?
With that analogy in mind, during the early stages of pregnancy, your cervix is closed and thick (just like the rubber eraser). As the end of your labor approaches, your cervix will ideally begin to thin to make it easier for it to open, or dilate. As a doula, I am far more excited for the expecting Mommy if she is effaced, than if she is dilated. If you are 0 cm dilated and 70% effaced…that means that your cervix is much more similar to a stretched balloon and is likely to dilate much more easily once the contractions set in. On the contrary, if you are 2 cm dilated and 0% effaced, your body is going to have to work a lot harder to open your cervix (which is still as thick as an eraser) and labor will therefore, in most cases, take a little bit longer.
The bottom line, take your doctor’s updates lightly. You may be 0 cm dilated and 0% effaced at your appointment, go home, your water breaks and you are holding your baby in your arms before sunset. Or…you might be 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced (like my friend) and still hold out for another few days (or weeks in some cases) without going into labor. Just know this…the more effaced you are, the more effective each contraction will be in helping you dilate to 10 cm!
~Megan Glynn, Childbirth Educator and Doula
If you have any questions regarding Pregnancy, Childbirth or Parenting, please do not hesitate to e-mail me directly at megan@shopzoolu.com. I LOVE working with expecting couples and would love to hear from you!
I agree, take them lightly if at all. I'm not going to be checked this time around bc it's all so subjective depending on who's doing the checking. We need to retrain ourselves to trust our bodies and listen to it rather than a doc's guess. Which truthfully can just stress you out if you're told you're 3cm and 60% eff only to sit there for a couple of weeks and be told by another professional you aren't even near that(the following check). Not that I'd know from personal experience ;0)
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