Going Into Labor: Cervix Effacement

Video Transcript

"So when you are in labor, one of the things that's happening to your body is that your cervix is effacing. This is also called cervix thinning or ripening. So what is happening is that your cervix starts to thin and melt away. Effacement is measured in percentages. So when your cervix is closed up and when it's hard, you're zero percent effaced. When your cervix is opened up halfway, you're fifty percent effaced. And when you're a hundred percent effaced, the cervix is fully open. It's going to be the thickness of paper. It's very, very thin. A way to kind of visualize what's happening is if you have a lifesaver, if you put it in your mouth and if you just suck on it, you don't bite it, you just suck on it, it's going to slowly melt away. It's going to get thinner and thinner and thinner and that's what is happening to a woman's cervix. So the cervix is shaped like a bottle neck right now. And what's happening is the cervix is melting up into itself. So it's actually pulling itself back into the uterus and it's melting away and opening up to make room for the baby to come out. So it's measured in percentages. So this would be zero percent. It's fully closed. This is fifty percent. It's open halfway. This is ninety percent. There's only a tiny little lip left. And this is a hundred percent. To give birth you have to be a hundred percent effaced. Some women are already effaced before they go into labor, which just means their cervix is nice and ripe. What makes the cervix soft is a hormone called prostaglandin. It's naturally found in our body. It's also found in semen, so sometimes having sex, when you get closer to your labor starting, can be a good thing because it can help ripen the cervix up. So one of the things that are happening when you go into labor is that your cervix is effacing."