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Self Checking Cervix for Dialation...?
Self Checking Cervix for Dialation...?
This is for the women that have actually checked their own cervixes, NOT wannabes who think they know what they are talking about by reading a website!
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips/techniques for checking their cervix for dialation? I have read all the mid-wife forums on how-to's and what to feel for (although even pre-pregnancy, I didn't think my cervix felt like the tip of a nose so I really don't think their descriptions are 100%).
I just checked myself, and unless I'm checking the wrong spot, I can fit almost 3 fingers in...(my 2 fingers = almost 3.5 cm, with the third it's almost 5cm). Is it possible to be dialated to a 4 (just guessing) without having a ton of braxton hicks or contractions?
Is there a technique to tell how effaced you are? While checking for dialation I found stick my finger deeper (approx 1-1.5 cm) before I felt a rounded area...
Any advice or insight is appreciated. Even if you just tell me your experiences.
I'm 39.5 weeks with #2
Wanted to add, that last week I could only fit 2 fingers in and it was a tight fit. This time there is much more space (hence the 3rd finger)
Joy you're an idiot. Asking a question doesn't mean I'm obsessed. I'm entitled to be curious. Climb off your high horse because you sound more like a b*tch than anything else.
Answers:
2007-08-03 17:05:02
As for having dialation without contractions it's very possible especially if your cervix is weak. Since you are considered term it isn't a big deal but if you where earlier in your pregnancy it would be considered incompetant cervix. It's where the cervix opens painlessly without warning due to the weight of the baby and is a leading cause of miscarriage in the second trimester.
2007-08-03 17:06:09
JOY
2007-08-03 17:08:08
with my last one i was dialated at 5 for over a week!
so yes you can be dialated and not feel contractions, because i had NONE (unfortunatly)
I tried checking myself with my last pregnancy but couldn't get up there, so sorry i'm no help there.
2007-08-03 17:08:09
kmennie: DILATION, not "dialation"!
And yeah, shame on you for touching your own body! ONLY AN OBSTETRICIAN CAN...just kidding. WTF -- doctor's hands are cleaner than other people's? Sheesh. (If anything, I'd have to think your own hands are preferable -- you're carrying just your own bacteria that your body's already used to, not...trace amounts from the 37 women who've already been in your office that day. Yuk.)
All I have to offer is: don't get too hung up on the numbers.
"Examinations were performed on 508 women. The researcher and clinicians agreed on the dilatation in 250 instances (49.2%) and differed by 2 cm or more in 56 (11.0%) (kappa = 0.40, 95% CI 0.34?0.45). Accuracy was greater at low (3?4 cm) and high (8?10 cm) dilatations. Reduced accuracy was associated with decreasing clinician experience and with lower stations of fetal head."
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2007.01386.x
Two centimeters -- !!
Google around for stuff like "dilation effacement measurement error." The studies do not make for a ringing endorsement of the accuracy of doctor's fingers. One person's 4 is not another 4.
And, who cares?
"Many people try to use the information that is gathered from a vaginal exam to predict things like when labor will begin or if the baby will fit through the pelvis. A vaginal exam simply cannot measure these things."
http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/interventions/a/vaginalexam.htm
Good luck!
2007-08-03 17:56:57