In preparation for the birth of your baby, your cervix effaces (thins and stretches) and dilates (opens) so your baby can fit through the birth canal. This cervical ripening can begin days or even ...

Near the end of the third trimester, the cervix will soften in order to begin the process of effacing (thinning and stretching) and dilating (opening up) in preparation for your baby's birth. An open ...

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 ...

Elective induction of labor in first-time mothers with an unfavorable cervix increased the rate of cesarean deliveries compared with women who received expectant management in a randomized clinical ...

Labor is the process by which the baby and placenta leave the uterus, or womb. This process normally begins on its own around the 40th week of pregnancy. In some cases, however, medical intervention ...

Tricia Brockway, a labor and delivery nurse whose mission is to empower women through information, recently drummed up a dilation chart that's easy to understand. In an enlightening Instagram post, ...

Only then can you bring your baby into the world. Cervical dilation sounds pretty intense, but if you are in labor, it's going to happen. The question is, how do you know if you're dilated and ready ...

IN obstetric practice, it is acknowledged that a significant number of patients, without apparent cause, repeatedly terminate their pregnancies between the early part of the middle trimester and the ...

Women with a history of cervical insufficiency (1 or more second-trimester pregnancy losses in the absence of labor or prior cerclage because of painless cervical dilation in the second trimester) or ...