Pregnancy And Baby Care Conditions During Pregnancy Checking Cervix During Pregnancy

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Checking your Cervix During Pregnancy

During labor, one of the best ways to ascertain how soon the baby will be born, is to check the cervix and find how much it has dilated. Checking your cervix during pregnancy is usually done by your doctor or nurse, who will insert a gloved finger inside your vagina and feel the changes. The most comfortable position would be to lie on your back, with your knees bent. See also friable cervix during pregnancy

A cervix check during pregnancy enables your medical care giver to ascertain the position of the cervix, dilation and sometimes, also the position of the baby.

Position of Cervix During Labor

In the initial stages of pregnancy the cervix thickens and lengthens to protect the baby. When labor begins, the cervix becomes softer, thinner and shorter to allow the baby to come out.

Its position also changes – it becomes ‘anterior’ (meaning that it points to the front) and drops into the vagina, thus allowing the baby to come out through the vagina canal.

Another important change is that it dilates, thus allowing the baby to pass through it more easily. Dilation of the cervix is usually measured on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 denotes a closed cervix and 10 denotes a fully dilated cervix. The rate of dilation of the cervix is usually one centimeter per hour, when labor is in progress.

There are potential harmful effects of checking cervix during pregnancy. Although checking your cervix during pregnancy is essential, care must be taken not to do it too often, since this increases the risk of infection, as bacteria at the opening of the vagina often gets pushed back into the cervix.