For other women, especially those who have given birth before, dilation may start a few days or weeks before labor begins. Dilation alone is not considered a sign of labor. Anyone concerned about early dilation should speak with a doctor. The doctor will assess the extent of dilation and any other signs that labor is imminent. Many women experience contractions throughout a pregnancy.
These are common, though they can be concerning if a person is pregnant for the first time. When contractions happen before labor, the medical community calls them Braxton-Hicks contractions.
The key differences between Braxton-Hicks and labor contractions involve their duration, frequency, and associated pain. If contractions seem to occur randomly and they are painless, they are likely Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Contractions that occur close to a due date are usually more frequent, longer-lasting, and painful. The time between contractions is an important indication of labor. When contractions start to occur regularly and cause pain, let a healthcare provider know. When pregnancy begins, a mucus plug seals the opening of the cervix. This plug will break apart and fall away as dilation progresses. When the plug falls away, it may look like discharge.
The color can range from clear to pink, and the plug may be slightly bloody. When labor is about to start, the membrane surrounding the baby can break and fall away. The water breaking is one of the most commonly recognized signs of labor. It can result in a sudden gush of liquid, or only a trickle. Some women may not notice because there is so little fluid. The medical community calls this lightening, and it can occur anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks before active labor begins.
Contact the doctor about any signs of labor, such as regular contractions, cramping, or the water breaking. Depending on the extent of dilation, the doctor may recommend resting in bed or avoiding strenuous activity. In a review , researchers studied the outcomes of 82 women admitted to the hospital for preterm labor. They found that 48 percent of the women who arrived with 0—2 cm of dilation delivered within the first 48 hours of admission.
For the women to qualify, they had to be between 24 and 34 weeks pregnant. Though the study was small, it suggests that dilating to 1 cm before the 37th week may be a risk factor for preterm labor.
Anyone experiencing signs of labor before the 37th week should speak to a healthcare provider as soon as possible. When your baby is ready to begin the journey through the birth canal, your cervix dilates from fully closed to 10 centimeters. This process can take hours, days, or even weeks.
But once you hit active labor — about 6 cm dilated — it's usually just a matter of hours before you reach full dilation. Effacement is when the cervix shortens, becoming softer and thinner in preparation for your baby's birth.
During pregnancy, your cervix is about 3. As your body gets ready for labor and once labor begins, your cervix gradually thins out until it's like a sheet of paper. Providers describe effacement as a percentage, from 0 to percent.
When your cervix is fully thinned, you're percent effaced. Effacement happens hand-in-hand with dilation, although effacement may begin first. As with dilation, it can take weeks, days, or hours to reach full effacement. Once your cervix is percent effaced and 10 cm dilated, you're ready to start pushing your baby out into the world.
Everyone is different. If this is your first pregnancy, your cervix may not start to dilate and efface until you go into labor and contractions begin. Or it may start to efface, but not dilate. Or, your cervix may start to efface and dilate gradually over several days or weeks toward the end of your pregnancy as your body prepares for labor. During labor, and sometimes before, your doctor or midwife may check your cervix to see how much it has effaced and dilated.
He or she will do this using his or her fingers, and wearing sterile gloves. Once your cervix has started to dilate and efface, labor is approaching. However, if you are just 1 to 2 centimeters dilated, or below 50 percent effaced, it could still be days or weeks before labor actually starts. To know when it's time to head to the hospital or birth center, you'll need to watch out for other signs of labor.
You may not feel anything when your cervix first starts to efface and dilate, especially if the process begins before you go into labor. As labor approaches, cervical effacement may be accompanied by pre-labor symptoms such as:.
Once labor is fully underway and your cervix moves toward full effacement and dilation, you'll experience accompanying labor symptoms such as regular, more intense contractions. Your water will "break" if the amniotic sac that surrounds your baby ruptures. When your cervix is 1 cm dilated, it means your body is preparing for labor, or is in the very early stages of labor. It's impossible to know how quickly your cervix will dilate further. It could be a matter of hours.
But it could also take a few days, or even weeks. As with 1 cm dilated, being 2 cm dilated doesn't mean that labor is imminent. Some women who are 2 cm dilated may go into labor within hours. Others will remain 2 cm dilated for a few days or weeks until labor progresses. Once your cervix reaches 3 cm dilation, you've probably entered the early stage of labor.
During this stage, your cervix gradually dilates to about 6 cm. This is the longest part of labor and can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, although between 8 to 12 hours is common.
Once you reach about 6 cm dilation, you're in the active stage of labor. At this point your contractions become very regular, longer lasting, and more painful. J Obstet Gynaecol Canada. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellFamily. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.
These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Measuring Cervical Dilation. When Dilation Occurs Too Soon. Stages of Labor. Cervical Incompetence During Pregnancy. Cervical Dilation in the First Stage of Labor Early phase : The cervix will dilate from 1 cm to 3 cm with mild contractions.
Active phase : The cervix expands from 4 cm to 7 cm and contractions become more intense and regular. Transition phase : The cervix dilates to 10 cm.
Transition ends when the cervix has reached 10 cm and is fully dilated. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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