22
Jan
You either got in the no-exam group where you didnt have any exams any vaginal checks until you got to 40 weeks or 41 weeks if the provider thought it was necessary. Hopefully it goes smoothly.
Starting at about week 36 your doctor will probably want to see you once a week.
When do doctors start checking for dilation during pregnancy. At first as the Mayo Clinic mentioned the dilation and effacement of your cervix can be really slow and your doctor will start to check how far along you are during your regular appointments. Usually 36-37 weeks however a lot of Drs arent doing it anymore since it has no correlation on when labor will start. So unless you are having contractions or symptoms there really isnt any reason to check and you risk infection.
Its really done to satisfy mothers curiosity. The cervix needs to dilate from one to 10 centimeters 39 in at which point you can deliver your baby. In most cases licensed professionals such as doctors nurses and midwives will check to see how far your cervix is dilated but you also might want to get a sense for yourself.
This is when you start experiencing the most severe cervical pain during pregnancy. After you cross the 38th week of pregnancy you will need to make regular appointments with your doctor to check for cervical dilation. Do not try to assess the extent of your cervical dilation on your own at any point during pregnancy.
Cervical effacement is the shortening and thinning of the cervix. In what is typically the third trimester pregnancy Braxton Hicks practice contractions start to shorten the cervix a process known as effacement. Most women have a cervix that has shortened to 1 cm during the very early stages of labor.
This is also referred to as 50 percent. Your doctor or midwife may start checking for gradual effacement during your last two months of pregnancy with internal exams during your prenatal visits. Effacement is measured in percentages.
Zero percent means no effacement. 100 percent means youre fully effaced. You either got in the no-exam group where you didnt have any exams any vaginal checks until you got to 40 weeks or 41 weeks if the provider thought it was necessary.
The other group they had weekly cervical checks starting at 37 weeks. I was wondering the same thing myself. I have heard that they start checking around 36 weeks.
But as you can see not every doctor does that. So I am definitely going to ask my doctors when they start checking because I am curious myself. Well good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.
Hopefully it goes smoothly. I am due one day after you. Mar 20 2018 at 1007 AM.
Checking for dilation and effacement with no other symptoms wont give you much other than an increased risk of infection. You can be 2 cm dilated for the next 5 weeks and then all of a sudden in the space of 12 hours have a baby. With due date close in sight your healthcare provider may begin checking your cervical dilation opening and effacement thinning to see how your body is preparing for delivery.
Your cervix will open and thin more before Baby is ready to come out so your healthcare provider might check from week-to-week how the cervical developments are progressing though this is not universal. Alot of doctors dont start until you are in active labor. My OB started checking for dilation when i was 36 weeks along which im actually glad they checked at 36 weeks if not i would have been.
If your pregnancy has been progressing normally youve probably been seeing your doctor once or twice each month. But now that youre in the home stretch youll be spending even more time in the doctors office. Starting at about week 36 your doctor will probably want to see you once a week.
During late pregnancy your doctor will check how youre progressing. Heres when you might go into labor if youre 1 centimeter dilated. As the ninth month of your pregnancy approaches your doctor will look for signs of labour.
He may do an exam to see if your cervix has dilated or not and whether the baby has turned head down or not. You should also ask your doctor if you can check your cervix for dilation at home. If he says yes then you can proceed.