Effacement, Dilation, and Station
Medical terms you may hear in labor & what they mean
Let’s face it, doctors and nurses can use a lot of medical terms during labor and procedures that most people don’t know! It can be so frustrating and confusing during birth, when in fact, it’s your right to know what these words mean. Here are just a few of them that might come up.
During labor, your provider may check your cervix by inserting their index & pointer fingers into the vagina. These assessments can provide you information such as effacement, dilation, station of baby, and baby’s position.
Let’s talk about each of these pieces of information.
Effacement: This is the term used for describing how thin the cervix is. During pregnancy, the cervix is between 3-5 cm thick; by the end of pregnancy and during labor, the cervix starts to thin and become soft. This doesn’t happen all at once, and we need effacement before the cervix can dilate fully. You may hear your provider or a nurse say, “you are 100% effaced”. This means that the cervix is completely thinned out to the thickness of a piece of paper.
Dilation: Dilation is how open your cervix has become to allow baby through into the vaginal canal. This takes place over the course of labor (some people may even start dilating in late pregnancy with no labor signs). You have to reach 10cm dilated to be considered “complete” and can begin pushing. Remember, this dilation number is just a snapshot in time. It will not determine or predict when you baby will be born.
Station: The “station” is a term used to describe where baby is at in your pelvis.
The numbers range from -3 to +3 (high in the pelvis to low in the pelvis). When you are completely dilated and fully effaced, you can ask your provider about the station to gain more information. If baby is low, pushing is much easier and will take a shorter amount of time. If baby is still high in the pelvis, you may ask for more time to “labor down”. This allows the uterus to do it’s thing and bring baby down further. This can allow you to get some rest and nourishment before it’s time to meet your baby. For first time birthers especially, if you start pushing when baby is still high in the pelvis (-3 or -2), it can take a long time and a lot of energy.
Remember, cervical checks are 100% optional! Think about how you will feel with the new learned information.
