Self check of dilation?

[asherraifsmom]

Yes, yes, I know it doesn't mean squat because I could be not dilated at all and have the baby really quickly or I could walk around dilated to 3 for several more weeks.

I just like knowing my body and I'm a very curious cat...

How hard is it to feel for your cervix this far in pregnancy, especially if you've never done it before? I'm currently 38 weeks 5 days. I'm hoping I don't go into labor til AFTER my due date or on my due date since my mom plans to be here with me for the birth and she doesnt get into town til a week from now, 2 days before my due date.

I know the best position is on a toilet or squatting so you can feel in there the deepest, and i read somewhere that if you can fit one finger tip inside the os, that's approx i cm, 2 fingers is 2 cm, etc... Is it easy to tell if you actually HAVE your fingers IN the os? Or do you kind of feel around first ? I'm kind of confused about all this. If i can't figure it out I won't let it bug me since its really just out of curiosity, but yeah any advice on how to's is appreciated.

ps- and this may be a REALLY Dumb question (as much as i have studied birth i feel i should know this by now)....but, if i've not lost my mucus plug yet, is it possible to still measure dilation, if how you do it is by putting your fingers in the os? Would the mucus plug be in the way? Or is it up higher inside? Sorry for the super dumb question...

[Hesperia]

Have you had a feel around yet?

I've read different things about the amount of finger = cm's, and that is because everyone has different sized fingers! Measure them if you are interested.

Be gentle and I'd so want to know, even if it only meant I would know how dilated I was at that moment, and nothing more

ETA: I forgot to mention the mucous plug - it is behind the cervix, yes? As in, a plug formed in front of the babes head and behind the cervix. A cervix dilating is often just the entrance of the cervix that is dilated (funneling) and not all the way through, keeping the mucous intact and in place.

[jenneology]

I was just as inexperienced and unsure as you at that point in my last pregnancy. Before labor started I was dilated to what I estimated as 2 cm. Not entirely sure what I was feeling, but thats what it seemed to be.

The next time I attempted to check dilation was in labor and I totally forgot to figure out the cervical dilation when I realized I was touching a head! Baby was born about 2 hours later.

[Devaskyla]

I've never checked myself, although I've posted a link on how to do it many time. My fingers are just too short to reach. Dh did check me in labour, though, with both my UBAC's. With ds2, he checked me after pushing didn't seem to be working & discovered ds was stuck, then checked again after I thought he was unstuck. With ds3, I felt like I was pushing way too early, so I had him check me & all he could feel was ds's head.

http://prepforlabor.tripod.com/id14.html

[AugustLia23]

I walked around 2-4 cm for weeks before going into labor. I have had clients who have been 5cm for weeks and have heard of women who have been 8cm and still not in labor. Lots more needs to happen than dilation.

FWIW, if I can fit my 2 fingers comfortably into a cervix that is 3cm,one finger on top of the other is 2cm. Also, it can be remarkably difficult to reach around a radiantly term pregnant belly, not to mention the inside of the vagina of an about to birth mamma can often(and should!) feel quite mushy and soft on the inside, and hard to identify one part from another. Often times you will only be able to feel the hardness of the baby's head behind the wall of uterus, this most likely means that the cervix is still psoterior.

Good luck.

[CrunchyDoula]

For me it was really easy, even in labor. I was very familiar with my cervix as we had used NFP and charted all changes, even through out the pregnancy. So I knew what my cervix felt like and could distinguish it even from the walls of my vagina, even when really soft and from the top of our sons head. I just measured my fingers to be accurate and I would check. I know that two days before I had him I was 4cms dilated and the MW confirmed that at our appointment. I feel very confident checking myself, but I know my body and how it is usually so I was able to easily detect any changes.