Updated with new images.
Here’s what will happen during and leading up to the first stage of labor.
What is dilation?
Once you dilate to 10 centimeters (cm), you’re ready to deliver your baby.
When do you start dilating?
You generally start dilating in the ninth month of pregnancy as your due date gets closer.
The timing is different in every woman.
Effacement is the thinning of the cervix, which is measured in percentages.
When you’re 100 percent effaced, your cervix has thinned enough for your baby to be born.
80 effaced
If you’re “80 effaced,” that means you’re 80 percent effaced.
What causes cervical dilation and effacement?
Based on these factors, he or she may make an educated guess as to when you’ll deliver.
But don’t go racing to the hospital just yet if that guess is “soon.”
It’s still possible you’ll be pregnant and impatient a week later.
Throughout this process, your cervix will keep on effacing and dilating.
Not a thing: Your body is in charge here.
