Dialated and effaced? How is this measured?

[Claire1209]

How does a dr/midwife tell how dialated and effaced you are, I probably sound so stupid but like 1finger 1cm or wht? Lol

Theres a little guide they use, made of plastic, to get used to the feel of different stages - we all had a go at antenatal class lol

With effacement it's how long and soft your cervix may be, so if you can imagine (and this is how I explain it to women, easier when using hand gestures!) so bend your fore finger in half, from your knuckle to the joint is approximately how your cervix would feel when it isn't effaced (not boney though! Just firm) as onset of labour progresses it shortens out and becomes lovely and soft, until it's really thin.

Dilatation is something that takes a while to get, and i still get some checked after 4 years as it can be really tricky in some women! It's quite subjective too. However 1 finger is approx 1cm, and as you go on to 3,4,5 cm etc we use fore and middle finger to assess, you'll sometimes see us using our spare hand gesticulating, not to mention the faces that can be pulled when your concentrating

Hope this helps, I'm crap at explaining things!

Practice! The first time you carry out an examination you probably haven't got a clue what you just felt and how many xms dilated or effaced.
It probably clucked for me towards the end of my second year as a student midwife when you become mire confident in what you feel and know.
As pp said 1 finger us roughly one cm so 1-3 cm very easy to tell and so us effacement when dully effaced it feels like a very thin rubber band through the middle if which you can feel baby's head/waters/membranes.