Contractions

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Labour talk usually centres on how many centimetres wide the cervix is. It sounds as though the midwives need a tool kit, complete with tape measure, but don't worry, this certainly isn't the case!

Your cervix is part of the womb and sits at the top of your vagina. Before labour starts it feels like a little tube with a dimple in it (try putting your finger in your nostril, it feels similar to that!).

Once labour starts, contractions help to open the cervix up, and it becomes flatter. Imagine stretching a thin piece of bubble gum, and popping a hole in the middle of it. This is how an 'effaced' (stretched thin) cervix would feel. The hole in it becomes bigger as labour progresses.

If your midwife does a vaginal examination during labour, she feels the cervix with two fingers and, depending on how wide she can open her fingers, estimates how many centimetres dilated you are.

When your cervix is fully dilated, (10cm), the contractions change and the baby's ready to movedown the vagina. Many midwives don't do a vaginal examination at this point, as there are other signs to indicate that the cervix has dilated fully. These include the contractions changing, often stopping temporarily, and the woman's anus starting to bulge with the contractions. This is also when a mum-to-be will feel nauseous and may be sick.

Although your cervix is dilating throughout labour, it doesn't mean your vagina is too. The muscles stretch once your baby moves down the vagina in the second stage of labour.

- Next: Labour pains