What Every Woman Should Know: Finding Your Own Cervix

In school, at pediatrician visits as a child, by our family, and by the media, the woman's body is treated as something that must be examined, poked, and prodded by a doctor in order to bear children. We are taught, through ignorance and fear, that we must have others check us and that we need professional services in order to make sure our 'plumbing' is right. Women that I have encountered have expressed that they do not know how to find their own cervix, and they feel that they must go to a doctor, nurse, or midwife to check for dilation while they are pregnant. Here is information to help you, so that you can do your own pelvic exam and put your fears to rest, satisfy your curiosity, and to accurately assess your status during pregnancy. The knowledge of what your cervix is doing is very helpful in determining what is happening in an emergency situation like premature labor.

What is a cervix?

The cervix is the very bottom of the uterus, and it opens slightly during ovulation to allow sperm to go up and connect with the egg, and it dilates (opens) quite a bit during childbirth to allow the baby to pass through. It is present at the top of the vagina and it lengthens, softens, hardens, and shrinks according to different stages of fertility.

How do I find my cervix?

To find your cervix, make sure your hand is clean. This can be done in the shower so that there is lubrication and everything is clean. Some women find it helpful to bring one leg up or to squat down, there is no right way to feel for your cervix, just do what works for you. Insert one finger into the vagina, the middle finger works well because it is the longest. Reach back and up, and you will feel something hanging down.

What is normal?

Depending on where you are in your fertility, it might feel firm, like your nose, or soft, like the inside of your cheek. In the middle you will feel an indentation, that is the opening for sperm to go up and the baby to come through.

What can I tell from this information?

If you are not pregnant, you can just monitor changes in your fertility through the consistency and length of your cervix. A 'fertile cervix' will be long and soft and open. An 'infertile cervix' will be hard, closed, and high. Knowing this will give you confidence that you are the owner of your body and you know the most about it. During pregnancy, monitoring your cervix (be sure to clean well first! You do not want to introduce large amounts of bacteria up there, as it could get to the baby) can satisfy your curiosity about what is happening to your body, allow you to feel to know how labor is progressing, and to reassure yourself about whether or not you are in preterm labor or not.

Checking Dilation

When you are in labor, and even before you are in labor, your body will start to soften the cervix and it will open up. Many women (myself include) walk around in the last month or more of labor partially dilated. It is completely normal to dilate up to 4 cm without being anywhere close to delivery. Dilation is measured in the diameter of the opening in the cervix. Fingertip dilated is the term for just barely being open, just enough to stick your fingertip in. As labor or pregnancy progresses, your cervix will continue to open up. You can monitor this so that you know where you are at without having to run to the doctor all the time.
Other changes in pregnancy/labor.

During labor and pregnancy your cervix will also 'efface' and shrink up. It will go up and get wider, to allow the baby to come out. 100% effacement refers to when the cervix is no longer hanging down, but is all the way up to the top of the wall of the vagina. This happens as the baby's head is going down and through.

I hope this information has helped you to become more comfortable in your own body. It should help you to satisfy your inner questions about fertility and childbirth and not be so dependent on your doctor. If you have any questions, always seek medical attention.