Dilating with no labor

My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

Thanks,
Misti

Brookben wrote:
My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

Absolutely normal and common. No need to worry.
Is this her first, or has she delivered other babies?
If it's not her first, then it's *really* common, and
she can literally walk around for weeks like this.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Brookben" wrote in message
oups.com...
My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

I think it is very common. I was dilated to 5cm for a week before I went
into labor in my third pregnancy. Labor was fast. That is good -- 1/2 the
work was done before I even started!!


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

"Brookben" wrote in message
oups.com...
My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Hi Misty,

There is no cause for concern. Expectant mothers often efface and dilate up
to 4 cm before labor begins. She could be near labor or have weeks to go and
still be 4 cm dilated.

Carl

My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

why would she need to be in hospital, it's not as if when the baby comes
it's going to be premature and they want to hold of delivery, hence trying
bedrest. Effacing and dilating before labour is normal, for first timers,
there is usually more effacement, with minimal dilation, for multips,
dilation with minimal effacement seems to be the pattern of things, you
don't say whether this is her first or not, if it isn't, then she's
exhibiting entirely normal cervical changes, if it is, then they are more
uncommon, but still not abnormal, they may not even mean she will have the
baby particularly soon. My mum was 8cm dilated with me (her first), but not
in labour, she doesn't recall measurements from earlier VEs, but they were
done and the doctor kept telling her that he wouldn't be seeing her again as
she'd have had the baby, so it sounds like there must have been a steady
progression over the 2-4 weeks prior to the birth (induced 16 days late).
I'm not sure why she would even fret, unless she disbelieves the change in
due date and is worried about a premature baby, but if the due date is
correct, then what's to worry about, it's really a very positive thing, it
probably indicates the baby is in a good position and there is less distance
to go once in labour!

Anne

I think it is very common. I was dilated to 5cm for a week before I went
into labor in my third pregnancy. Labor was fast. That is good -- 1/2
the work was done before I even started!!

my mum was like that, even first time (8cm before labour!) and had very fast
labours. I've also had very fast labours, but none of this dilation in
advance business (no routine VEs, but circumstances meant I had had some),
even 2nd time when it's very common, I was totally closed 6hrs before she
was born, with very little effacement and that was after an attempted
prostin induction. In my first delivery, I went from 5cm to fully dilated
and head through the cervix in precisely one contraction, midwife did a VE
as I was bleeding heavily and found me to be 5cm and she called for help,
next person did a VE and found a head and no cervix! I wonder if it is
possible to mistake a fontanelle for a cervix, it seems unlikely, but it
might be a more likely explaination than that speed of dilation.

Anne

Hi Misti

Well I don't know when I started dilating but on the day of my daughters
birth day I had no signs at all she was coming, no BH or contractions
whatsoever until 5.30pm my waters went with no warning but still no
contractions, got to the hospital where they examined me with still no
contractions whatsoever and they found that I was fully dilated and babys
head was showing, it was only the last hr or so of her labour that the pains
came. Just go with baby, if doc says she's fine to be at home then trust.

April

"Brookben" wrote in message
oups.com...
My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

Thanks,
Misti

"april" wrote in message
...
Hi Misti

Well I don't know when I started dilating but on the day of my daughters
birth day I had no signs at all she was coming, no BH or contractions
whatsoever until 5.30pm my waters went with no warning but still no
contractions, got to the hospital where they examined me with still no
contractions whatsoever and they found that I was fully dilated and babys
head was showing, it was only the last hr or so of her labour that the
pains
came. Just go with baby, if doc says she's fine to be at home then trust.

April

Wow, you lucky thing!

Wow, you lucky thing!

it was her 3rd (I think), that kind of happening would be very unusual with
a first baby, but it's not all that uncommon with later babies, at least
April had time to make it to the hospital, ok, so not making it to the
hospital happens from time to time with first babies, but its usually a
misassessment of what is going on, rather than no warning, I just met
someone who had her first unintentionally at home, but it was still a 7hr
labour, which is not even desparately short, I think she just expected
minimum 12 hrs and that it would be more painful! I have a friend who was
born in the toilet at home, as her mum thought she had to go, her younger
brother was born in the same spot a couple of years later! (I seem to recall
the older sister was a forceps delivery, and certainly not an easy or fast
labour).

Anne

In article .com,
says...
My sweet cousin was examined today and was found to have dilated to a
4 and has started effacing, but she has had no labor pains. She's due
Thursday. Her orgininal due date was in mid-March, but her date was
moved back to Feb 8.

Her mom is a bit concerned and thinks she might oughta be in the
hospital. I've tried to research this a bit, but I haven't found
much. Anybody know how common this is or if it's anything to fret?

Thanks,
Misti


.... And when I get to the next thread, I realize this is
misc.kids.breastfeeding, and not misc.kids.pregnancy. What
newsgroup am I in now? :-)

Larry