How do they check how far dilated?

Question

How will midwives and doctors check how far dilated I am? I was told by a friend to expect to see them put five fingers in my vagina. Is this true? Five?!

Answer

I couldn’t see how many fingers were involved. But it hurt worse than my unmedicated contractions.

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my mom always said it felt like the doctor was up to his elbow in there. 😂 like thanks mom, that's not terrifying.

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I’m a labor and delivery nurse perform cervical checks. It’s only 2 fingers

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I’ve never been bothered by it. Like it doesn’t hurt. But uncomfortable maybe. 
They put their fingers in until they touch the cervix. Then they stretch them into a V to see how far apart the sides of the circle of dilation is.

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I think it depends on the person doing it. Pretty sure mine just did two fingers and estimated based on how far they could separate their fingers. 
I opted for minimal checks though, so only had one on admission to hospital and one again when I said I felt the need to push to check I was actually ready. 
Best wishes.

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i looked up how to check dilation at home bc i don’t want to go to the hospital before 5cm and it said as long as my water hasn’t broken yet (putting fingers in there after water breaks increases risk of infection) either myself or hubby and go in and with fingers feel how many will fit in the soft opening of the cervix so yes, they put fingers in there to measure!! apparently each finger is approx 1cm wide i disagree with bc i have small hands and the measuring tape says from my pointer to pinky all 4 in a line is 6cm (like if my hand is laying flat on the table with no space in between fingers) so if i check myself and my pointer middle and ring finger can fit straight without being on top of each other that’s 5cm and i’ll be off to the hospital!

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Only 2 fingers not 5 😂😂

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My doctor has always done two fingers to check, it is uncomfortable but doesn’t hurt (I had an unmediated labor that hurts lol)

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It’s only two fingers and it doesn’t hurt (didn’t hurt for me anyway)

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I just got home from L&D; due to falling on my belly from the ice. They checked me twice in 24 hours. It was only two fingers.

How do they check how far dilated?

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