Can you FEEL dilation/effacement?

jamiekendall

I definitely don't want this to be too TMI...but I was just curious.  For those of you who've already had your LO's; did you FEEL cervical dilation/effacement (aside from contractions)?  My contractions have been pretty sporadic so far, but I've noticed pressure and what I can only describe as movement in that area every day for the last four days.

My 41 week appt is Thursday, so if no baby arrives by then, I will ask my midwife.  In the meantime, I just wanted to ask and see if anyone else had faced this   Thank you! 

 

had720

Two days before I delivered I had contractions sporadically too. I later found out that all that I was feeling (kind of like cramps) was getting me ready to go into labor. When I arrived at hospital, I was fully dialated. So what your feeling could be progression in labor.

Doodle2011

my contractions were like someone took a melon baller and was scooping out my cervix/bladder.  The nurse told me I was feeling the rapid dilation (I went from 1/2 cm to 10 in 2 1/2 hours).

Fergie+1

I thought I could, but what I felt mostly was the contractions- which, IMO, weren't bad at all until I hit 7 cm. (That was when I checked into the hospital.) After that all I felt in-between contractions was PRESSURE!

Lol- The nurses told me I'd know when to push because I'd feel like I had to poop... and I said "Like prarie-dogging?" (LOL!) They looked at me funny and DH had to explain it to them... bet they'll remember that phrase from now on!

kensbride08

When I was dilating I would feel super sharp and quick flashes of pain in my vagina. I felt that alot between 39-40.5 weeks and that was when I started dilating.

mrsblueeyes

Early on when dilating from closed to 3cm I would feel some sharp pain in the vagina along with a pressure sensation, this was 2 weeks prior to going into labor.  Going from 6-10 cm I actually felt an opening sensation with increasing pressure as I progressed.