Learning terms of labor can help you cope

For most women, one of the most confusing parts of labor is the terminology. For example, your doctor may talk about what percentage you are "effaced," whether your baby's station is -5 or +5 and, when discussing the dilation of your cervix, where you are on a scale from 1 to 10 centimeters.

Sometimes it can seem like the doctors or nurses are speaking a foreign language. Familiarizing yourself with the terms used to talk about labor can help you understand your progress before and during labor. Being in the know will help you cope with what's happening to your body.

Lightening is when the baby's head has settled deep into your pelvis. It may feel like the baby has dropped lower into your belly. This can happen a few weeks before labor or a few hours before labor starts. Whenever it happens it is a sign that labor is near. Many women find lightening a relief because it gets easier to breathe. The uterus is no longer pushing the diaphragm up and out of place. But, there is pressure on your bladder increasing urinary frequency.

Ripening is the softening of your cervix. This can be a sign that you will go into labor soon. Your doctor may detect ripening at your last prenatal visit. Your cervix has to be ripe before it can begin to open.

Effacement is the thinning out of the cervix. It is measured in percentages from 0 (no effacement) to 100 (fully effaced). You have to be effaced before your cervix fully opens.

The show is a clear, pink or slightly mucousy, bloody discharge. It is actually a mucous plug that is pushed into the vagina when the cervix starts to open. You may see the show a few days before labor starts or at the onset of labor.

Water breaking refers to fluid that leaks from your vagina in a trickle or even a gush. This means the amniotic sac that surrounds the baby has broken and you are either about to start labor or are already in labor.

Dilation is the amount your cervix has opened. This is measured in centimeters from 0 to 10, which is fully dilated. The first stages of labor can last a long time with very little dilation occurring.

Station is the term used to describe where the baby's head is. It is measured in numbers, from -5 (which means the baby's head is floating above the pelvis) to 0 (which means the baby's head has dropped into the pelvis) to + 5 that means the baby's head is crowning at the opening of the vagina. When the baby's head is crowning you are just about to be the mom of a newborn baby.

Contractions refer to the repeated tightening and relaxing of your uterus. Contractions open the cervix and help push the baby into the birth canal. As labor continues, the contractions become more intense, last longer and come closer and closer together.