Pelvic Exam

Your doctor will usually perform a pelvic examination at the first or second prenatal visit and again in late pregnancy. In early pregnancy, it helps to evaluate the size of the uterus and determine how far along you are in pregnancy. In late pregnancy, it reveals many things:

• the presentation of the baby-whether the baby is head first or breech
• the dilatation of the cervix-how much the cervix has opened (if at all)
• effacement-how much the cervix has thinned
• station-how low the baby is in your birth canal
• shape and size of your birth canal or pelvic bones

After a pelvic exam late in pregnancy, your doctor may tell you some numbers, such as "2 and 50%." This means your cervix has dilated 2 centimeters and is 50% thinned out

The information collected during the exam is helpful if you go to the hospital thinking you're in labor. At the hospital, you'll be checked again. Knowing the measurements from your last pelvic exam can help medical personnel determine if you are in labor.
A pelvic exam does not tell your doctor when you'll go into labor.
Labor can start at any time, regardless of the condition of your cervix.