Will an induction go faster if I'm already dilated at 3cm, lost my mucus plug, and effacing?

You wanted to know if an induction should go faster if you’re already starting at 3cm, you’ve effaced a little bit, and lost your mucus plug. You should go faster, but it’s helpful to understand the different phases and stages of labor to understand why the answer to that question is yes. So there’s three stages of labor. The first stage is when you’re dilating - the time it takes you to get from 0 to 10. The second stage of labor is from the time you’re 10 to the time the baby’s out - so basically the pushing stage. The third stage is from the time the baby delivers to the time the placenta’s out - so we have dilation, pushing, and then the placenta, basically. Within the first stage, you have three phases: the early or latent stage (this is when you’re 0 to 3 centimeters), the active phase (when you’re 4 to 7), and transition (when you’re 8 to 10). And the amount of time it takes you to labor really does depend on what your cervix is at when you start labor. And labor is not defined as contractions. Labor is defined as cervical change or dilation from hour to hour. So if you’re already 3 centimeters, then labor should go faster because you’re at the end of the latent stage (or early phase) and right at the beginning of the active phase at 4 centimeters. Really, things should go faster for you since you’re at that point. Now in the days to weeks leading up to the delivery of the baby, the body starts to prep for labor and ripen the cervix just like a fruit. This is an actual medical term we use. The cervix begins to soften, move forward, and thin out, and the thinning out part is the effacement that you’re referring to in your question and we talk about it in terms of percentages. So the higher the percentage, the thinner the cervix is. But it’s not really considered thin until maybe 70, 80, 90%. If it’s less than that, then it’s still pretty thick and the ripening is still happening. So if a woman goes into labor on her own, her brain starts to release oxytocin, which is the hormone that acts on the uterus and tells it to contract. And then once the woman has regular and intense contractions, the cervix should respond by dilating. And this is again the true definition of labor - your cervix actively changes or dilates from hour to hour. So if you’re induced, labor isn’t started by your brain releasing oxytocin, it’s started by receiving oxytocin and/or pitocin (it’s kind of like a brand and generic name) through the IV and this is what causes your uterus to contract. It should respond and dilate once your contractions are regular and intense. I suggest talking with your OB provider if you have more specific questions about it, and based on their knowledge of your circumstances they’ll be able to give you tailored information and advice about what to expect. I hope the very best for you and if you have more questions in the future for me, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at facebook.com/IntermountainMoms and recommend us to your friends and family too.

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