favourable cervix?

**tootsy** · 09-08-2008 21:07

what do they call a favourable cervix in order to be induced?

does it have anything to do with how dialated you are?

**Londonmum** · 09-08-2008 22:57

No nothing to do with dilation, it's more to do with the state of the cervix in that it has to show signs of being ready for the birthing process. Sometimes the cervix hasn't softened up enough to allow for induction to work effectively and this is when women tend to end up having problems (if induced before cervix favourable).

I myself saw the OB at 40 weeks when pg with DD and was told I had a favourable cervix (I wanted to be induced) and that I would tke to induction well but it still took 3 days to get me to full labour.

**plumptobump** · 10-08-2008 09:30

Just a suggestion...EPO inserted vaginally can ripen the cervix tremendously! Not sure if thats your cup of tea, but I was inserting 1-2 capsules before bed every night and by the time I went into labour, I had everyone telling me how soft my cervix was (and therefore couldnt explain why I wasnt dialating faster, haha)...might be worth doing a bit of research on?

**~Emmylou~** · 10-08-2008 13:21

The way they usually determine whether you're cervix is "favourable" for induction is through a vaginal examination and a "Bishop's Score".

The score is made up of 5 criteria - dilation, effacement, position of cervix, consistency of cervix and station of baby. They have a guess at all these, give each a rating, add them up and if you get over 9 - an induction has a good chance of succeeding.

It's always worth asking about your score because if you're given under say 5 - an induction is probably not a great idea if baby is still well and you can wait a few more days. Your score can and does improve fairly quickly because things change rapidly at the end of pregnancy. So you can be a 10 one day, and a 4 two days later.

More info here

Good luck.