|
Handling
a Cervical Lip
You may have heard about the phenomenon of a "cervical lip".
Since I mentioned this above, I feel I should talk about it for a
moment. There is a lot of discussion in the birth
world
about what to do with cervical lips.
A cervical lip can
occur when a portion of the cervix doesn't fully dilate and
efface. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but the
most
common are a baby that is malpositioned and its head isn't putting
pressure squarely in the center or the cervix, or because a mom remains
immobile in bed placing pressure only on one side of the
cervix.
The cervical lip will be a bit thicker than the rest of the
cervix. They can occur anywhere, but are called "nterior
lips"
because when the baby's head is descending during 8-10cm dilation,
feeling behind the cervix to find a posterior lip is nearly impossible.
The most common locations would be at 11 and 2 if you pictured the
cervix as a clock.
It's commonly believed that if a woman
pushes before full dilation (which is the reason given for performing
routine vaginal exams), she will tear her cervix. However,
there
is simply no research or even enough anecdotal evidence to support
this. You also have to consider all the women worldwide
giving
birth without cervical checks: if no one's fingers are in
your
vagina, then you won't know if you have a cervical lip or not, you'll
just push when you feel like it's time.
It is
possible for the cervix to swell closed by a few centimeters if it
becomes too irritated by manipulating it or unequal pressure. To avoid
this, listening to your body is key. This usually happens
when
you lay down during labor and staying upright and mobile cannot be
stressed enough.
If a swollen cervix or lip occurs, most
midwives agree to not put pressure on the swollen portion.
Relieving pressure by switching sides can be beneficial. Some
midwives use ice or will even push back the lip over the baby's head.
Usually,
the best rule of thumb is to let your body tell you what to do: if it
hurts to push, don't push! If it feels good, then push!
|
|