Facebook | SCV Birth Center, Reddit

This Dilation Chart Shows How Hardcore Childbirth Really Is

Updated September 8, 2021

Although I don't see fatherhood anywhere in my immediate future, I also know that whether that's part of my journey in life or not, I'll never understand what it's like to give birth to anyone.

So while there are certainly reasons to describe the act of childbirth as beautiful and rewarding, I can only defer to those who have gone through it when they also describe it as "traumatic."

The painful protracted process of bringing another little person who has been growing inside someone should not be minimized and one interesting creation serves as a reminder not to.

This dilation chart for midwives is on Etsy right now and it's already got people talking.

Etsy | FromJennifer

It was created by Jennifer Compton and it's partially intended as a learning tool to express how much a woman's cervix can dilate during the birthing process.

Compton also sells it as a piece of artwork representing the beauty of birth, pregnancy, and womanhood.

Etsy | FromJennifer

It may be hard to notice at first glance, but this is achieved through having the holes line up to resemble a baby curled up in the womb.

For perspective, at the largest circumstance shown on the chart, the cervix dilates to the size of a bagel.

Reddit | sweetpumpkinpie

And a recent Facebook post from the SCV Birth Center in Santa Clarita, California demonstrates how important those 10 centimeters (which translate to about 3.9 inches) are.

As they wrote, that level of dilation is just enough for a newborn's head to wriggle through.

Facebook | SCV Birth Center

And the birth center wanted to make it clear that the muscles in the cervix make this big change before the head even touches the vaginal cavity.

To illustrate the process at work here, they enlisted the help of Renee the midwife.

Facebook | SCV Birth Center

And in a video explaining the ins and outs of the birthing process, she put her head through a pant leg to demonstrate how the baby's head interacts with the cervix.

In that video, she also addresses comments from women who have experienced their baby's heads getting stuck in the middle of the birthing process.

Reddit | thecacti

She said this was mostly down to the position of the head and that the 10 centimeter dilation in the chart is perfect for the best possible position.

But even when everything is going optimally, the chart still gives a sense of what an intense and transformative process birthing is.

Facebook | Erinn Somerville, Reddit

It also apparently gave one commenter the perfect response for when men try to compare the tribulations of getting a kidney stone to labor.

For others, it proved as a stark reminder of an aspect of the birthing process that they're trying to forget.

Reddit | [deleted]

Still others pointed to the fact that they went through this as the reason that they deserve "all of the things."

h/t: Facebook | SCV Birth Center

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