Question

A client arrives at the hospital in labor. The client is 4cm dilated and 60% effaced. Which statement does the nurse give to the client to explain the meaning of this information?

a) Dilation refers to the opening of the cervix, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix.
b) Dilation is the thinning of the cervix, and effacement is the opening of the cervix.
c) Dilation and effacement both describe the opening of the cervix.
d) Effacement is the widening of the cervix, and dilation is the thinning of the cervix.

Answer 1

The nurse should explain that dilation refers to the opening of the cervix, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix. Dilation must reach about 10 cm for childbirth.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct statement the nurse should give to a client who is 4cm dilated and 60% effaced is: Dilation refers to the opening of the cervix, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix. Therefore, option (a) is correct. When we talk about the cervix being dilated, it refers to how open it is, which eventually must reach about 10 cm for the baby's head to pass through during vaginal birth. Effacement describes how the cervix thins and stretches to prepare for childbirth. In the first stage of labor, the cervix both thins and dilates, which is necessary for the baby and placenta to be expelled during birth.