This is How Big a Woman’s Cervix Gets Before She Gives Birth

We all know that childbirth is one of the hardest experiences that a woman has to go through. But do men really have an idea of the physical ordeal a woman endures in pushing a child out of her womb?

Knowing how big a woman’s cervix gets before going on to labor should make even the bravest man thank his lucky stars he’s not female. An image that went viral on social media shows the different sizes of dilation that the cervix experiences during the process of giving birth.

It shows a circular wooden board with ten holes in it, each hole showing exactly the different centimeters of the cervix size.

The image was first posted by singer and songwriter Steffanie Christi’an.

“This is what 10cm of dilation looks like. This is why we deserve all the things,” she wrote in the post, which has been shared more than 165,000 times.

“My mom pushed all 3 of us out. I need to thank her again, especially for my big headed little brother,” wrote one woman on Twitter.

A woman should have a 10-centimeter dilation to be able to push the baby’s head out of her cervix. The cervix is located on at the top of the vagina, which separates the vagina from the uterus. The uterus is where the baby’s at.

The expansion of the cervix does not stop at 10 centimeters. This is only the pushing point. The cervix can grow bigger to accommodate the baby’s head.

Need another visual? Here’s one comparing the 10-centimeter cervix size to a regular bagel.

“Most of the time, the cervix is a small, tightly closed hole,” according to Medical News Today. “It prevents anything from getting into or out of the uterus, which helps to protect the baby.”

“During labor, intense contractions of the uterus help move the baby down and eventually out of the pelvis, and into the vagina. These contractions put pressure on the cervix and cause it to expand slowly. Contractions tend to get stronger, closer together, and more regular as labor progresses.”