Thank goodness you have some sense. ;) Women can try, and they might even think that they know what they are feeling, but let me tell you, even me, a labor nurse who has checked hundreds of women, can't always tell exactly what I'm feeling, especially when a woman is not laboring and the cervix is high and posterior. It's not always obvious. I don't know why women get so obsessed over what their cervix is doing - knowing if you're 1cm or 3cm isn't going to make labor come any sooner. Satisfying your own curiosity is not a good enough reason to risk infection, IMO. **ETA: In response to the answer below who checked her cervix prior to conception - that's a different story. There is no pregnancy that is at risk, and checking can be helpful to see positioning, etc. But in late pregnancy the risk for infection is present, and when it's your baby's health and well being that is at stake, there is no reason good enough to make that gamble. Checking your cervix then is not serving any purpose than to satisfy curiosity - and in many cases, once that curiosity is satisfied, women can become more miserable and frustrated (if they find they are not dilating, or, if they find they are dilating but still no sign of labor, etc.). I'm all for getting informed and knowing your own body, but doing it in an appropriate, safe way.

I just found this on the web, but I don't know if I recommend it! How to Check Your Own Cervix- "I think it's a good and empowering thing for a woman to check her own cervix for dilation. This is not rocket science, and you hardly need a medical degree or years of training to do it. Your vagina is a lot like your nose- other people may do harm if they put fingers or instruments up there but you have a greater sensitivity and will not do yourself any harm. "The best way to do it when hugely pregnant is to sit on the toilet with one foot on the floor and one up on the seat of the toilet. Put two fingers in and go back towards your bum. The cervix in a pregnant woman feels like your lips puckered up into a kiss. On a non-pregnant woman it feels like the end of your nose. When it is dilating, one finger slips intothe middle of the cervix easily (just like you could slide your finger into your mouth easily if you are puckered up for a kiss). As the dilation progresses the inside of that hole becomes more like a taught elastic band and by 5 cms dilated (5 fingerwidths) it is a perfect rubbery circle like one of those Mason jar rings that you use for canning, and about that thick. "What's in the centre of that opening space is the membranes (bag of waters) that are covering the baby's head and feel like a latex balloon filled with water. If you push on them a bit you'll feel the baby's head like a hard ball (as in baseball). If the waters have released you'll feel the babe's head directly.

I suppose if you had arms that drag the ground you might be able to do it, otherwise you can't. If you've ever been checked for dilatation, you know that the Dr. or Nurse has to reach quite a way to find the cervix. Sometimes it is hidden around the back and even we, nurses, have trouble reaching it. No way could a lay person know what they're looking for. You can actually do a lot of damage by trying to do this yourself or someone else doing it who is not a med professional. You could tear the cervix, tear the placenta if it's low lying and near the cervix, cause your water to break, and cause an infection. All these could possibly cause the loss of life for you and/or baby. Better keep things out of there that don't belong.

i have heard of women doing this. personaly, i dont think this is safe, becasue your own fingers and under your fnger nails contain loads of germs bacteria ect. and risk starting infection. Plus they can scrape the mucus membrains out, accidently, which also opens the door to infection. They are not docotrs so it would be hard to tell what your feeling ect. the doctor checks to see if your dialated by inserting a finger or two depending on if you are dialated, and how much. and by how many they can fit is usually how they determine by how much you are dialated.if they can only fit finger tip, then that isconcidred a half. they also check to see if it is thinning out, or still thick. the cervix is usually high up in the beggining of labor, so it takes some long finger or some force to find it to check. im not shure as to what it feels like ect, being that i have never tried to check to see if im dialating. but they would feel along the top wall of the inside of the vagina, towards the back. and prolly up high. i think that the tissue of and around the cervix would feel a bit diffrent than the rest of the inside of the vagina. but liek i have said i wouldnt do this just becasue of the infeciton risk, and im NOT no proffesional, just based this off what i have read in prego books, ect.

Here comes the 'thumbs-down' but whatever. I have checked my own cervix before. It helped me conceive my son (22wks & counting). It is not impossible (your vagina is not that deep - only about 6" or so) and it's not particularly fun, but its not horrible either. I come from a medical family thats pretty matter of fact, so I am not squeamish about my body - an pap smear is the same to me as any other exam. From my reading & research, prior to conception, when you're just prior to ovulation, your cervix is supposed to be high (and harder to find) and soft (push your index finger on your lip - that soft). When you're not fertile, its supposed to be low (easier to find) and firm (like the tip of your nose). Also when you're fertile, fertile-quality cervical fluid will sit at the tip of your cervix and often drip down to your underwear (this is the 'eggwhite' TTC people talk about). I found all of the above to be true for myself. If you're curious, borrow "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler from your library - there are interesting pictures and diagrams in there that should clear up what you're wondering about. As for the possibility of introducing infection - I've always made sure to have very clean hands before doing anything with my body like that. Clean nails and freshly washed hands, and I've never cause any harm to myself - not even as mild as a yeast infection. If you're considering checking whether you're dialated and doubt you'd be able to tell... just look at a ruler. cm's are not way too tiny. The original opening of your cervix is very very small. If you had felt it before, and then were feeling it to check for dialation, I'm sure you'd notice a difference. You wouldn't know how much, but you'd know something is up. If you're gentle, I don't think you'd do any damage - although I don't think anyone would be comfortable enough to check their cervix @ the beginning of labor (or at any stage throughout). I don't think I'll be at all. But that's just my input. I prefer to make myself as informed as possible about my body, and not just anatomy in general, because I've found that it helps me relate to, and work with my doctors much more efficiently.