How to Do It is Slate’s sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. It’s anonymous! Every week, the crew responds to a bonus question in chat form. Dear How to Do It, I’m a ...

The cervix is the doorway between your vagina and uterus. It’s the bottom part of your uterus located at the very top of your vagina and looks kind of like a small doughnut. The opening in the center ...

I had two second-trimester pregnancy losses, both near the 20-week mark. In my third pregnancy, I was sent to a high-risk OB-GYN and diagnosed with cervical insufficiency. I had a cervical cerclage in ...

“Your cervix is in danger of effacing. You’ll be tremendously lucky if your baby makes it to 24 weeks.” I was staring at the doctor who had just delivered this news, but I was having trouble ...

Dilation and effacement are your body's way of getting ready for labor – your cervix gradually opens (dilates) and thins out (effaces) to help your baby make that grand entrance. This process can ...