Noun: effacement e'feys-munt
- Shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during labour
"The doctor monitored the effacement of the cervix throughout the labour process"
- Withdrawing into the background; making yourself inconspicuous
"Her self-effacement during the meeting was noticeable";
- self-effacement
Derived forms: effacements
Type of: biological process, organic process, withdrawal
Part of: childbed [archaic], confinement, labor [US], labour [Brit, Cdn], lying-in, parturiency, travail [literary]
Encyclopedia: Effacement