Cervical dilation is accompanied by effacement, the thinning of the cervix. The degree of cervical effacement and dilation may be felt during a vaginal examination. It causes uterine contractions and the ripening (effacement or thinning) of the cervix. In a normal pregnancy, dilation and effacement occurs in response to uterine contractions. In contrast to false labour, true labor is accompanied by cervical dilatation and effacement. During effacement, the cervix becomes incorporated into the lower segment of the uterus. They are not thought to be part of the process of effacement of the cervix. In becoming wider, the cervix also becomes shorter, a phenomenon known as effacement. The indirect sign that you can see is effacement of fat due to a hematoma. This, he claimed, would lead to "the absolute effacement of the Conservative Party". Effacement is accompanied by cervical dilation. Effacement is the shortening, or thinning, of a tissue.