[C13 (meaning heap of firewood): perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hraukr rick 1] ruck (rÊk) n. a wrinkle, crease, or fold. vb (usually foll by up) to become or make wrinkled, creased, or puckered [C18: from Scandinavian; related to Old Norse hrukka] ruck (rÊk) n. slang a fight [C20: short for ruckus] ruck (rÊk) n (Military) military slang a rucksack
As your baby's birthday gets close, your cervix begins to dilate, or open up. Dilation is checked during a pelvic exam. It is measured in centimeters, from 0 (no dilation) to 10 (full dilation) Typically, if you're four centimeters dilated, you're in the active stage of labor.
Assuming your pregnancy is full-term, though, time will tell: If you're in early labor, your contractions will gradually become longer, stronger, and closer together. Eventually they'll be coming every five minutes and lasting 40 to 60 seconds each as you reach the end of early labor.