In part I and part II of my postings on conception and child birth, I posted some clips from YouTube. I will finish this topic with part III of “the miracle of life”.

The birth process.

The most exciting and also anxious time is when the baby is about to be born. For first time mothers, it is also one of the most apprehensive moments in their life. Their body goes through various physiological changes and finally the moment they have been waiting for arrives.

Although women generally lie horizontally on their backs to give birth, medical research has shown that this posture during labour is not the best. Studies have shown that squatting or being on ‘all fours’, that is – on hands and knees to give birth – is more easier on the mother. This is because theses postures are mechanically and physiologically in line with the mother’s body. Gravity also has a significant role in these two postures.

Giving birth under water is also one of the popular ways of giving birth. Being in water sooths the mother in labour and acts as a form of hydrotherapy during labour.

Even hypnosis is now being used to relieve pain during labour.

The issue of pain relief during labour is another big topic on its own so will not talk much here now. Maybe in a future post. But briefly, some women prefer pain relief, others don’t. Those that do want pain relief, there are various options. Some prefer total pain relief by using epidural anesthesia while others are given just morphine or pethidine injections. Each option has its own merits and disadvantages.

So how actually does the baby leaves the mother’s womb and come out? Watch this simplified 3D animated clip below now to visualise this process.

The above clip is not as easy as it looks. I am sure if you are a mother reading this you will agree with me.

Sometimes, as things are in life, something goes wrong. One of the common complication in child birth is shoulder dystocia. This is basically where the shoulder of the baby gets stuck on the way out. And if this complication is not recognised early during labour, the affected arm will be paralysed. This is because the major nerves to the affected arm are injured. The disability is commonly referred to as a ‘waiter’s tip’.

Watch this 3D animated clip now to see what goes wrong in shoulder dystocia. As the clip zooms in you can see the nerves (in yellow) being crushed.

And so I conclude this series of postings.

There are many similar clips plus clips of actual birth at YouTube so visit there and learn more about the birth process, which I think is truly “The Miracle of Life”.