MRI Used to Visualize Live Birth

Doctors at a Berlin hospital have released an MRI video that shows the first real-time footage of a baby being born - from the inside.

The team led by Dr Christian Bamberg made the medical breakthrough in November 2010 but only published still images at the time.

The 30-second movie shows a baby as it descends down the birth canal of a 24-year-old mother who volunteered for the project.

The mother spent 45 minutes inside the MRI machine during the second stage of her labour, also known as the 'pushing stage'. he footage shows that each time the uterus contracts it exerts pressure on the baby sliding him further down the birth canal. When the contraction is over the uterus relaxes and the baby's head recedes slightly.

Medics had to stop recording before the baby emerged to ensure the newborn wasn't exposed to MRI noise.

The film could provide valuable insights into the birthing process as it has allowed scientists to see details previously only studied with probes. It could help explain why around 15 per cent of women have Caesarian sections because their babies don't move sufficiently into the birth canal.

While most MRI machines are tube-shaped, the team at Berlin's Charité Hospital developed a special 'open' scanner which provided the necessary room for midwives and the German mother during the birth on 20th November.