The most astonishing birth video ever... captured by MRI

The video: Well, "this is not your average birth video," says Katie Moisse at ABC News. Using a technique called cinematic MRI — stringing together still images from a magnetic resonance imaging scanner to form a video — German researchers have created the first-ever film of a live birth from the inside. (Watch below.) The team at Berlin's Charité University Hospital had a 24-year-old mother complete her labor in a specially designed open MRI machine, capturing a side view of the baby emerging from the birth canal as the mother has her final contractions. They stopped the loud MRI machine as the baby's head emerged, so as not to harm the newborn's ears. The labor was recorded in 2010, but the video was just released in tandem with the publication of their study in the June issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The reaction: This "groundbreaking" 30-second video "is incredible for a number of reasons," says Robert T. Gonzalez at i09. Doctors will use it to learn more about how the fetus and mother interact during labor, helping reduce difficult births. But also, look at the detail: Spine, brain, eyes — you're watching a baby being born in HD X-ray vision. Yes, and "it's either a beautiful example of the miracle of birth," says Dan Thorne at TNT Magazine, "or like something from the Alien trilogy, depending on your point of view." No, this is a beautiful feat, says Jeanne Sager at The Stir. But forget the science for a second and lets give big kudos to the "hardcore mama" who let loud cameras so "close to her ladyparts" for our ogling pleasure. "And ogle we shall, because frankly, this video is amazing!" Check it out:

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