Obstetricians and midwives gotta practice their trade somehow. We just wish it wasn't this creeeeepy. 

momlogic's Momstrosity: Remember in "Gone with the Wind" when Melanie was about to pop and Prissy delivered that classic frantic line, "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!"?Turns out, Prissy would've been a prime candidate for practicing on a birth simulator -- a device that literally simulates the entire birthin'-baby process. It's interesting that the simulator featured in this video (from the Southmead Hospital in England) doesn't come with a head -- because to be REALLY realistic, it needs the voice of a woman screaming bloody murder for an epidural.

Like all things baby-related, birth simulation has become big business. Teachers of childbirth can choose a bare-bones simulator like the one offered by Nasco, which includes only the essentials: "two interchangeable heads" and "one full-term flexible shaft to allow passage, in different positions, through the pelvic outlet." (Oh yeah, childbirth is sooo beautiful ....)

Or, if they're willing to splurge, the Gaumard Scientific Company offers a life-size mannequin that goes by the name of "Noelle" and costs about $35,000. According to her product info, Noelle comes with "four umbilical cords, four dilating cervices, two umbilical clamps and THREE vulvas." Good for her!