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Filmed during an actual delivery, this educational video follows a natural vaginal childbirth from the final stage of labor through the baby's arrival. It gives medical students and expectant parents a clear, unedited view of how an uncomplicated vaginal delivery proceeds. For learning purposes only — not medical advice.

An educational recording of a vaginal childbirth, showing how labor and delivery progress. For learning purposes only — not medical advice; talk to your own clinician about your pregnancy and delivery.

Routine pelvic exams are important for good reproductive health. A woman should have her first GYN exam when she first thinks about becoming sexually active, when she becomes sexually active or when she turns 18.

At the gynecologist, you will have a short general physical exam, including a breast exam. You will wear a hospital gown and nothing else. For the actual pelvic examination, you will lie down on an examination table with your feet resting in elevated “stirrups” (props that support your legs in the air). Stirrups might look a little scary, but they are there to keep you comfortable. Your legs will be spread apart, with your knees falling to each side so that your vagina is exposed. You may feel uncomfortable, but relax and realize that everyone goes through this.

External Exam
The practitioner will visually examine your vulva for discoloration, irritation, swelling and other abnormalities, and will gently feel for glands.

Internal Exam
There are two parts to the internal exam. The first involves a speculum, a metal or plastic instrument that the practitioner inserts into the vagina. The speculum is shaped like a duck’s bill, and once it is inserted into the vaginal canal, it is gently widened to spread the interior vaginal walls (this is not painful). As the vaginal walls are spread, the practitioner is able to see the walls of the vagina itself, and up the vaginal canal to the cervix. When viewing the vaginal canal and the cervix, the practitioner can look for discoloration, abnormal discharge, lesions, growths and signs of infection. It is possible for you to look at your own cervix during this process by propping yourself up on your elbows and using a mirror. Some practitioners ask if you would like to do this, but feel free to ask to if she doesn’t mention it first.

Pap Smear
Next the practitioner will take a pap smear. She/he uses a long-stemmed cotton swab to collect a sample of cells in the cervix. Some women feel a slight cramping sensation when their cervix is touched. The collected cells are smeared onto a slide and sent to a lab for testing and examination. The pap smear is extremely important for spotting abnormalities in the cervix which may indicate infection or disease.

STD Testing
If you are sexually active, the practitioner will test for STDs. The gynecologist will swab the inside of the cervix with a long cotton swab. The speculum is then taken out of the vagina. The samples are sent to a laboratory for various STD testing. The tests will probably take a couple days. Ask when your results will be available so you can call. If you want to be tested for HIV, syphilis, genital herpes or hepatitis you need to have blood taken. They can do that as well, but you will need to ask since it is not usually routine.

Manual Exam
The second part of the pelvic exam is called the manual or bi-manual exam. The practitioner will insert one or two fingers into your vagina and press with her/his other hand on the outside of your lower abdomen. They will use a lubricant on their fingers so it is more comfortable. The person can then feel the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, and check for any swelling or tenderness. Once the doctor is finished checking your uterus and ovaries, the exam is complete. The entire pelvic exam (the parts involving your vagina, cervix, uterus, and ovaries) takes 3 to 5 minutes to complete.

A clear 3D animation of a normal vaginal delivery, showing how the baby moves through the birth canal. Educational only — not medical advice.

In this short demonstration, a clinician performs a pelvic examination, showing the basic steps involved in this routine gynecological check. The video is intended for medical students and for patients who want to know what a pelvic exam involves before their own appointment. Educational only — not medical advice.

Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman’s uterus. The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour: the shortening and dilation of the cervix, descent and birth of the infant, and birth of the placenta. In some cases, childbirth is achieved through caesarean section, the removal of the neonate through a surgical incision in the abdomen, rather than through vaginal birth

Bimanual pelvic exam of a female, using two fingers inside the vagina and one hand on the outside of the abdomen.

An educational childbirth video showing the delivery process as it happens. For learning purposes only — not medical advice.

Pelvic examinations during labor are used for several purposes, among them assessment of cervical dilatation, effacement, station of the presenting part, presentation, position, and pelvic capacity.Instruction in these techniques is particularly important for those health care providers involved in labor management, including physicians, nurses, midwives, paramedics and EMT personnel.

Bimanual pelvic exam of a female, using two fingers inside the vagina and one hand on the outside of the abdomen

Inguinal hernia Diagram of an indirect, scrotal inguinal hernia ( median view from the left). Diagram of an indirect, scrotal inguinal hernia ( median view from the left). By far the most common hernias (up to 75% of all abdominal hernias) are the so-called inguinal hernias. For a thorough understanding of inguinal hernias, much insight is needed in the anatomy of the inguinal canal. Inguinal hernias are further divided into the more common indirect inguinal hernia (2/3, depicted here), in which the inguinal canal is entered via a congenital weakness at its entrance (the internal inguinal ring), and the direct inguinal hernia type (1/3), where the hernia contents push through a weak spot in the back wall of the inguinal canal. Inguinal hernias are more common in men than women while femoral hernias are more common in women.

An animated step-by-step guide to how a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery proceeds, for students and expectant parents learning how birth works. Educational only — not medical advice.

A step-by-step educational video of an IUD insertion, showing how the device is placed in the uterus. This is procedure education, not personal medical advice — discuss contraception options with your clinician.

An educational video of placental delivery, the third stage of labor, and what clinicians check after the baby is born. Educational only — not medical advice.

An educational demonstration of a male urological examination, for patients and students who want to know what to expect. Educational only — not medical advice.

An animated walkthrough of a vaginal delivery, showing how childbirth progresses stage by stage. Educational only — not medical advice.

An educational video showing how a Pap smear sample is collected during a pelvic exam, and why cervical screening matters. Educational only — screening schedules are personal; follow your clinician's advice.

A 3D animation of a spontaneous vaginal delivery, showing how an uncomplicated birth unfolds. For learning purposes only — not medical advice.

An educational clinical case showing the management of a deceased near-term breech baby with head entrapment during delivery. For learning purposes only — not medical advice.

An educational explanation of the mechanism of vaginal childbirth — the movements the baby makes through the pelvis during labor. Educational only — not medical advice.