The animation shows the process of a vaginal birth, the baby's journey from the womb to the outside world. Regular contractions signal the start of the process, occurring as the cervix dilates to accommodate birth.When the cervix is fully dilated at 10cm (top right), uterine contractions become stronger and more frequent. The baby then goes through a series of passive movements, especially its head. As labour progresses, the baby's head then begins its passage out of the vagina - a process called crowning (bottom left). The head is followed closely by the baby's shoulders and body - the newborn twisting, appearing to almost wriggle into the world (bottom right). While it is no surprise that childbirth is invariably agonising, how bad does the pain actually get? From going into labour, to delivering your baby and the aftermath, here leading experts reveal to Daily Mail Online what really happens when your baby makes its appearance.

A Massachusetts man is crediting a shark attack with saving his life after emergency room doctors discovered that he had a tumor. A shark slammed into Eugene Finney (bottom right) as he swam off the California coast in July on vacation with his two kids and girlfriend (left). He was left in pain and with several cuts, including a long gash down his back (top right). When he decided to go to the hospital, doctors discovered he had a cancerous tumor the size of a walnut growing on his right kidney.

The body has ways of communicating health issues, says Dr Deyo Famuboni, a GP in London. Cracks at the side of the mouth can be a sign of iron deficiency, while yellow spots on the elbows may be due to high cholesterol. An itchy rash that fails to go away with products could be due to coeliac disease, and dark circles can be caused by allergies. Here, Dr Famuboni explains how to tell if something is up with your health...

Rebekah Marine, 28, of New Jersey, appears alongside former Army corporal Brian Taylor Urruela, 29, of Florida, in the sexy shots, which see both of them proudly showing off their prosthetic limbs. Rebekah was born without a right fore-arm, and Brian lost his right leg after a roadside explosion in Iraq.

Brothers Kian and Callum Jarram (left), from Syston, Leicestershire, were born with Adams Oliver syndrome, which so rare that it only affects 130 people in the world. It causes premature growth of hands and feet, leaving them without some fingers and stumps for feet (top right). But the boys will finally be able to get football boots that fit after having casts taken (bottom right) to have silicone feet fitted after raising £8,000.

Charlene Campbell, 33, of Portadown, Northern Ireland (pictured left and right), watched her daughter Myla die in her arms from a brain tumour at just over a year old (Myla is pictured, centre). After witnessing her daughter's ordeal, Ms Campbell developed a fear of cancer, and could barely even bear to hear the disease mentioned. But in a cruel twist of fate, her fears became reality, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March this year. Scarred by her daughter's experience, she initially refused surgery and instead opted to keep the disease at bay with an organic diet. Despite eventually having her breast removed when it became clear the tumour was growing rapidly, she lost her battle to the disease, passing away in hospital. Today, her aunt, Liz Beggs, paid tribute to her niece. She said: 'Charlene was so intelligent and bubbly. She was a bling girl and she loved attention and she loved giving attention. She was like a breath of fresh air. We just can't believe she has gone.'

U.S. reality star Yolanda Foster has revealed her children Bella, 18, and Anwar Hadid, 16, have been secretly battling Lyme disease for over three years. The 51-year-old, who was diagnosed with the debilitating condition in 2012, was honoured at the Global Lyme Alliance Gala in New York City on Thursday, telling the audience her 'babies have been struggling in silence' with the disease. Addressing the crowd in an emotional speech, Yolanda explained seeing model Bella and Anwar 'in pain and suffering' made her feel 'hopeless' as a mother.

Despite suffering horrific spinal injuries after a car accident in NSW last month, 16-month-old Jaxon Taylor (pictured with his sister Shayne, left, and mum and dad, Rylea and Andrew, right) has been given a second chance at life thanks to groundbreaking surgery. Australia's 'godfather' of spinal surgery, Dr Geoff Askin (inset), was the mastermind behind Jaxon's complicated six-hour operation that used a piece of one of his ribs to graft his vertebrae together.

Jamie Raines, now a 21-year-old (right) psychology student at the University of Essex, started taking testosterone tables to transition from female to male when he was 17 years old (left), and he's taken a selfie every day since to track his facial changes. At nine, he knew he had been born into the wrong gender from around four. Jamie, who also runs a YouTube channel about his journey which has racked up more than 700,000 views, says that after years of feeling trapped in the wrong body, his reflection in the mirror finally feels right.

The picture, shared by Sher Institutes, illustrates the 'love that went into making this gorgeous new baby girl'. With the help of Dr. Molina Dayal, the infant's new mom, Angela, underwent several cycles of in vitro fertilization over the course of a year and a half. The syringes and empty vials pictures are just some of the supplies the St. Louis woman used to get pregnant, as she had to give herself daily hormone injections for weeks and give multiple blood samples. The striking picture has touched many, having been shared thousands of times in just a few days.

Kayla Eales, from Northampton, pictured, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy three years ago and the condition has meant she has never been able to stand on the flats of her feet. But, with the help of Botox, she is now able to use her leg muscles properly for the first time. And while she still needs her walking frame (left) to move around, she has taken her first steps - and is even able to climb the stairs on her own.

Aaron (left) and Bradley Barnett, from Wrexham, stopped talking after suffering from anxiety problems. They can speak freely at home but have to write things down to communicate outside. A speech a language therapist has been to their home once a week for two years, but very little progress was made. Their parents have chosen to speak out about the condition as part of a 'Make a Noise' campaign to raise awareness.

Scientists at the Institut Marques in Barcelona claim to have shown for the first time that unborn babies can hear by the time they reach 16 weeks gestation.It is accepted that an unborn baby's ear is fully developed at week 16 of a pregnancy. But, until now experts did not believe a foetus could hear until week 18, at the earliest but more commonly nearer 26 weeks. Dr Marisa Lopez-Teijon, who led the study, said the findings show a foetus responds to music transmitted intravaginally by moving their mouth and tongue, 'as if they were trying to speak or sing'.

Dutch man Sacha Harland (pictured) lives for a month without consuming sugar or alcohol, documenting the process in a six-minute video. The results of his new healthy diet include a 10lbs weight loss and lowered cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

My Linh Walters, 40, from Bexleyheath, shared her devastation when she discovered that a rare soft tissue cancer was causing the pain in her four-year-old son Joshua's cheek. The family is now trying to raise the thousands needed to pay for ten weeks of life-saving treatment in Oklahoma, where protons will be fired at the tumour because surgery is too risky.

Clodagh Dunlop, 35, from Magherafelt, County Londonderry, said she became a 'prisoner' in her own body after getting locked-in syndrome, following a massive stroke. Her mind was alert and functioning but she was unable to move or talk. She learned how to communicate through blinking before regaining some movement. The police officer is now learning how to walk again and one day hopes to return to her work.

Nihal Bitla, from Mumbai, India, has progeria, a rare disease which ages the body - but not the mind - at eight times the normal rate. Sufferers do not usually live past the age of 14. He weighs 12.5kg, just under two stone, and is under 4 foot (1.2 m) in height (pictured left). He stopped going to school five years ago after being teased due to his condition, and now spends his time painting, playing with his toys (left) and surfing the internet. But in the upcoming years he may not be able to carry out his hobbies as is mind will remain young but his body will age and his health will deteriorate (his ageing hands are pictured, inset). Last December, Nihal was sent to the Progeria Research Foundation in Boston, where he began undergoing clinical trials for a cancer drug that doctors hope will slow the ageing process. For now, he hopes to meet the to meet ASIMO, The Robot made by Honda in Japan and to go to Disneyland in California.'No matter how much time is left, I just want to try to fulfil my son's wishes for now,' his father Srinivas said.

Dan Maurer, 40, from Battle Creek, Michigan suffered scrotal lymphedema, which caused his groin to swell to reach 80lbs - the same weight as five bowling balls (left and top inset). After years of doctors telling him he needed to lose weight, Mr Maurer watched a TV documentary following the life of another man suffering the same condition. It was then he realised he had the disease, which is caused by a blockage in the lymphatic vessels, in which tissue builds up on the outside of the testicles, causing swelling (X-ray, bottom inset). Mr Maurer contacted the surgeon featured on the show, Dr Joel Gelman, a California-based urologist, who agreed to perform surgery. After a 14-hour operation the mass was successfully removed (right), and now Mr Maurer has been able to resume marital relations with his wife Mindy, after seven years.

Devastated widow Michelle Dean, 33, from Preston, Lancashire, describes how her fit and healthy husband Alan, 61, died after returning from a romantic trip to celebrate their first anniversary. The couple were lying in bed chatting when the garage owner started struggling to breathe. Grieving Michelle, a biomedical scientist, says she now has condolence cards mixed with 'happy anniversary' messages on her mantelpiece.

The millions of Britons with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) know only too well how the symptoms - bloating, abdominal pain and cramps, excess wind, nausea, diarrhoea, constipation (or both) and tiredness - can make life a misery. Stress or anxiety can exacerbate the symptoms. But there are other, newer approaches that may help, too. Here, we talk to three people who have finally overcome their IBS symptoms in very different ways.

They may not be to your particular taste, but tattoos are normally intended to be decorative. However, they are increasingly being used in a medical setting, too, to cover scars, 'replace' lost hair and even to restore women's breasts after cancer surgery. Carla Nunes, 31, from London, was left with terrible scarring after a fire when she was a child - she also lost an arm.

Rebecca Germaine, from York, was diagnosed with Trichotillomania (top right) at the age of 13. The 26-year-old was bullied and had to wear a wig to hide her bald patches. But her partner Tim Huetson (pictured together left), 33, spent £3,000 on The Intralace System, which meant she could walk down the aisle with long, wavy hair. The revolutionary hair mesh, known as The Intralace System, acts as a barrier whilst filling in the patches on Rebecca's scalp where her hair has been pulled out.

On what should have been her 12-week scan, Lisa Francesca Nand and her husband David, were given the devastating news she had miscarried. The horror of the situation promoted Lisa, then 37, from London, to explore what had happened to her - and why miscarriage is still such a taboo issue. The result is First Heartbeat - a heartbreaking self-filmed documentary about the couple's multiple miscarriages and their roller coaster journey to have a baby. Airing this month, the very personal film follows the pair as they embark on an emotional five-year journey to have a child. Today, they have two beautiful sons - Elliot, 10 months, and three-year-old Sebastian - but it took seven pregnancies and five miscarriages to reach that milestone. The candid documentary follows some of the most upsetting moments that anyone who has suffered one - or multiple - miscarriages can identify with: the agony of living from scan to scan, hoping there is still a heartbeat at each one - and the fear of jinxing everything with thoughts of holding a real, live, baby.