Episode 1 Operation Ouch!

-Are you ready for our Ouch Snips?

-Snip!

-Ouch!

-Exactly!

When you were in your mum's womb...

Keep watching to find out!

Right, here you go, Chris.

-You can get a nice close look at my belly button with that.

-Whoa!

I think I've missed something.

Why on earth would I, or anyone, want to look at your belly button?

Because did you know that your belly button used to be

your mouth and your bum?

OK, yes, that's true, but we still don't need to look at your

belly button, Xand, because I've got something much more impressive.

Take a look at this.

Whoa!

That is much more impressive than my belly button

because this is a real human placenta and umbilical cord.

These amazing organs are what keep a baby alive

and able to grow inside its mum.

The placenta's job is to absorb oxygen and vital nutrients from

the mum's blood and deliver them to the baby via the umbilical cord.

As well as this, the umbilical cord also carries waste products -

that's wee, poo and carbon dioxide - away from the baby,

down the umbilical cord

and through the placenta into Mum's body for her to get rid of.

Now, once you're born, you don't need these any more, which is

why we have these to show you.

This placenta is absolutely amazing.

But, you know, I've always said that there's really only one thing

better than a real human placenta -

-and that is a double human placenta from twins.

-Wow!

This must have been what our placenta looked like

-when we were inside our mum.

-Absolutely.

After you're born, the cord gets snipped off, leaving you

with your belly button but, until then, this cord is your lifeline.

But what does a baby look like when it's actually inside its mum?

-We're going to show you.

-Now, what we've got here is a real live baby.

Xand, this isn't a baby. This is Amelia, and she's a grown-up.

That's true. Thanks very much for coming into the lab, Amelia.

-Thanks, Amelia.

-But, actually, inside Amelia is a real live baby.

Ah!

And ordinarily, of course, we couldn't show you that baby,

but we have this ultrasound scanner.

-So, Amelia, are you having a boy or a girl?

-A boy.

-A boy!

-Amelia, how many weeks' pregnant are you?

-29 weeks.

At this stage, a baby's organs are developed.

Just here, what you can see beating is Amelia's baby's heart.

Wow, amazing!

The white things here are his bones, so that's his backbone.

Very clearly, you can see that there.

Surrounding the baby, these big black patches are liquid.

And that's cos the baby's sitting in a thing called the amniotic sac,

so it's sitting in a big sac full of fluid that protects

it from bumps and from infection.

The one massive difference between being inside Amelia

and being out in the world is that this little boy is breathing

entirely through his umbilical cord, through his belly button.

But what we really want to know is, what does he look like?

So we've been able to do a 4-D scan.

4-D scans provide an incredible lifelike

image of the baby inside the womb.

You can see his eyes, his nose and his little mouth.

And there's another really nice thing here.

He has found another use for his placenta because, as well as giving

him all his oxygen and nutrients, he's also using it as a pillow.

Amelia, thank you so much for letting us meet him.

-Thanks very much.

-No problem.

We've shown you the incredible organs that keep you alive

and enable you to grow before you're born inside your mum.

The placenta and the umbilical cord bring nutrients and oxygen

and take away waste - everything a baby needs.

But why are some belly buttons innies and some outies?

Let's head to the Ouch And About Clinic.

So, Anastasia, what's brought you to the Ouch Mobile today?

All my friends in my school have an innie belly button,

-but I have an outie.

-What's the diagnosis, Doc?

Sounds to me like a case of...

Spot-on!

That is a very impressive outie belly button and,

after you're born,

you don't need your umbilical cord,

so we clamp it off,

and the cord just dies and falls off.

And, usually, when things die and drop off,

you get a bit of a scar formation.

That scar tightens up and pulls the belly button in but,

in lots of people, that doesn't happen.

But it's not a problem - it's completely normal.

-In fact, it's quite special.

-I'm special!

So the next time you're looking at your belly button, remember -

it used to be your mouth and your bum!

And, personally, I think it makes a rather good nose.

-See you next time!

-Bye!

-Bye!

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Bye!

-Bye.

-Bye!

THEY MOUTH