Teaching resources for the instruction of midwifery students in relation to normal physiology and potential deviations from normal recovery are limited. Textbooks and images are one dimensional and fail to simulate the physical internal event that take place within a woman’s body after birth.

A visualisation of the normal physiology of the third stage of labour and the puerperal recovery period, followed by the deviation from normal recovery – retained product of conception leading to infection.

Students in the second year of the Bachelor of Midwifery studying HLT123 will spend 10 minutes in the CAVE visualising the internal maternal anatomy and a physiological simulation of the third stage of labour. The visualisation shows the birth of the placenta and membranes and the return of the uterine muscles to their original location and post-birth size. The simulation in the CAVE is used as an additional resource to complement the student’s pre-readings and the theoretical content of a scheduled tutorial.