This viral video simulates birth in an incredibly eye-opening way

A high school teacher is going viral on TikTok for her creative demonstration on childbirth.

Brooke Bernal teaches family consumer sciences to high school students. She recently posted a video of the way she teaches teens about childbirth, and the lesson has 5 million views on TikTok.

As first reported by Buzzfeed, Bernal uses a ping pong ball to represent the baby and a balloon to simulate the uterus, birth canal and cervix. She puts the ball into the balloon and then blows it up. She shows how light pressure on the balloon can mimic Braxton-Hicks contractions and how forceful squeezing is similar to birth contractions.

As the ping pong ball moves through the birth canal, students (and TikTok viewers) get a surprise when it shoots out of the balloon, into the real world.

“Obviously, that’s not exactly how a baby is born,” she explains with a smile in the video, “but the kids love it, it’s their favorite part.”

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Bernal explained how the demonstration usually doesn’t faze her students.

“They are really just surprised that a ping pong ball can fit into a balloon and that a balloon can stretch like it does without popping,” she said. “It’s just a good visual aid for them. And, yes, they know a baby will not actually yeet across the room! I personally feel that they get more out of me showing it this way than they would watching birth videos because it’s something that is hands on and they can’t just zone out.”

She also explained how the demonstration doesn’t always go to plan. When that happens, it opens up a conversation about the realities of childbirth.

“I have never had a balloon pop, aka uterine rupture. Sometimes, the balloons may get stuck or rip a small hole, making the ping pong ball harder to get out or stuck. I just tell the students that this shows you can’t plan labor and delivery. You may have to have forceps, vacuum extraction, you may tear or end up with an episiotomy, or an emergency C-section. There are a multitude of things that can happen because childbirth is so unpredictable.”

We love how simple yet effective this demonstration is! Kudos to Bernal for making childbirth a little easier to understand for her students—and TikTok viewers.