World’s best OB dances with his patients while they’re in labor

Count this among things we thought we’d never see: an obstetrician and a patient, grooving to a choreographed dance routine—while the patient is in labor! Brazilian OB Dr. Fernando Cuedes De Cunha shared the happy video on his Instagram page.

The caption, translated from Portugese, reads: “You come to work and your patient goes into labor! She asks for the music, we invent the choreography at the time so that the exercise helps the childbirth, and the result: beautiful normal childbirth as her human birthright! Congratulations @camilarochab.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaDLMJwDpfD/

It appears that this doc is no stranger to sharing great moments from his work, as his Instagram page is chock full of photos of him catching babies, smiling during cesarean births and posing with patients. In fact, he recently posted another video of him dancing with a patient—this time to the uber-popular summer jam of 2017, “Despacito.” Enjoy that one below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXgG3NfDEPN/?taken-by=drfernandoguedescunha

It’s so great when physicians feel like they can bring their human side to their work, especially in obstetrics and gynecology. And Guedes Da Cunha’s dance moves aren’t just amusing and indicative of a good bedside manner—they are based in evidence, as dancing encourages his patient to be mobile and upright as she labors.

Although most people in the Western world envision childbirth as a process that happens in a bed, the act of remaining upright in labor helps the baby descend and puts more pressure on the cervix to dilate. A Cochrane review from 2013 found multiple benefits to upright positions during labor, including a shorter labor overall and a lowered risk of cesarean birth.

Plus, being upright can even help with pain—a 2014 study in the Global Journal of Health Science found that moms who participated in “dance labor” (where they were upright and moving their hips around) reported less pain.

So hey, don’t be afraid to get down and boogie as you try to get your baby out, IV stand and all. Choreography optional, of course.