SAN DIEGO -- A life-like pregnant robot is training local doctors and nurses to refine their skills for the miracle of birth and any unexpected complications.

Noelle is a full-sized blond robot that is about to give birth. In fact, she has delivered dozens of times.

Noelle can be programmed for a variety of complications. She can labor for hours, produce a breach baby or unexpectedly give birth in minutes.

It is a familiar situation to nurses at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital.

"You have to be confident of what you are doing so the patient is not freaking out and in control of the situation,” said delivery nurse Yolanda Nenguke.

Noelle is a confidence builder for both doctors and nurses. The robot gives medical staff an opportunity to practice on a high-tech simulator instead of a live patient and baby.

"The doctors can practice on this for forceps delivery or vacuum deliveries. They can actually practice doing suture repair," said nurse Karen Stratton.

While many mock deliveries go well, the real value of Noelle is that not all deliveries go smoothly.

In one simulation, Noelle’s baby arrives with serious problems. Deprived of oxygen, the newborn’s lips and fingers slowly become cyanotic.

"You have to give several breaths," said neonatal intensive care unit nurse Jamie Stout.

Training with Noelle and her baby can make the difference in a real-life delivery emergency.

"That's the goal with working with a mannequin, you don't have to stop and think at every step of what you need to do," said one doctor.

Noelle allows nurses who are early in their training to become more involved in hands-on care, critical decision-making and teamwork.

Sharp Mary Birch and Kaiser Permanente both have Noelle training mannequins.