A retired end of life doctor has revealed what happens when a person dies.
Death is a subject that is rarely discussed openly, namely due to the collective fear of meeting our end.
But Dr Kathryn Mannix, from Northumberland, who specialises in palliative and end of life care care, has described the transition into death as a "process" mirroring birth.
Dr Mannix is keen to break down the taboo around the subject and encourage people to talk about dying more.
With 30 years in the profession, she has drawn on her experience and written books titled 'With the End in Mind' and 'Listen', and believes dying is "probably not as bad as you're expecting".
As reported by the Mirror, she said the whole journey is made much easier for the person who is coming to the end of their life and their family if everything is more upfront - including language chosen.
Speaking to a short film for BBC Ideas she said: “In my humble opinion, dying is probably not as bad as you’re expecting.
“We’ve lost the rich wisdom of normal human dying and it’s time for us to talk about dying and reclaim the wisdom.
“Dying, like giving birth, really is just a process. Gradually people become more tired, more weary.
"As time goes by people sleep more and they’re awake less.”
She has seen in her own patients how they can slip in and out consciousness as they get closer to the end and will often wake up and say they've had a "good sleep".
Dr Mannix said it's clear then that it generally "doesn't feel frightening" in such scenarios and is often quite relaxing for the patient.
What is described as the "death rattle" she said is actually a sign someone is "deeply relaxed" and "so deeply unconscious they are not feeling that tickle of saliva as their air bubbles in and out".
"At the very end of somebody’s life there will be a period of shallow breathing and then one out breath that just isn’t followed by another in breath," she said.
"Sometimes it’s so gentle that families don’t even notice that it’s happened."
She went on to say: "Normal human dying is just a really gentle process, something we can recognise, something we can prepare for, something we can manage.
"And this should be something we can celebrate.
"This is something we should be able to console each other with.
"But because it’s become impolite to talk about dying it’s the really best kept secret in medicine."
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