Mona Lisa, the mysterious woman behind the enigmatic smile that puzzled the humankind for centuries, just gave birth to a child before she was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, Canadian scientists have found.

The groundbreaking discovery was made after scientists have scanned Mona Lisa with the new sensitive 3D scanner in collaboration with the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musees de France.

During the most important scientific study ever done of Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of the Mona Lisa, scientists have found a previously unseen gauze veil hanging from the body of Mona Lisa. Such a dress was worn during Renaissance by women who just gave birth, French and Canadian scientists say.

The woman portrayed in Mona Lisa is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, a wife of a Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Now the portrait is believed to depict Lisa after she gave birth to their second son. 

The scanning has also revealed a small headpiece worn by Mona Lisa. The headpiece is covered with varnish and has remained invisible. During Leonardo's days, women tended to wear some sort of head decorations. Mona Lisa was initially portrayed as clenching the arm of the chair tightly. Later, Leonardo da Vinci relaxed her hands a little bit.

All together, a mysteroious smile, flowing dress and a nervous grip to the chair perfectly fit an image of a new mother who thinks about the future of her newborn baby.

But regardless of the emotional health of Mona Lisa, the portrait itself is in perfect shape, scientists concluded, and if the current storage conditions are maintained, the 500-year-oil La Gioconda is at no risk of degradation.