Radio Times

Review by:

Jane Rackham

More than 130 babies are delivered every week at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Manchester so, if it’s not to feel like a production line, the midwives must quickly establish what will inevitably be an intimate relationship with the mothers-to-be. So do we, because the stream of pregnant women passes through the hospital’s labour ward quicker and more quietly than in Channel 4’s One Born Every Minute. (That’s not to say that their labours were any faster or less painful, of course.) And they’re aided by a battery of midwives such as practical, straightforward Jill or busy, chirpy Ann.

The first episode of this new series is generally very upbeat, with a firm focus on the role of the staff, who do much more than just exhort women to push. Occasionally, though, there are complications during the birth that even the most experienced midwife can’t resolve. Your heart goes out to the exhausted mothers who can only lie there helplessly and watch as dozens of medics rush into the room to work on their ailing newborn.

About this programme

1/6. New series. An insider's view of the profession in 21st-century Britain, beginning at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, home to one of the busiest maternity units in the country. Gill Barras runs the triage desk and is in charge of determining which expectant mothers need to be admitted to the ward and which can be sent home, while matron Rachel Coppock tries to allocate staff and resources to provide patients with the best possible care. During a late shift, a couple whose baby has not been moving seek assistance, and an expectant mother faces an agonising wait for a bed to become available. Narrated by Rupert Houseman.

Cast and crew

Cast

Narrator

Rupert Houseman

Crew

Executive Producer

Zac Beattie

Executive Producer

Charlotte Moore

Producer

Nicola Brown

Series Director

Charlie Russell

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