Birth Day Girls

Liz gives birth to baby Tessa at home, Nikki and Mark get used to the idea of becoming parents and Nicole feels exhausted towards the end of her pregnancy with twins.

Nikki has her twenty-first birthday party and has difficulty finding something to wear. Liz and baby Tessa have a visit from the midwife and Nicole has an anxious visit to the hospital to check on her unborn twins.

Liz is left on her own for the first time since giving birth to Tessa and has her hands full looking after two small children and the new baby. The later stages of Nikki's pregnancy are getting her down and the waiting is over for Nicole and Ralph as Nicole gives birth to her twins.

Nicole and her twins get out of hospital but there is a scare over the smallest twin, pregnant teenager Sarah finds it difficult to plan for her new baby with very little money available and Nikki becomes depressed as her baby is overdue.

Nicole has her hands full looking after two babies as she is left alone for the first time with the twins. Nikki's labour is induced and there's an anxious wait for Mark as she is rushed in for an emergency caesarean section. Sarah and Gary visit the hospital to check the baby's due date as Sarah is concerned the baby is apparently large at this stage in pregnancy.

Sarah gives birth to a baby boy four weeks early, Nikki and Mark settle into parenthood and Nikki attends the antenatal class reunion. We also meet Angela Hargreaves and husband Andrew. Angela needs constant monitoring as she developed antibody C during her first pregnancy and it could be fatal to her unborn child.

Sarah and Gary prepare to take baby Tyriek home from hospital, Angela thinks she's gone into labour, but it's a false alarm. However, her and husband Andy get a date for her induction. We meet Karen and Stewart who are planning a water birth at home for Karen's third child.

Angela is taken into hospital to be induced, Sarah visits a council house her and Gary have been offered and considers whether to move in. And Karen and Stewart try out birthing positions at their NCT class.

Angela Hargreaves is induced and gives birth to a baby boy. Sarah's house move doesn't go to plan as she finds there is no gas or electricity - and no sign of Gary! Karen's baby is overdue and she worries that if it doesn't come soon she won't be allowed to have a water birth at home.

Karen has a water birth at home, baby Oliver Hargreaves has more blood tests but is given the all clear. We meet Angela Clegg and boyfriend Jason, who are expecting twins. It's Angela's last day at work and she's looking forward to a rest.

Karen and Stewart celebrate the birth of baby Beatrice by burying the placenta in the garden and planting a tree. Angela Clegg shops for a pram for her twins and we meet Nikki Wilson and Matt Millott, student nurses who are preparing to become parents.

Angela gets her wish to give birth to her twins naturally. Nikki and Matt attend a water birth class and we meet Berrin and Faruk, a Turkish couple expecting their first baby. Berrin is excited - but Faruk is less pleased at the thought of becoming a father.

Nikki is taken to hospital suffering from pre-eclampsia and boyfriend Matt rushes to be at her side. Angela Clegg and partner Jason are having sleepless nights with twins Halle and Leah and Berrin is missing her family back in Turkey.

After being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a potentially fatal condition, Nikki doesn't get her wish for a water birth and gives birth to baby Ewan by caesarean section. Three days from her due date Berrin has her first antenatal class and decides she doesn't want husband Faruk present at the birth. Angela settles down to looking after twins Halle and Leah and older daughter Gabi.

Berrin goes into labour with husband Faruk at her side. But her baby's head becomes lodged in the birth canal making the labour more painful. Student nurses Nikki and Matt celebrate baby Ewan's homecoming with flatmate Ben. Mother of five boys Tracie and partner George are expecting their sixth child - and this time it's a girl!

Tracie fears she's gone into premature labour, but to add to her worries, she's also being evicted. Ravinda loves being pregnant and goes to great lengths to look her best for her cousin's engagement party. And Berrin settles into life as a new mum, while husband Faruk reveals his private heartache.

Ravinda is nervous about the birth. Tracy books a caesarian and a sterilisation (mother of 5 including triplets) Nicola suffers a painful pregnancy.

Ravinda is anxious as she goes into labour. Tracy's having 2nd thoughts about being sterilised. Nicola overcomes her fear of miscarriage.

Nicola goes into labour but there's a danger of her pelvis splitting. Baby Alana goes home to meet her 5 brothers. Ravinda gives up on breastfeeding.