One Born Every Minute

For Lydia (22) and Phil (22) a surprise pregnancy caused the couple to think long and hard about what they should do next. After finally telling her mother, whom she feared would frown on a baby born outside of marriage, Lydia is now looking forward to being a mum and has a natural water birth planned. Boyfriend Phil was at first reluctant to be a dad – he lived a party lifestyle and initially felt sad about saying goodbye to it. When the baby is due to arrive, Lydia’s squeamish elder sister Anna joins her and Phil in the birthing room. Soon, one of the women begins to feel nauseous, and it’s not the one you would expect. Tendayi (30) and Maxwell (42) decide laughter is the best way to endure a long labour. To pass the time, Maxwell reads to his wife from the Compendium of Fascinating Female Facts, small gems like: ‘British women would rather give up sex than chocolate’. Tendayi jokes she doesn’t know which she would choose. She’s hoping for a natural birth, “I just want to get on with it and push the baby out”, though the screams from other women giving birth soon begin to un-nerve her. Maxwell is hoping that when the baby does come, it will be the son he has always wanted. Meanwhile in a neighbouring room Kate (29) says, “I never thought babies would be on the cards.” She adds: “Being with Nick, who didn’t want children, I thought one day…I might be able to convince him to have cats”. Nick (35) explains: “I never wanted kids for a long time, but then one day something changed.” Now Nick and Kate await the birth of their first baby.