One Born Every Minute

The stress and anxiety surrounding childbirth takes centre stage when two couples with difficult births come into the hospital. Billie Durrans (17) has pre-eclampsia, which is one of the most serious conditions that can develop in pregnancy caused by very high blood pressure. She’s having an emergency cesarean and the baby will be born ten weeks early with the complications associated with premature birth. Billie and her partner Ryan (20) have been together for 3 years and weren’t planning on starting a family. She wanted to have a career and thought that they’d both travel before settling down properly. Then she found out she was pregnant and their plans changed. Now they face weeks of visiting the hospital’s neo-natal unit as their baby gains weight and strength and overcomes breathing problems. Carolyn and John Sinclair are both dentists although they say they tend not to talk about teeth when they’re at home. A 20 week scan shows that their baby will be born with a cleft lip. Although they know the condition can be corrected with surgery, they’re understandably anxious to discover how serious their baby’s condition will appear when it’s born. For the midwives too, it’s a difficult time because they want the birth to be a happy event but know the couple are nervous about how they’ll react when the baby is delivered. Finally, Tanya (28) and Barry (30) are a young middle income couple having their first baby after just 5 months of being together. Barry is a joker but his smiles and laughter conceal his deep anxiety about the responsibility of being a father.