One Born Every Minute

This week, the stakes are high for two older mums on the labour ward. For Julia this is a miracle baby, her first and possibly only child; for Sara it’s her third, and after a traumatic previous birth she is truly terrified. One Born returns to the story of Julia (31), born with a major heart defect and once told she’d never have a baby. Now the pregnancy of Julia and Dean’s ‘miracle baby’ is in its final stages and they are back at the Princess Anne Hospital. Dean and Julia use humour to deal with the stress of getting through labour and Julia’s added medical complications. “Look at the state you got me in you bastard!” says Julia. “Juju!” chides Dean taken aback, while Julia’s mum adds, “Dean, that’s only the start of it, my love.” One day before Julia’s due date her waters have broken, but as she’s not going into labour the midwives decide to induce her. They want both mum and baby to stay healthy, which means everything needs to happen swiftly. Sara (38) is expecting her third baby. She admits she’d like to get married, but it is “just a piece of paper and isn’t the be all and end all”, while her partner Mark offers up that “it costs more to get divorced!”. Instead he tells her that she’s “lovely all over”. After a traumatic first birth and an overwhelming fear of pain, Sara is scared of what will happen this time. Mark passes her gas and air, and says “meet your new best friend ‘Norman the Nozzle’”. But before long Sara is pleading for an epidural, or even a caesarean. The midwives try to restore her calm and discuss her case in the staff room. “Is it her first?” asks one. “No,” says Sara’s midwife. “Her third. She knows what’s coming.”