Life and Birth episode six to air on Tuesday 26 May
The next episode of the six-part series that reveals what it really takes to deliver Britain’s next generation, through the eyes of parents and staff at three of Birmingham’s busiest maternity hospitals will air on Tuesday 26 May at 8pm on BBC One.
In Episode six, the final episode of the series, baby Elsie has been born eight weeks premature, weighs just 860 grams and was born with a hole in her heart. Her parents have spent the past two months living in hospital accommodation waiting for her to receive emergency surgery before they can take her home - but the procedure will only be possible when her weight reaches two kilograms. A couple enter the final preparations for their home delivery, and a mother who suffered severe post-natal depression after the birth of her first son gives birth to her third child. Last in the series.
You can catch up with all other episodes that have aired so far on BBC iPlayer.
With unprecedented access across two NHS trusts, from the antenatal clinics and nationally renowned Fetal Medicine Centres, to the delivery suites, emergency operating theatres and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the series gives an extraordinary and privileged insight into the places where cutting-edge medicine meets the miracle of birth every single day. ‘Life and Birth’ goes beyond the stories of the labour ward and meets parents at every stage of their pregnancy, showing maternity care in a way that it has not been seen before.
From intricate lifesaving surgical procedures on babies in the womb, to specialist care for women who have had multiple miscarriages, to births which go as planned, this programme captures the incredible work of NHS midwives, doctors and surgeons, who are dedicated to supporting families as they bring new life into the world.