Doco series on UK maternity services starting tonight 8.30pm, SBS

One Born Every Minute
For official website click here.

8.30pm, Tues 27 July (for 8 weeks)
SBS

Every minute of every day, a baby is born in Britain. One Born Every Minute is an 8-part series that celebrates what it is really feels like to become a parent, by taking a bustling maternity hospital and filling it with forty cameras. Filming from the reception desk to the neo-natal ward; from the operating theatre to the birthing pool, this ground-breaking new series observes the dramatic, emotional and often funny moments that go hand in hand with bringing a new life into the world, from the perspective of the soon-to-be parents and family, as well as the hospital staff. 2010 BAFTA Winner for Best Factual Series. (From the UK, in English) (Documentary Series) *New Series* PG CC WS

The National Childbirth Trust in the UK released this statement about the series:

NCT COMMENT ON NEW CHANNEL 4 SERIES ‘ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE’

Released on 09/02/2010

Background

‘One Born Every Minute’ is a new documentary series on Channel 4 that follows the day to day life in a maternity ward. Filmed over a month the series highlights the intense experience of bringing a new life into this world from the perspective of the soon-to-be parent, the family, and the maternity ward staff.

Quote

Elizabeth Duff, Public Policy Officer, NCT says:

"‘One Born Every Minute’ shows the importance of the day a child is born in the parents’ life, with a narrative reflecting their thoughts, hopes and fears.

"This first day in the life of a new family deserves every chance to be wonderful – the NCT wants the experience of birth to enrich parents’ lives and give them confidence in their new roles. For this to happen, maternity services need midwives to provide continuous support to women in labour and their partners. The birth environment should be comfortable, relaxing and a place that is fit to start a family.

"‘One Born Every Minute’ shows the reality of maternity services today. The midwives do their job well under great pressure. Caring for a wide diversity of women, from every walk of life and with a variety of clinical conditions, they are overstretched and under-resourced – ‘firefighting’ instead of being able to give calm and continuous support to parents on the day their lives change forever.

"NCT has concerns about the challenges encountered by parents and staff in the maternity service environment. However, we are pleased to see the programme and its associated website http://lifebegins.channel4.com/ highlighting important issues about childbirth and maternity care. NCT offers support, information and contact opportunities to parents around the childbirth experience and the transition to parenthood."