The Midwives

This is a series documenting the work of midwives mainly based at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

Episode 1 and the series in total have been an eye-opening watch, not just because of the detail of the labour that is shown including the delivery of the baby's head but because of the strength and mentality that a midwife has to have in order to be able to cope in sometimes the most horrible circumstances.

In Episode 2 the show displayed the difficulties that training midwives face, while also showing how unexpected a labour can be because of the many complications that can happen.

Episode 3 saw the contrast between rich and poor expectant mothers who live in Wirral, which is separated into a rich and poor distract by a river. The amount of contrasts are obviously very high including the birth plan, their homes and their lifestyles, but at heart of it is the birth of new life and it is amazing to see these really tiny babies being hugged by the new parents.

Episode 4 further explored the high risks of pregnancy and labour as it focused on the specialist midwives who deal with situations that could endanger both mum and baby, and also the expectant mothers who have experienced the tragedy of several miscarriages.

Episode 5 relocates to the maternity ward at Wirral's Women & Children Hospital, looking at the work midwives have to do in order to support anxious mothers and parents who can't be at home before or straight after the birth. It shows how the parents or mothers are supported in trying to get use to looking after the baby. It shows the difficulty of pleasing all the mothers and making sure that the parents feel confident to take their baby home and feel able to look after it.

In contrast, Episode 6, the final one, focused on the work of the community midwives who look after the parents for about 10 ten days once they return home and those having home births. This episode displayed the responsibility the midwives face in making sure they give the right advice and support, while making sure both baby and parents are safe. This was seen when midwife Di had difficulty in tracing down a mother who had only given birth the day before, but is soon found. The support is especially important in cases of postnatal depression, which the midwives experience a lot.

This series showed the importance of the midwives and their work in supporting the expectant mothers and looking after the babies especially when complications occur. It must be such a rewarding job to have, but also a hard one which the show portrays.