One Born Every Minute

'Friends with benefits' Jodie and Stephen are expecting a baby together. Derroll is a devoted stepfather to Maria's four children and now they hope to have a baby together.

It took 30-year-old Louise and her husband Andy six years to conceive. After such a long struggle, they're finally looking forward to meeting their longed-for baby and showing it off to Andy's worried stepmum Olwen, who's a health care assistant at the hospital. Sammy, who's 23, is about to have her third baby. An undiagnosed condition drove a wedge between Sammy and her mum, when her bad behaviour was put down to teenage hormones, until a long-awaited diagnosis of endometriosis when she was 19 enabled them to build bridges.

Musicians Lucy and James are putting rehearsals on hold to have a baby. Laura and Mike fell in love in hospital when Laura was dangerously ill. They're expecting their second son.

Louise is having her first child at 45, after fearing for years that she might never experience motherhood. But she's had a heart-breaking split with her baby's father, Dan, and they haven't seen each other for a few months. They both have a lot of soul-searching to do as he arrives to support her during labour. Jess is 16 and has always wanted a sibling. Her mum Elaine and stepdad Jeff found it difficult to conceive, but now Elaine is at Liverpool Women's Hospital to give birth, and her labour is an eye-opener for Jess, who says she's 'scarred for life'! Fang and Zhaoliang both grew up under China's infamous one-child policy, so neither of them has a sibling. A surprise pregnancy is a 'beautiful accident' that will give their son a welcome playmate and bring balance and harmony to their family.

Sarah and her mum Pat are both midwives at Liverpool Women's Hospital, and now Sarah's expecting twins. Tasha previously had a traumatic birth and is now having her second child.

Being unable to control her labour heightens 24-year-old first-time mum Natasha's anxiety. Natasha's partner Andrew is the rock that stands between her and a condition that has driven her to the brink in the past. The struggle to conceive their first baby took control of 33-year-old Erika and 44-year-old Jez's sex life, and became an exhausting regime for Jez. They're now on baby number two, and Erika has learned that, when it comes to childbirth, not everything goes to plan. Emma, who's 29, and James, who's 36, lost control of their shared passion for food when they first met, and their weight ballooned. After Emma was given the all-clear from a cervical cancer diagnosis, the couple decided to give themselves the best chance possible of starting a family by losing 11 stone between them.

'Tattooed lady' Sazzie and 'scary biker' Adam are having their first baby. So are Jen, who has Crohn's disease, and ex-soldier John. Meanwhile, Jeannie is having her fourth and final baby.

Sarah, who's 32, and Stephen, who's 37, had the shock of their lives when they found out they were expecting twins. Sarah and her mum Pat are both midwives at Liverpool Women's Hospital and know only too well what can go wrong, but they have to let go of their fears to concentrate on the twins' safe arrival. Holly, who's 19, and 20-year-old Nick surprised Holly's mum Michelle, who's 41, by announcing their planned pregnancy. Michelle struggles to let go of the idea of Holly being her little girl as Holly becomes a mother herself. And Tasha, who's 27, and Jonny, who's 31, went through a traumatic birth with their first child, Nevaeh. As they come in to have their second and last child, a planned C section enables them to banish their fears of history repeating itself.

At the Liverpool Women's Hospital, it feels like the whole city has arrived at once to have their babies - the hospital faces a bed block crisis. Shift leader Sarah and the midwives have to juggle and prioritise to ensure everyone gets the care they need. Among those facing a wait is 34-year-old home care assistant Kristina, whose twins need to be delivered as quickly as possible and will need special care. She'll need to move to another hospital if space doesn't become available soon. Also on the wards are Amy, 25, and Dave, 28. They're expecting their first child together, but their Jehovah's Witness beliefs are tested when it becomes clear doctors will need to intervene in the birth. Jill, 21, and 24-year-old Dale are also having their first child together, though Jill had her first baby when she was 16. She feels more prepared this time round, and Dale wants to make the most of being a dad.

When Jody, who's 29, and Chris, who's 32, arrive at Liverpool Women's Hospital, she'll be giving birth for the first time. It's a day that they thought would never come: after a struggle with infertility, they'd given up hope of having a child themselves and adopted a son. But one last try at IVF had surprising results. Meanwhile, Mormons Cameron, who's 23, and Hannah, who's 21, met through the church and married young. Their faith has taught them the importance of family, and they can't wait to become parents. They just need to get through labour first. And Lesley, who's 41, was desperate to become a mum but couldn't find a man who wanted to be a dad. Not letting that stand in her way, she turned to a sperm donor, and is now eagerly expecting her first child, who she plans to raise alone.

This episode explores life at Liverpool Women's Hospital through the eyes of male midwife Chris, a former navy trauma medic. Like Chris, 22-year-old Kiefer knows what it's like to be a man in a woman's world. His upbringing in a strong female household has made him eager to be the ultimate birthing partner for his girlfriend Sophie. But following life-threatening complications during the birth of their first child, can Kiefer hold it together this time? Third-time mum Amanda, who's 32, arrives mid-contractions, with her sister Michelle by her side. They both hope that the birthing experience will bring them closer together. Having previously suffered a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy, 33-year-old Rhoanne is excited about meeting her second baby, but when he gets stuck there's a race against time to deliver him.