Channel 4 show Belfast Midwives is proving to be a hit with viewers

And a new fly-on-the-ward series, Belfast Midwives on Channel 4, follows the characterful team of midwives at the award-winning Royal Jubilee Maternity Service in the heart of Belfast, one of Northern Ireland’s busiest maternity units delivering 5,000 babies every year.

Full of warmth, humour and emotion, this is the midwives’ story told in their own words as they go about the miraculous, life-changing business of birth.

One of those who features in the show is 23-year-old Zara Dodds from Templepatrick, who has been a midwife for over a year.

Zara found out about filming of the Channel 4 show when she was just six months qualified.

"I was just about to do my second rotation to delivery suite when they started to film.

"At the start it was nerve-wracking, just because you were trying to find your feet, but the minute you met the team that were filming, you just felt really at ease. They became part of the furniture.

“It was all filmed on hand-held cameras, as they didn’t want rigs set up in rooms and it to be very impersonal.

"They wanted it to be very women-centred and involved, and wanted to get to know the women and follow them through a journey, rather than just popping in to see the baby delivered and then leave again.”

Zara, who studied Midwifery at Queen’s University, Belfast, said she always knew she knew she wanted to care for people in some capacity, specifically a hospital setting.

“I really wasn’t sure which sector, but when I found midwifery it seemed to marry all of the key interests that I had.

“I wanted to be able to advocate for women through such a unique journey as pregnancy. I wanted autonomy, to be able to govern the way that I practise and be independent in the way that I look after people.

“I wanted to have that one-to-one care that you get in the delivery suite in the Royal as a midwife, which is just fantastic, and I also really wanted to be part of a team.

"The fact that I get to work with consultants, nurses and anaesthetists in theatre, was just a dream for me.”

Zara said being in labour can be one of “the most vulnerable and emotional times” that a woman can ever go through.

“So the fact that I get to be there, and advocate and facilitate the delivery of someone’s baby is just amazing.

"For me if I could describe midwifery in one word it would be a ‘privilege’.”

Each episode of Belfast Midwives features three very different birth stories – from emergency C-sections to extraordinary water births - viewers follow the midwives supporting a diverse cast of families during this important life moment.

We also meet midwives in other departments helping couples who’ve been struggling to start a family for years as they get to see their new baby for the first time and in the post-natal wards where new mothers may need extra support to look after their newborn babies or get to grips with breastfeeding.

Zara added: “Even though it can be an emergency situation for some people when they are in theatre, as a midwife it is about trying to bring that little bit of normality and caring to something that can be quite startling and anxious for people. You take care of people, regardless of what way their baby wants to be born.”

Of course, television shows about pregnancy and birth are not a new concept, so why do we find them so repeatedly compelling and inspiring?

"I think it’s because it (childbirth) is such a universal experience,” said Zara.

"A lot of the time when you think of a hospital, there can be a lot of sadness associated with that.

"I think it’s really lovely, and empowering, not only for the women that you get to showcase – how amazing they are at being able to do all of this – but it also gets to bring a sense of joy to a place that can otherwise be quite a sad and scary place for people. And I think that people love to get behind things like that, they love to cheer people on.

"I also hope that this show gives expectant mothers a bit of ease and relieves any anxiety they might have about coming in – to show that the people looking after them have their safety and their baby’s safety at the centre of every decision they make.”

All births are unique and unpredictable, and this emotional series captures the drama of a broad range of births and families welcoming a new baby into their lives.

"The Royal is the regional unit for Northern Ireland so we work with women from a very low risk, midwifery-led pathway, to women who are a lot more high-risk and have a lot more complexities, so you really have to be incredibly adaptable and multi-faceted as a midwifery professional.

“I really hope that this show helps to showcase how amazing the staff are that I work with, and how adaptable we are. We care for people from all different backgrounds and cultures and complexities.”

Brenda Kelly, head of Midwifery at Belfast Trust echoed Zara’s sentiments.

"Being a midwife is an incredible privilege. We are with women and families throughout their pregnancy, during labour and when they meet their precious new baby.

“Here in Belfast Trust we have an amazing team of highly skilled and caring midwifes and I’m very proud of them all.

"Filming Belfast Midwives was a great opportunity to celebrate the important role of midwives and the wider multidisciplinary team who are dedicated to delivering great maternity care. It’s a great series which makes me so proud to be a midwife in this team”.

*Belfast Midwives is on Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 10pm.

All five episodes will also be available to watch as a boxset on All 4.