One born every minute. Do you think it is beingaired to highlight the huge glaring gaps and failings in the hospital's system?

[EccentricaGallumbits]

The shortages in staff.

The problems with their food delivery sysem.

The dragon ward clerk.

The facilities and buildings.

Do you think the trust is allowing it to be aired in the hope that there will be an outcry and changes may be made?

Really? Only me?

lack of pillows?

panicy midwife shouting at women?

women in labour left entirely alone for ages?

having to walk down the public corridor in labour to have a bath?

midwives caring for more than one woman in advanced labour?

The thing that bothered me most was the woman writhing in pain on a chair. Why didn't one of the midwives encourage her to get up and move around? Why do women still assume they have to lie down to give birth?

Maybe the midwife DID encourage her to get up but it was edited out...

But if it was cleverly edited - thereby making it look like the midwives weren't in the rooms for more than 30 seconds here and there why would the trust have let it air?

Maybe Sam was encouraged to move about a bit - she did go off (along the corridor and round a corner) to the bath at one point.

I've been a bit surprised by a few things shown. The rude receptionist, the obviously out of her depth and panicing midwife shouting at the woman and mostly the very short time the midwives seem to be spending with the women. Whether that's due to major staff shortages I don't know. That's why I'm wondering if it is a cry for help by an overstretched and stressed department.

When did a midwife shout at a woman?

I think it is very brave of the Trust. It would never have been agreed to at our local Trust. At one point when I being induced with DC3 there were three of us in advanced labour on the antenatal ward as there were not enough midwives. No privacy or dignity at all. That might have made slightly too 'realistic' viewing.

I'm taking it for what it is - cleverly edited telly by C4 to get everyone talking about what a failing NHS we have, thereby stimulating interest and boosting ratings.

Yes, there are failings, but the NHS also does a fantastic job. The 'problem' is that satisfied customers wouldn't make for interesting TV.

I don't know about it being edited to highlight the shortcomings of the NHS but up until now they haven't edited anyone's birth partners particularly favourably. I'm sure all the dads involved did say really encouraging things but this doesn't seem to be shown at all, prefering to show a shot of them looking stressed and not saying anything at all. I think that's really sad.

Thing is, I think it's obvious to women who have experienced childbirth and who have thought about it for a moment that there are problems in this department, but it might not be so obvious to a lay audience.

To put it crudely, no one is dying or being obviously injured and the damage that is being done in terms of unnecessarily stressful births and near misses is not readily apparent. A lot of people won't expect any better from the NHS, and that's why we don't get it, IMHO.