EVERYBODY needs good neighbours, or so the song goes. And if you are expecting a child, who better to have as your neighbour than a midwife?

And one who works at the West Country’s busiest maternity unit, Southmead Hospital in Bristol, no less – where cameras capture the ward’s deliveries.

In this first episode of a new series of One Born Every Minute, midwife Vicki helps her childhood friend and neighbour Louisa through an emotional labour. Meanwhile, father-to-be Michael cuts things fine when he decides to head home for the evening before his wife Michelle’s contractions suddenly kick in – will he make it back in time, or miss the birth of his daughter?

There’s also mother-to-be Georgina, who explains why she holds out hope that expectant father Rich will swap his life in the fast lane for a more family-friendly, sedate lifestyle once their first baby is born.