Episode 2 Five Star Babies: Inside the Portland Hospital

Bring baby to you. OK.

Well done.

Parenthood - the great leveller.

But if there's a way

to make one of life's most basic rituals a little bit easier,

there will always be someone willing to pay for it.

The Portland in Central London

is Britain's only private maternity hospital.

The Portland can provide speedy access to the best care possible.

That comes at a price.

To follow in the footsteps of mothers like the Duchess of York

and Victoria Beckham starts at around £10,000.

Whenever I've heard friends of mine say,

"Our baby was born in the Portland," I've always been like, "Ooh!"

With so many luxury services on offer,

from 24-hour fine dining to silver handcrafted baby mementos,

it's easy to spend much more.

In my time at the Portland I've seen somebody spend over 500,000.

This week, the hospital is bracing itself for a huge influx of VIPs...

Sometimes it's very tempting just to pop in and say,

"Hello, please could I have your autograph?"

..all expecting an exclusively tailored five-star birth.

It should be that they don't want for nothing,

and we deliver a perfect service.

You could have one room, or two, or you could have a whole floor.

But can the staff cope with juggling their everyday clientele

with an onslaught of celebrities and VVIPs?

A lot of parents' priorities are,

"Is my maternity nurse going to be there?

"Is my nanny going to be there?"

While they're here I say to them, "Enjoy your baby."

This morning, returning customers Bella and her husband Leon

are due to have their second child at the hospital.

If you'd like to follow me.

Seven years ago, Leon moved to London from the Far East

to work in the City.

The couple now live in the affluent area of Hampstead.

Last year I had my baby girl here.

19 months later, I'm here again for a baby boy.

In four hours, Bella will be having a Caesarean.

She will then spend three days recovering

in one of their standard rooms.

Even at £1,200 per night, it still comes with medical-grade furniture.

Careful. You all right?

Yeah!

If you've got any queries regarding the room and that,

speak to the sister in charge on the floor.

-Sure. OK.

-How's the room?

-It's close enough to a hotel.

Yeah, it's got similar features,

but I think the last room we were at had a bit of a view.

Besides cutting-edge medical care,

would-be mothers come to the Portland

because they know all their wishes will be catered for.

We're just going to have a little wander round.

As long as they can pay for them.

I mean, this is smaller...

-It's a smaller space.

-Yeah.

-But you've got the sitting room here.

Bella decides to upgrade to one of the hospital's luxury suites.

I just don't want the door to be facing the bed.

It's a Chinese thing, maybe. I don't know...

That's my excuse.

Enjoy your stay, and if you need anything, give me a call.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Lovely.

Why would you want to come back? Because it's not cheap.

No, it's not. £16,000 to £18,000.

I mean, he's a financial analyst, so he's got a spreadsheet

of various cost options, analyses, all lined up,

but I'm not going to have a football team,

so he's not going to go bankrupt.

So, yeah, I mean, we just need to trade off

a couple of posh holidays, you know, and use that money for this.

You know, I think it's the right thing to do.

Happy wife, happy life.

For some Portland patients, £18,000 is a drop in the ocean.

We've got quite a few VIPs coming in,

so we just need to sort out the rooms, requests,

make sure we're on top of everything.

The hospital's VIP liaison team handle bookings

that can total millions of pounds a year.

I don't know what they were all doing nine months ago!

All having a party, I think.

The team are preparing for a busy week ahead,

with a wave of high-net-worth patients.

The VIPs' high expectations

create a unique set of challenges for the staff.

-Hello, Jane. How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-Hello, Fiona.

For CEO Janene, it promises to be a highly profitable week.

Thank you, ladies.

It is important to have VIPs.

You know, you only need to pick up a "Hello!" magazine, you know,

and see which patients we've had in the hospital.

Unfortunately, maternity, you know, it's like buses.

They all come at the same time.

They all come in the same week, you know, and you can't stop that.

So next one is a slightly bigger one,

so our VIP, she's requested three rooms.

So she'll take a whole wing.

We have some huge requests at times, where a patient wants a whole floor,

they want to refurbish, they want to redecorate,

and it's important for our brand,

and for our reputation,

that we meet those requests.

Again, regarding the nursing,

she wants special nursing for herself and for baby.

Presumably that's day and night?

Yes, absolutely.

Making money actually makes sense, because long-term,

the only way I make money

is by running the best-quality service I can possibly run.

We try our hardest to make sure the patient has the right experience.

Flowers is a big one.

So you'd have walls of flowers, and with your bigger VIPs,

they'll bring in their own chairs, coffee tables, sofas.

So it's just home from home, having their own, like, luxury comforts.

For many of the hospital's VIP guests,

the perfect baby experience doesn't end at the Portland.

It's just the beginning.

There's a whole world of luxury awaiting their newborns.

We do have lots of people who have their babies at the Portland.

We've had people from the sports world, pop stars,

television presenters.

I mean, so many of them we're not allowed to say nowadays,

with non-disclosure agreements.

One client, we went and installed an amazing nursery in the Portland,

and that just looked incredible,

and that was obviously only for a short period of time,

and then it was moved to her country residence.

We have things that start at £35,

and then we go up to four-poster cots.

That can be anywhere between 12,000 to 14,000,

depending on the fabric and the bedspread and monogramming.

And then we have this lovely Moses basket,

which is probably one of our most popular things,

which has Chantilly lace on the exterior,

and then silk on the interior,

and that retails just over £3,000.

I mean, the level of perfection that's required

is quite exacting at times.

Bella's Caesarean is about to take place.

Sorry, I need to go to the ladies'.

At the Portland, Caesareans don't just happen for medical reasons.

Part of the hospital's attraction

is that mothers can choose exactly the type of birth they want.

Yes, you can label the choice that it's a too-posh-to-push preference,

but I've got a very low pain threshold, and I know myself.

I just won't be able to put up with the pain.

The journey really starts after the baby gets here.

It's like getting from A to B by business class,

or by taking a bus,

but the end point is really to have the baby here safely.

Unlike the NHS, Bella's paid for a package that allows her

to choose which consultant will deliver her baby.

She's picked Dr Joseph, who also delivered her daughter here.

-Hey.

-Hi.

Good morning. You all right?

-Yes.

-Come through.

This is your room. Hello.

Margaret, could you pass me a hat, please? Thank you, darling.

Bella is a lovely girl.

That looks lovely.

When she got pregnant again she contacted me.

"I'm pregnant again. Can you look after me?"

"Yes, of course, with pleasure."

So how old is your little one now?

-19 months.

-19 months.

-Yeah.

-Already. That's fantastic.

You are the star in our family.

We've got a photo of you lifting her out.

Really? Is that right? Ah, very nice.

It is such a privilege to be part of somebody's life like that.

One, two, three.

Of course, in the NHS practice,

it's not only me that's looking after a patient.

There are a big team of doctors,

so it becomes a little bit diluted because of that.

You've done this before. You know what to do.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Portland.

People say, "Do you do tummy tucks at the same time as a Caesarean?"

Well, I can absolutely assure you we do not do tummy tucks

at the same time as a Caesarean section.

Now, we can still talk to each other.

I still can hear you, and you can still hear me.

So if you have any queries, any concerns, just talk to me.

We have patients requesting to deliver at seven minutes past seven

on the 7th of July, and these things are possible,

but they're actually only possible

if you were lining up to deliver at that time anyway.

-You OK?

-Yeah, I'm fine, thank you.

So, yeah, we will do our best to match expectations,

but there are some things that we simply can't do and won't do.

Just trying to find our way in.

It is funny, because I wanted to be a pilot when I was a kid.

OK, let's have a swab and a stick, please.

But my mum is a gynaecologist.

OK. More.

And that's it. That's my life, and I love it.

Yeah. Scalpel. And suction ready, please.

If I'm able to do NHS, I prefer to do that,

as well as the private sector,

because it makes me sort of a more well-rounded doctor.

But in the private sector, hopefully you make some money,

so that's quite nice.

A little bit of pressure...

-a little bit of pressure on your tummy.

-OK.

Hello!

And look at that.

There's a cord around the neck.

OK.

Hello!

Hello, world! Hello.

This is Mummy and Daddy.

They're the most important thing in the world. Hey!

BABY CRIES

Dr Joseph has delivered Bella and Leon a baby boy,

Harrison, weighing just over seven pounds.

Congratulations, Daddy.

Hello.

You've got your son now.

You're going to do some football, yeah, on a Saturday?

Rugby union.

It's just so nice having a new life come into this world,

and you are there, part of it.

Of course, this happens between doctors and patients all the time,

but in the private sector you tend to know each other quite well,

and we become very good friends at the end of it.

I care about them and they know that,

and equally they care about me, some way.

Bella now has three days to recover in her private suite.

During her stay, she will have the option

to send baby Harrison to the hospital's 24-hour nursery...

..where Pat is currently looking after six newborns.

Sometimes the mums bring the babies

because they want to go outside for a short period.

In this case, I don't know.

They just brought the baby in.

So this one here

is so mum can sleep.

It's a shame this isn't on offer to all mums,

because sleep deprivation is really difficult to deal with,

and this is their baby.

This is what they've waited for nine months for,

and we have the privilege of helping them through the first few days,

and that is a privilege, to be a part of a baby's life.

But some people come here and they think this is run like a hotel.

So we have some that have said to me,

"Can you get me the manager of the hotel?",

because they actually maybe want to speak to someone,

and I have to say, "No, it's not a hotel. It's a hospital."

They go, "Oh, yeah. So it is!"

The hospital has several operating theatres,

three of which are in the basement,

as are the kitchens.

All nice and tidy.

The Portland employs nine chefs and 18 catering assistants.

Hello, team. How are you?

Looking pretty in pink still.

Thank you. It goes with my skin colour.

Oh, it does.

I think the most challenging piece for us is around the catering,

around the room, and the environment that we provide,

because actually, foremost, we're a hospital.

We have to provide safe clinical care,

but we want to dovetail that

with a fantastic experience that is akin to a hotel.

Janene has just headhunted Sam from an exclusive members' club

to become her head chef.

Yeah, I come from a fine-dining background.

You know, the patients are not ill, really.

They're just here, you know, deliver babies,

and they can eat anything they want, and if they want fine dining,

or a nice piece of sea bass, you know, we do it.

To make sure that all hotel services maintain the five-star standard,

ex-Army man Paul has to pay attention to every detail.

-Got mint oil on it?

-Uh-huh.

-Basil?

-Yeah.

Strawberries? Then you blowtorch them?

-Blowtorch the strawberries. They're lovely.

-Yeah, really nice.

It's the little things that they look for.

That's the thing that takes something from being great

to fantastic, and they go, "Ooh! Wasn't expecting that."

The challenge is to exceed people's expectations.

Lilia, grab a pastry and tell me what it tastes like.

-Come on.

-I think we should have them next week again.

-It's very good.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

With the impending arrival of VIPs,

the staff are about to enter into one of the most demanding,

but profitable, periods of the year.

But there's a problem.

-Hiya.

-Morning.

-You OK?

-I'm very good. Let's have a look at this baby.

-Up on this couch.

-Let's do it.

When the A-list patients arrive,

Michaela, head of the VIP team, won't be able to help.

She'll be in one of the rooms having her own baby.

It's my second. I have a little girl already.

I had her on the NHS.

I had an amazing midwife experience with her.

So this time it's going to be completely different.

Woo!

We offer a very, very generous staff discount.

So, baby's head down...

It's really a token donation to the hospital.

We write off the majority of the costs.

I don't want to see your ear, son. I want to see your face!

And it's wonderful for us to have somebody walking around pregnant,

and when potential patients ask, "Where are you going to deliver?",

she says, "At the Portland".

Bingo.

Afterwards, when she returns to work,

she becomes a real advocate for our service.

You know, to be able to say first-hand to mums

exactly what it's like from both sides is an incredible asset.

Oh!

I want to meet him.

Well, not going to be too long.

No, I know.

-Thank you, Dino.

-No worries.

-I love that.

-I like that one.

Just the hand in front of the face.

What do you think that's going to be like, giving birth at work?

I know that they're going to completely look after us,

so I'm actually excited.

And I've heard the food is amazing, so I actually want to try it.

Have you never tried the food?

No, I haven't. I'm too busy working to try the food.

You see it going past to all the patients' rooms.

Like, "Ooh, can't wait to try that."

While Michaela's pregnancy may turn out to be a business asset,

it means she's going to have to hand over important VIP duties

to her assistant, Phoebe.

It's going to be busy, Phoebs.

It'll be a learning experience.

-Yeah. Chuck you in at the deep end.

-Mmm!

I'm getting those looks from the pregnant ladies I'm talking to,

like, "Why are you still working now?"

So I know it's time to kind of hand over the baton.

-So, with the VIPs...

-Mm-hm.

..obviously I've actually never spoken to any of them before.

Don't be worried about them.

-Just treat them exactly the same as you would with anyone else.

-Yeah.

Don't be daunted by them at all.

They're just the exact same, like, expecting a baby.

So that's definitely my main advice to you.

Yeah. They're just a couple.

Exactly the same, just like any other patient.

Normally the contact will come through via the PA,

so a PA would contact me.

-Their PA, or the consultant's?

-Their PA.

-OK.

-With the VIPs, the key thing is just building that trust with them.

-Yeah.

It's an important time for them,

and they can be just a little bit more anxious.

So it's definitely treating them normally,

but meeting all their requests.

The VIPs may well account for the largest single payments,

but it's patients on medical insurance

that are just as crucial to profits.

They account for over half the hospital's income.

Nick and wife Kinga's baby is due any day.

Their £12,000 birth package is covered by insurance.

-How are you today?

-Good.

-You're feeling fine? Come and sit down.

-Surprised that we're still pregnant.

-I know!

-Me too. There goes my bet.

I know. Never mind.

-So you're actually due tomorrow, aren't you, anyway?

-Right.

Like a quarter of the Portland's patients,

Nick and Kinga have come from abroad.

They live in North Africa with their four children.

After a modest upbringing and time in the military,

Nick now works for the US Embassy in Morocco.

This is our home. Family area, entertaining area.

Got about six bedrooms, five bathrooms,

reading areas, kids' rooms.

-That's my room.

-This is your room.

We met in the Netherlands.

I was still in the Air Force,

and you were taking a break from college.

-I was 20.

-I was 24.

Actually, you were still 23 when I met you.

-True.

-Right.

-And I swept you off your feet.

Nick was a single dad, so he was by himself with two kids.

Yeah. Kids were two and four.

And I just felt like Nick really needed help and support,

especially his house.

-Still do.

-It was so messy.

So hopefully the head is a bit lower down today.

The American Embassy recommended the Portland to Kinga.

The Embassy are paying for her medical bills,

as well as the entire family temporarily relocating

to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

I don't think that is an option for many families,

so we consider ourselves very lucky.

-Dirty.

-Messy baby, OK, I'll get pants.

The family have been in London for two months,

waiting for the baby to arrive.

Despite Nick's job continually moving them

across the world, they've never been to England before.

We've been all over, right?

This baby is a world traveller.

It's been on four different continents so far.

We're here for the medical care

and to make sure everything goes smoothly and to enjoy London too.

Here you are. Baby's head is down.

The embassy have paid for a package which includes constant access

to a consultant and an on-call anaesthetist.

Heart beating just there.

But Kinga's decided she wants to try

and give birth without pain relief.

I just wanted to see how it's like.

I mean, billions of women have done that throughout the centuries

and, if they did it, I could probably do it too.

Nick thinks I should take it as easy as possible and just take epidural,

or whatever they give me, but I just want to say, "Hey, I did it.

"I was tough and I did it," and my mom did it twice.

I don't want to be a wuss.

I want to be able to say I did it, but we'll see.

My non-competitive edge isn't there.

I don't...

When the labour actually happens, I might just turn into a giant wimp

and say, "Please just give it to me as soon as possible,

"just right now!"

We'll see, we'll see.

We'll try.

I still get in trouble for having my feet up on the bed

drinking coffee when she was having her first.

After, like, 17 hours of labour, I'm like, "You can do it.

-"It's OK."

-Right.

He was holding my hand, keeping his legs up on my bed and having

a coffee and I was going through contractions

and it was terrible.

What else am I supposed to do?

I don't know.

I don't know. "Sweetie, you're doing such a good job.

"You're an amazing woman. Wow!

"I can't believe you're going through this," like that.

You could do that.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Let me write that down.

You should. Research it.

Men! See?

Apart from the babies, the only person not affected

by the imminent arrival of the VIPs is Pat in the nursery.

They're all VIPs. They're so special.

They don't ask for anything that they can't have.

Unlike regular hospitals,

the average mother stays recovering in the Portland for three days.

A lot of parents' priorities are,

"Is my maternity nurse going to be there?

"Is my nanny going to be there?

"Is my housekeeping staff going to be there?"

And the baby sort of slots in with nannies and everything else.

While they're here, I say to them, "Enjoy your baby."

I don't want them to miss this baby in the first few months of its life.

After the birth of her second child,

the nursery has allowed Bella to have some much-needed rest.

We still had the baby back here for the feeding

and after the feed they took him back to the nursery again,

which meant that I could really sleep properly.

Do you feel like his mum?

Yes, but it's just...

Yeah, still finding it a little bit unbelievable that it's already here,

I'm holding him.

It's definitely another good experience for me so far.

Having upgraded to a suite,

there's plenty of space for Bella's parents to visit.

I'm only here for three days.

It's not like I'm here for three years.

So, it's like a last little holiday before the tough work comes.

I just want to make sure, leading up to that, I get, you know,

a mini-break, with as much comfort and as much support as possible.

Aww.

So far, the Portland experience

has cost Bella and Leon £15,000.

That price includes afternoon tea.

The house champagne will be extra.

So, here at the Portland, our afternoon tea is very popular.

It's all about making them happy.

Just bring that smile after having a long labour.

Very simple, clean, but there's a lot of good flavours going on.

Everything's made in-house.

We try... We aim to please.

That afternoon tea looks delicious.

Little jams and scones and eclairs.

Very nice.

There we go.

What was the first thing you had after you had your kid?

Oh, can't remember, actually.

Oh, I had a bacon sandwich.

And you never tried it?

No.

That's for...

Not for us minions.

Good afternoon, madam.

-Hi.

-My name's Aurora to serve you the afternoon tea today.

Hello.

Thank you.

Hello, you want some cake, yeah?

-Or sandwiches?

-Yes.

The night before, I just so stress out.

I couldn't eat much, didn't sleep well.

Knowing that they're OK, I just kind of relax a bit.

Ooh!

It was a big day. Emotional.

-ALL:

-Cheers.

Cheers.

The hospital does more than just deliver babies.

For those hoping to become Portland mothers,

there's a consultant who can help -

fertility specialist Dr Sara.

I am a gynaecologist. I used to deliver babies, but I've

stopped doing that because, most of the time,

I'm too busy putting babies into the womb

rather than taking them out.

So, I specialise in all aspects of fertility treatment.

Moza and her husband Ahmed moved to London from Dubai six months ago

to be treated by Dr Sara.

Now we are three years together, and my husband,

also he want baby from me to complete our family.

Who doesn't want to be a mom?

As a child, Moza had a life-threatening blood disease.

Before she underwent chemotherapy, she had an ovary frozen

in the hope that one day she could become pregnant.

Now that day has come.

-Shall we?

-Yeah.

We organised for her to have her frozen ovarian tissue

transplanted back and her hormones are starting to adjust,

so the ovarian transplant is starting to work, but it's

right at the forefront of how we're developing our work in fertility.

Moza's had her ovarian tissue transplanted,

but still needs to produce an egg.

So, the neck of the womb is just down here.

The left ovary was where we put the transplanted tissue.

So, I'm going to have a look and see if I can spy that,

see if anything is happening there.

For some patients, it's a lot more difficult than others, you know.

For the lady who you see once, do a couple of little things

and she's pregnant and that's great.

She skips out the door and off she goes.

For some patients, it's a long, very hard journey.

Here's the ovary, and you can see the little stitch in it...

-Yeah.

-..where we put the transplant.

But I don't see a little egg yet.

You try and help, but you can only help to a certain degree

and, of course, because she's Muslim,

she can't use somebody else's eggs.

That's just not an option.

No sign of an egg yet.

But we are only day nine.

The hospital's promise of one-to-one care

when there's been a history of complications

can be a major reason why couples choose the Portland.

Downstairs in theatre, another Caesarean is about to get under way.

Alison and Roger live in Kent.

Roger is a successful insurance consultant

for a major accounting firm.

The couple have been married for 14 years.

As soon as I met her, yeah, I was bowled over.

She was beautiful, and I guess the rest is history.

Yeah. No, I think it probably was love at first sight.

You should know the answer to that.

Yeah.

I'm just going to undo the back of your gown.

Roger's the one who's currently busy working with his career,

which is storming ahead,

and I've stepped back a little bit since having the children.

Because of medical problems during pregnancy, Alison's first two

children were born prematurely and had to be delivered by Caesarean.

George had difficulty maintaining body temperature,

so he needed to be in an incubator for the first week or so

of his life, and needed to be fed with tubes.

So, he did need quite a bit of support.

That was a worrying time in the first few days.

I'm in the baby's bed!

The fees for delivering the first two children were

paid for by insurance.

Make yourself comfortable as you can.

But when Alison became pregnant again, they were willing to

pay themselves to ensure they would receive the same medical care.

This one is a self-pay.

We don't have the insurance any longer.

We do have insurance, but it won't cover...

Not that particular policy, sadly.

So, elective Caesarean section.

The indication is two previous Caesarean sections.

There's no placental site concerns and MOH is not anticipated.

For the C-section, it's going to be around 10,500,

but in addition to that, there's the consultant's fees.

Having had Sophie and George and their complications,

we wouldn't feel right to not return to the Portland,

because we have full confidence in the care we would receive there.

You OK? What are you feeling?

Just a lot of pressure.

Yeah. You'll feel a bit of stretching any moment now.

That's perfectly normal.

We're not spending it because we get afternoon tea, or we're not

spending it because we get some of the luxuries that we have there.

Obviously, the luxuries are nice, but it...

-That's the main reason, I think.

-Yeah.

Head of the baby coming out now.

Can you see?

BABY CRIES

Congratulations.

BABY CRIES

Congratulations. Here's your baby.

Do you want him straight onto your skin, or...?

Just wrap him up a little bit.

Have you ever considered the NHS?

Oh, no, NHS are great.

I mean, I've broken bones and things and had to go in there,

and they're really good at looking after you when you need it.

Don't have a problem at all with it, because everyone needs it

from time to time, but just with the baby, I don't know,

I suppose it just...

-That's the way it evolved, wasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

Alison will now go to her private room to start recovery.

She'll soon be joined in the hospital by the influx of VIPs.

If you had an epidural, this would be £995.

With Michaela about to give birth, and largely confined to her

office, her responsibilities are being handed to Phoebe.

Phoebe's first task is a meeting with

the PA to a wealthy and important family.

She has come to ensure arrangements are satisfactory.

Paul's the main man. He's in charge.

So I'm just here just to see if there's anything else you need.

The VIP may make a particular request, in the sense

of the care they receive, or their entry into the hospital.

If they were a well-known celebrity, they may need that privacy,

so we may need to then look at them coming in

a different way into the hospital.

So there's a different way into the hospital?

There might be.

We'll clear all that out, car will come in here,

shutter comes down.

So, depending on their needs, we will then try and accommodate those.

The super-rich family want four rooms -

a suite for the mother,

a room for a nursery, one for friends and family

and one for visitors.

What's the most you've ever seen someone spend here?

About 250,000.

What would you get for 250,000?

Pretty much the whole hospital.

For the most extravagant VIPs,

the hospital's decor can be a little on the bland side.

The patient themselves are welcome to bring in their own team

of designers and just kind of making it completely their own.

Obviously, there's a cost involved in doing that.

To start with, it was quite intimidating.

I go really red, so it's really obvious when I'm embarrassed,

but I've calmed that down a bit now.

It's motivational, cos it means that one day

I want to have that much money, so I can have that wherever I go.

Moza's medical bill currently stands at £26,000.

Hi, hello.

She's returning for another private consultation with

Dr Sara to see if she has started producing eggs.

If so, she stands a chance of conceiving a baby.

Did you ever do what you do now on the NHS?

Yes, yes, I did, for years.

I loved my job in the NHS.

I mean, working in the NHS, they trained me.

They're fantastic.

But I had two kids, my contract was a bit difficult.

And I wanted to provide a service which put the patient

at the very centre of it.

Where's the man?

He went to Manchester.

-He went to Manchester?

-Yeah.

Oh. Does that mean you get to do more shopping?

Yeah...

Uh-oh, uh-oh.

Right.

Last week, not too much to see,

and the hormones kind of confirmed that nothing was going on.

So, I just want to have another little look.

I suspect something's brewing.

Yeah. We've got an egg.

Hurray!

Yeah.

OK?

There we go. It looks nice.

It's going to be, probably, mid to the end of next week before that's

getting ready to release, but, yes, we're in business.

OK?

When is the man back from Manchester?

MOZA LAUGHS

This is very important.

It is elitist, it is a privilege,

but you feel that you're giving the patient what

they should be getting at all times.

I would like to scan you next Wednesday.

-Yeah.

-All right?

I don't think you're going to release this egg before that,

but, you know, just in case, it might be good

to practise a little bit.

-Yeah, OK.

-All right?

I will be happy when I have nice result that I'm pregnant.

That's why I'm patient and I have hope,

big hope, that I will be pregnant soon.

With Michaela about to go on maternity leave,

there are still arrangements being made to accommodate

several top-paying customers.

Loads of beds.

-Are these all being changed over today?

-Yeah.

On the third floor? Fantastic.

You all right in there?

Comfortable?

Good.

Such is the number of rooms required by these patients,

Janene needs to open a floor that's normally used to treat children.

So, the fifth floor is our flexible floor.

We do flex it between maternity and paediatrics,

depending on our busy times.

In this case, we've got a couple of VIPs that want three, four

rooms downstairs, so that's going to bump some activity up to this floor.

So, we've just got to make sure and double-check that we have got

everything here ready for those patients.

And, unfortunately, we have made the decision, rightly or wrongly,

to put more paediatric pictures up, and, in this instance, it's going to

prove a little bit difficult when we bring our maternity mums up here.

We can't do anything about the pictures.

Can we just do a room check for every room?

-Yeah, OK.

-Because we're missing stuff. We're missing a fridge.

No problem.

When are the blinds being replaced?

Not by next week.

OK.

-Are they the same colour?

-Potentially, yeah.

-Have we ordered them?

-Yes.

So, what colour are they?

They're like a willowy green.

They're more of a slightly khaki colour.

And none of the VIPs want to come up here?

-No, we tried.

-No, we tried.

I tried to offer them four rooms, but they wanted the suite.

We'll put Michaela up here. She won't complain.

Why don't you just fill out a VIP pro forma and send it to us,

with all your wishes, food, everything, and see what happens?

While regular clientele still need to be catered for, Janene has

asked head chef Sam to update the menu in time for the new VIPs.

I've got the crispy mackerel with mango and chilli dressing.

I've got smoked duck breast with pomegranate salad

and a trio of beetroot with some goat's cheese bonbons.

To see if this menu meets the hospital's standards,

there's going to be a tasting.

It's about achieving perfection,

no different from the medical team and the service they deliver.

We need to be continually upping our game as well.

We need to keep up with the trends in food

and what's being delivered out there.

It's all part of offering a premium service.

Nick and wife Kinga have finally gone into labour.

-So you won't take guesses?

-For what?

When it's going to happen.

As a father of four,

it's an experience Nick has become familiar with.

Done? We can't bet on it, because you can control this.

I can control this?

You can cross your legs and it won't let it out.

Uh-huh. That's true.

Despite the hospital's on-call anaesthetist,

Kinga is still determined to have her baby without pain relief,

something she's never done before.

Just realise there's nothing wrong with utilising the drugs

that are there.

Doesn't make you a wimp.

-This makes you a normal person.

-It's true.

Nothing wrong with it. I think it's silly not to.

'She's a strong woman.

'I have confidence she can do it.'

So I don't want her to go natural.

I want her to take advantage of the advances in medical technology.

Rachel is one of the hospital's newest midwives.

She transferred here six months ago from the NHS.

I've brought Rachel. That is Kinga and that's Nick.

Hello.

Welcome to the party!

THEY LAUGH

For me it's very much...

get a feel for the room, get a feel for the couple.

Is it OK if I have a little listen-in to baby?

You're happy standing up for the time being?

Yeah.

As one of the Portland's newest recruits,

she's still getting used to working in the private sector.

You very quickly get used to the hustle and bustle

of other hospitals, and the constant pressure and emergency situations.

Really, if everything is straightforward and normal

then you would be delivering the baby yourself,

but here at the Portland, the women come for one-to-one consultant care.

Yeah, so I think you are contracting,

but they can be a bit more regular, that's all.

So to step out of that and suddenly be faced with

helping a lady to get dressed, or helping her into the shower,

staying the whole time, rather than suddenly having to rush off

and deal with an emergency, actually getting things from her bag for her,

brushing her hair, it is a huge shock to the system.

Huge shock.

We've been married for eight years now.

I know when to shut up. Just don't even talk.

Good. That's key, I think. Probably key for...

She's trained me properly.

Excellent.

'Dads are generally, I find, either not knowing what to do with

'themselves, where to put themselves or what to say.'

Others are really involved and want to be sort of really taking part

and making it a partnership between mum- and dad-to-be.

Another one?

Yeah.

Try to relax your shoulders a little bit.

Sometimes you need quite a lot of direction for dads.

You know, "Hold mum's hand, rub mum's back, take a deep breath."

Quite often you have to remember to tell dad to at least eat and drink

as well and go to the loo, because they get caught up in the moment.

'You feel kind of powerless.

'You can try to sit there and hold hands.

'You can try to do what you can, but there's not really too much.'

What's the best thing one can do at this stage?

Do whatever you're told. Tells you to take off, take off.

Yeah, do what you can.

Provide comfort, provide succour and eff off when she tells you to.

Downstairs, the management team are about to taste Sam's new menu.

Looks lovely.

Yeah, it's really, really nice.

Well, it's a quality brand. We've got to stay there.

We've got to prove that we are the best in London and the UK,

and this is a huge part of it.

It's a worldwide clientele that come to us,

so we've got to be able to meet their standards.

We have to take into account that a mum actually does want

smaller helpings, she does want some comfort food post-delivery.

We've also got a dad there that's gone through labour,

and he wants to be able to enjoy the food

and what's on offer at the Portland as well.

That's my favourite dish there.

You've got wild wood pigeon with lentil and chorizo and spinach.

How popular is pigeon going to be with our patients?

Some of it might be a little bit too heavy for them.

We've got a duo of salmon, salmon in two ways.

I think that should stay on the menu. It's very nicely done. Mmm.

Oh, I like this as well.

Well done!

We love it all!

Yeah.

A few tweaks, but it's absolutely spot-on.

Yeah.

See you later. Thank you very much.

Well done, Paul. Really good.

Yeah, fantastic.

This has come a long way.

You're supposed to find a focal point, sweetie.

Got to pick your head up.

Kinga has now endured full-blown labour

for the past six and a half hours.

Well done.

Keep breathing.

Up until now, the only pain relief she's had is gas and air.

'She's stubborn and she's competitive,

'so if other people can do it, then she has to think

'that she can do it, too.'

If she has to get the epidural, she's going to feel bad.

She's going to say, "I tried it. I couldn't do it. I failed."

Breathe in through your nose, not through your mouth.

Although Kinga's contractions are increasing in strength,

her baby still isn't any closer to being born.

Well done. All finished.

OK. Give me the frigging...whatever.

Epidural. Yeah.

Ow, ow, ow!

As there's always an anaesthetist on standby...

Hello.

-RACHEL:

-Good morning!

..Kinga doesn't have to wait long for a pain-blocking injection.

I don't think it's a failure.

I think it's... use what you have available.

OK, we're all done.

-RACHEL:

-You can relax a bit, Kinga.

This takes about ten minutes to kick in.

-RACHEL:

-'Pain relief is really important.'

Some people frown on it quite a lot.

They think it's, you know, a sign of weakness.

Actually, what we need is a comfortable mum

in order to get a happy baby.

It's great. It works so well.

Can barely feel any contractions.

It's the best cocktail you've had in nine months, right?

Right! Yeah. Yeah.

Good decision.

I agree.

Three and a half hours later,

Kinga's baby is finally ready to arrive.

Good contractions. Lovely heart rate.

We're all good to go.

Ready? Go. Push.

And again.

Breath in. Go again.

Push.

Amazing. Come on. Go.

-RACHEL:

-Big push down now.

Amazing. Really great.

What a good push, sweetie.

KINGA ROARS IN PAIN

OK. That's it. Coming now. It's OK.

Blow, blow, blow. That's it. Well done.

KINGA LAUGHS

Gorgeous, you! Hello!

-RACHEL:

-12.56.

Going to bring baby to you. OK? Well done.

KINGA SIGHS

-RACHEL:

-Congratulations. You did so well!

Lovely.

BABY CRIES

After ten hours of labour, baby Caitlin is finally delivered,

weighing just over eight pounds.

-There she is.

-Hey, baby. Oh, look at you.

Look at your little fingers.

It's 5:00am.

Today the hospital will bring into the world a new baby.

The staff await the family's arrival.

Careful with this one. Right. Hold the vase.

It should be that they don't one, want for nothing, or two,

have to wait or think for anything, that we actually do

that for them and deliver them the perfect service.

Make the bed. I clean it already.

We've stripped the beds of all of our linen,

so they've brought their own bed linen and bathroom towels and robes.

With their security guards in position, the family's entourage

arrives in advance to make sure everything is in place.

They've got maids and nannies,

so we have a couple of extra rooms for her staff to stay in.

Although the private entrance is on offer, the parents

decide against a secret arrival and use the front door.

But the staff have more than one VIP to cope with.

They're also expecting the imminent arrival

of a Premier League footballer and a president's daughter.

Worst-case scenario is if everyone goes into spontaneous labour

on the same day, but I'm hoping that won't happen.

This one or the...?

No, the linen ones.

Sometimes I feel helpless, because they'll ask me certain questions

and I won't have a clue, but Paul will know everything.

And then what we'll do is we'll take these up,

and need to change all the water all the way round.

Ryan the porter has been checking in the hospital's special guests.

They are all upstairs, waiting to have their babies.

The first floor is now off limits, except to key staff.

We've got a lot of very A-list patients up on the ward,

so you have to be very discreet.

Front-of-house assistant. Hello, madam.

How are you?

I hardly speak English.

That's OK. That's fine.

So do you have any kids?

I have. I have two lovely kids. One boy, one girl. One each.

Did you have them here?

No, no, not here.

If I did have them here, I'd be paying way too much, I guess! Yes.

And you've got 445. You've got one beetroot, yeah?

They're all ordering a la carte tonight.

Are they?

Yeah, all a la carte. Nicely cooked fish, Stephen.

Along with the footballer's wife and president's daughter,

one of the patients Sam is cooking for is VIP liaison Michaela,

who has just arrived to have her baby.

Michaela.

The hospital has a system for distinguishing between

its VVIPs and mere VIPs.

VVIP means they pay more than a normal VIP.

I've cooked for lots of famous people before.

If you think about it too much, you get, you know, the pressure...

You don't want the pressure to get the best out of you.

It's hard, because you don't always see the satisfaction

from the customer, as a chef.

We always want to see clean plates, hear the feedback.

So that's where you don't get as much of that here,

because essentially they're coming to have a baby.

As someone new to the private sector, midwife Rachel is finding

the patients' expectations go far beyond medical care.

Please could I have some black tea for delivery one?

Thank you very much. Bye-bye.

'I'm always, "Would you like a cup of tea?'

"Would a cup of tea help? Can I prescribe you a cup of tea?"

So that's mostly what I do.

I just poked myself in the face with a lily.

The things I have to do!

The first time I met a VIP, I did have to take myself off quietly

in a corner and have a little word with myself,

and remind myself, just... it's normal.

Sometimes it's very tempting just to pop in and say,

"Hello, please could I have your autograph?",

but obviously everybody is having their episode of care,

and it's not very appropriate, so...

The VVIPs require the attention of half of the entire maternity staff.

But for the rest of the patients, it's time for tea.

May I come in? Hello, sir. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, madam.

It's the famous scones and clotted cream.

Would you like a scone?

Unlike most Portland patients,

this is the first time Nick and Kinga have been offered

such a luxurious British tradition.

It's lovely. Glad we're not paying for it.

I wouldn't want to pay for that in a restaurant!

Mmm.

You definitely earned it. Try that clotted cream.

I hear it's the rage.

Cream? That's butter, right?

No, it's the clotted cream to go with the scones.

It's like a sweet cream-type thing, I think.

Mm-hm. That's good.

After nine months of being teetotal,

what Kinga really craves is a sip of Moroccan whisky.

All right. I've been waiting for you. This smells like Christmas.

Cinnamon, spice. Right?

Everything nice? Whisky? Yeah.

Cheers, Katie.

Cheers to Katie.

Happy birthday, dear.

It's been 32 hours since Alison and Roger

welcomed newborn baby James into the world.

For them, the luxurious trappings of going private

have been outweighed by the relief that James hasn't

been born prematurely, like their son George.

The nerves before the procedure were obviously heightened,

because of what had happened previously.

With George, having to go off to the special unit,

special care unit, he wasn't there with me in recovery.

So I was really aware of his absence.

Whereas he was with me the whole time, so he was able to sort of

have that skin-to-skin contact, which is the most natural thing

when you've just given birth,

and then return to the room with me, and he didn't leave my side.

So that was a really big thing. It's been a lovely experience.

It was just the kind that I hoped for.

I really do feel complete now.

The hospital prides itself on providing luxurious care

to every patient.

But with so many big spenders still yet to give birth,

the staff anxiously await the new arrivals.

On the labour ward, you can hear them,

and you know what it's like when you hear it.

Someone screaming out loud. That's how it is, really.

In labour, you're always sort of slightly worried about the outcome.

There's always the potential for a woman to bleed,

so that always makes me anxious.

So until the baby is delivered, then you can relax, you can hear a baby.

BABY CRIES

It's been a bumper week. With a new footballer's daughter,

a president's grandchild and the heir to a fortune

all delivered safely into the world,

the hospital can breathe a sigh of relief.

Six weeks later, Nick and Kinga jetted back to Morocco

with their five children.

The future for us is an unknown.

It's going to be some other adventure in a different country.

Family is done. Family is complete.

Yeah.

We're home.

That's good for us.

A delivery is about a short, intense timeframe,

so we try and maximise everything we do for that woman

during that period, so that they go away with those

really special memories that every mum should have.

Hi.

Hi. Take a seat.

Moza has yet to become pregnant,

but she lives in hope of some day becoming a Portland mother.

So we just have to keep going.

THEY LAUGH

And visiting today is a special newborn VIP.

Michaela has popped by with her three-week old son Mason.

How are you doing?

Do you want the honest answer?

Yeah!

I'm exhausted. Very little sleep.

It's every two hours at the moment I'm feeding. So...

I just smile. He's just making me so happy.

He's amazing. I literally melted the minute I saw him.

Just so happy.

I'm just going to really enjoy this time with him,

not even think about going back to work, and just enjoy being a mummy.