Shane & Martyn Don't Drop the Baby

This programme contains some strong language

Well done, you.

Behind every new mum...

HE BELCHES

..is a new dad.

That is disgusting.

Two thirds of new fathers feel useless during the pregnancy...

All we're good for is just putting it in there.

..and nearly half feel unprepared for the birth.

Let's not think about it cos that makes it worse.

But all that is about to change.

I'm not ready for this. No, seriously.

Under the watchful eye of experienced midwives...

This is harder than it looks.

Think it's easy for her having a baby?

..these first-time fathers are going on a crash course.

Get this baby out.

They'll be stretched to their limits...

It's really uncomfy. In fact, it's very painful.

..to try to become the perfect birthing partner.

Better go, she's calling me.

There you are.

With each other for moral support...

God.

That's scarred me for life.

..they'll get closer to the delivery action than they'd ever imagined.

Spread 'em.

But when push comes to shove...

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here.

..will these dads deliver?

I'm shitting myself.

This week, two dads-to-be in Portsmouth are both battling

to get to grips with childbirth for very different reasons.

In a month's time, 25-year-old football fanatic Shane is expecting

with girlfriend Lauren, who has twins from a previous relationship.

When the sonographer said, "I've got some news, it's a boy,"

he did this little "yeah" punch. Like, "Get in there."

And then cried like a baby.

An electrician by trade, Shane is wired up to be in charge.

I like to be in control.

-You got your toothbrush?

-Yeah.

For everything.

Toothpaste?

You make that sound like it's a bad thing.

How about Luca?

No, I don't like Luca.

If I try and say something to him, he'll just sort of palm it off

cos he's always right and I'm always wrong.

These are Shane's favourite shoes.

No, they're not. He is not wearing them.

They shouldn't even be in the wardrobe. Sorry.

And not only is he a control freak, Shane is competitive too.

Did you cut the cord?

Yeah. Yeah.

Not to be outdone,

Shane's goal is to be more than just on the sidelines at the birth.

Shane's aim is basically to deliver the baby.

I think he thinks he's going to do it on his own.

It's my son and I want to be the one to bring him in.

Why should someone else that doesn't know her from Adam be there to

pull the baby out?

And it's not just the midwives that Shane's hoping

to send to the subs bench.

I don't want all these bloke doctors running around like...

-Bloke doctors?

-Well, no, all right.

It is probably jealousy.

I don't want anyone else... Do you know what I mean?

She's my girlfriend, she's who I want to...

I wouldn't want another male seeing that.

If you go to the doctor's with a problem, you don't go to see

-a male doctor, you see a woman doctor.

-Right, so either

I'm going to die or a man has to stick his hand up my bits.

-All right, yeah, let's leave it there.

-There you go, then.

There's just one big flaw with Shane's

ambition to deliver his own baby.

I'm not even going to lie. I don't know how...

I know nothing about what's going to happen.

You put it on backwards.

He just thinks this pretty little baby comes out,

probably dressed in a cute, blue Baby-gro.

See, I'm having a mare here already.

While Shane wants to be the don of the delivery room, across town

another daddy disaster is brewing.

26-year-old Martyn is king of the kitchen.

Can't serve that. Get another one on, plus another garnish, yeah.

I go to work to get a job done, you know

what I mean? And I like to have things done properly.

While he may be a grafter in the kitchen, Martyn refuses to

put in a shift when it comes to his home life.

I don't take much too serious.

We play games and we drink beer,

this is your responsibility as a man.

Apart from Xbox, I take that quite seriously.

But, apart from that...

That's all about to change as girlfriend Holly's

expecting his baby.

But Martyn's refusing to keep his eye on the target.

When it comes to important things, like the baby, etc, coming,

he needs a bit of guidance.

I don't think he's thought about the actual labour, have you?

No.

This is to take milk out your tits and that?

I didn't know if the waters breaking, if that was just

something that happened on TV, if that was actually real.

But apparently it's real, innit?

Holly's worried Martyn's scared to face up to

the reality of becoming a dad.

For him, ignorance is bliss.

What you don't know can't hurt you. The less I know, the better.

Just bury my head in the sand and just carry on like normal,

you know what I mean? Keep calm and carry on.

I need to bring a bit of what he's like in work to how

he is with the pregnancy.

I don't think Holly expects anything of me.

Well, unless I've got that wrong.

And he needs to be strong, he needs to be strong for me as well

cos obviously it's my first time as well and obviously I'm scared.

If I was to go into labour now, I think he would be an absolute wreck.

So, one daddy-to-be who's

so hands-on he thinks he can deliver his own baby,

and another who's so hands-off, he's running a mile.

And both completely clueless about birth.

But these two aren't alone.

A new BBC Three poll found that nearly half of young dads felt

unprepared for the birth.

So we've called in expert midwives at Queen Alexandra Hospital

in Portsmouth to try to transform these clueless lads into super dads

in the delivery room in just four weeks.

Martyn is going to be whipped into shape by midwife Isla Campbell,

who's delivered over 100 babies.

Dads struggle with pregnancy

cos obviously it's not them going through it.

Especially when it's their first.

So as much as they're excited about the birth of the baby

and, you know, becoming a new father they're not having all these

physical changes that reminds them every minute of every day

of the change that's about to take place in their life.

First things first, Isla wants to find out if chef Martyn

knows his onions when it comes to Holly's labour and the birth.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Hi, Martyn.

-Hello.

-Hi, I'm Isla...

-Nice to meet you.

-I'm the midwife. Hiya. How you doing?

-Good.

Good? How far along is Holly?

Er...eight months?

Eight months. OK. Do you know that in weeks?

Should be about 34 or 35.

-Yeah, about 34 or something.

-OK.

Any idea what the signs of labour are, the initial signs?

She starts screaming.

That's probably more of a later-on sign I'd say.

When Holly goes into labour, what do you think your role will be?

I don't know, just...turn up?

Have you got any ideas of how you're going to help Holly with the pain?

No. Cups of tea.

Yeah, how were you planning on preparing yourself for the birth?

I wasn't preparing. I just thought you sort of show up and...

-OK.

-So do you actually expect anything from me?

Say if me and Holly walked in here now, would you expect me

-to do something?

-Absolutely, definitely.

What would you expect me to do?

We'd expect you to be giving her emotional support.

Show her you know what you're talking about, she'll have more

faith in you. Especially at home, and you're trying to keep her home.

If you say, "The contractions aren't four in ten yet,

"we want to wait until we've got four in ten minutes

"or three good contractions..."

I think she'd pass out if I said that.

I think just saying that you're just going to turn up

when your partner's in labour is maybe a little bit naive.

Not really understanding actually what it entails.

To make up for lost time, Isla goes back to basics.

So, I think carrying that around, plus the placenta,

plus all the waters and everything...

-So she's 34 so she's bigger than that?

-Yeah.

After the session today, I know that I've got miles to go.

The size of the hole compared to the size of the baby.

More than I thought that I needed and I thought I needed a lot.

And they just clamp the cord and then this bit

and the cord stays attached.

And then normally between about sort of five days

to sort of 12 days it'll fall off.

-We'll have baby for five days with that on it?

-Yeah.

Minimum.

Let's not think about it, cos... cos that makes it worse.

If Isla faces a hard task teaching Martyn the daddy basics...

OK, um...

..her colleague, midwife Emma Kellagher,

has an equally tough challenge.

She's taking on control freak Shane.

GURGLING

I'm sorry. I know, I know.

Dads do have a huge role, particularly

when they're in labour, and we obviously support them as well.

And support them in supporting their partners - getting them

involved in their care as much as possible.

But, at the birth, Shane doesn't want to play a supporting role,

he's hoping to run the show.

I want to be able to help deliver him.

And what do you perceive that to be, to deliver the baby?

Just when he's coming out, you know, like, hold him,

-support him as he's coming out.

-Hold him when he's born and cut the cord.

-Supporting him when he's coming out.

-As midwives, we've got a legal

obligation to make sure mum and baby are safe and deliver them.

The actual, as it's sort of, being born, we actually,

we have to do that ourselves.

But overprotective Shane's determined to be the only

man in the delivery room.

The majority of our doctors are males.

They don't look it as a sexual thing. It's a...

Yeah, I guess... I know it's their job,

-it's just a private area, isn't it?

-A baby's got to be born,

if you like, this is the road it's got to come out of.

Obviously if I got more of an understanding of what

-they were doing...

-Yeah.

..then I supposed I'd be more relaxed about the situation.

To help Shane get over his hang-ups, Emma wants him

to look in a different light at the coalface of childbirth.

I've got some vaginas to show you.

I can't touch any of them. That's not normal.

Emma wants Shane to see vaginas in a medical, not a sexual, way.

So if you just touch the top of her tummy, you don't

-have to touch that bit.

-That's all I'm touching.

And you can't feel any sort of lumpy bits or anything.

To demonstrate a medical examination, Emma wants Shane to

take the plunge and find the cervix - the opening to the womb.

-Go on, give it a go.

-Oh, I can't do that.

You can. Honestly, it's not lifelike, it's fine.

-This don't count as cheating, does it?

-No, no, no.

I'm not going to get into... Oh, that's disgusting.

Go right to the back. You need to feel the cervix

and the little dip in it.

Yeah, that's dis... That's vile.

So you've got Emma the midwife stood next to me

and she's trying to make me stick my fingers inside this vagina

and feel for things and that. It's just not natural.

We had a giggle with the models, but you just don't

look at it in that way, whether you're a male or female.

Like, I can't stop laughing at it,

but obviously they see them day in, day out.

You don't see it in a sexual way or a funny way or anything,

it's just when you're looking after somebody, it's the birth canal,

the baby's got to come out and that's where it comes out.

You look at it completely differently.

On that side of things I can understand, but can we...?

I just don't... It keeps, like, looking at me.

I swear, it's not normal.

-It's a good shape, though, isn't it? She's trains hard.

-Good figure.

-Yeah.

Oh, wow.

After the shock of his deep explorations...

KNOCKING

..Shane has a confession for Lauren.

-Down.

-Get down, get down.

-What did you do? What did you do?

-HE LAUGHS

-I don't know why you're laughing.

-This doesn't count as cheating, OK?

-OK.

They brought out...

Basically...it was a fan...

it was a fanny. Yeah.

-Vagina. Did you get excited, Shane?

-No, of course not.

-I couldn't stop laughing.

-Did you get all nervous?

-Yeah, it was weird having to stick my fingers in another...

-Ugh.

..noo-noo.

I didn't look at it in that sort of way.

I can now see they wouldn't. They are literally there to...

Yeah, it's their job, isn't it?

'Shane's learnt a lot from that session.'

He was really concerned about the doctors,

male doctors having a look in that area.

I think he's realised that the doctor doesn't want to

look at me in a sexual way, he's doing his job.

Well, it was a nice looking one.

'I think he still wants to be in control about the whole'

labour thing cos he likes to be the main man.

While Shane's still determined to be the don of the delivery room,

Martyn is taking baby steps to understanding the basics.

You all right?

And he's going to impress girlfriend Holly with his new knowledge.

-Do you know what a contraction is now?

-Yeah, er, yeah.

-Yeah.

It's basically it's your... Not 100% sure.

Martyn has still got a long way to go, but it's a good starting point

for him and he wants to learn more now, I can see that in his eyes.

I can see that he wants to learn a little bit more.

With both their babies due within a few days of each other,

Shane and Martyn have a lot to talk about.

-Hi, you all right? I'm Shane.

-Martyn, mate. You all right?

-When's your missus due?

-11th.

-September?

-Yeah.

That's four days before us.

I've got it all mapped out in my head exactly what'll happen.

I'll be at work, she's going to give me a call.

Phone her a taxi. Meet her up there. Pop the baby out. Come home.

To prepare them for the miracle of childbirth, the midwives have

given these dads-to-be a video of real labour.

This ain't the start of Karate Kid 2.

No, it's definitely not, it's got "birth" writ on it.

SHRIEKING

Oh, wow.

SHRIEKING CONTINUES

BLOOD-CURDLING SCREAM

Didn't want the pizza anyway.

-I'm trying not to look, but for some reason...

-Fucking hell.

SCREAMING

Oh, God!

Everyone told me it's a great experience.

HE LAUGHS

That was vile.

I don't want to talk about that.

-I actually feel traumatised.

-I feel ill.

-It really is vile.

After showing signs of wanting to learn...

He has learnt how to wear an apron.

..it seems watching the birth video has sent Martyn

back to where he started.

I know what I'm doing.

Do you know that the baby, it spits out of its arse green stuff?

What are you actually going to do when that happens?

I'll be like, "Holly! The baby's spitting out green stuff again."

He's a lovely bloke, he's got a heart of gold.

No, he's fucking not.

-There's no need to swear, is there?

-He's an idiot.

And it's not just Martyn's mates who aren't convinced he's going

to be ready for the birth.

Midwife Isla has concerns he's back to

burying his head in the sand again.

When we first met, he had absolutely no idea what his role

was in supporting Holly through her delivery and birth.

Isla's cooked up a plan to show him

he'll need to deal with unexpected situations out of his comfort zone.

He's a sous chef here, so I want to see him take control

and be in charge and kind of help him

realise that he needs to have that sort of presence in the labour room.

Cos I'm in my comfort zone here, there's nothing that sort of

can get chucked at me that I don't think I'll be able to handle.

OK? Yeah.

So do you want to make me something quick and easy, maybe?

-Do you like prawns?

-Yeah, that sounds good.

Martyn's in command when he knows the recipe.

You're very in control of everything here. You know your stuff.

But, unlike cooking, childbirth is unpredictable.

Isla wants to know how Martyn will cope when, as in labour,

the plan goes out the window.

Actually I didn't want that, I wanted chicken pasta.

-Do you want chicken pasta?

-Yeah. I don't like prawns.

You don't like prawns. OK.

Martyn's keeping his cool and staying in control so far.

I don't think I've ever cut so many onions in one morning before.

But Isla turns the heat up.

See if you can leave it, see how you cope with it and just watch it.

-What, on the heat?

-Yeah.

She suspects that Martyn has a fear of being taken out of his comfort

zone and it's holding him back from being more involved in the birth.

-Is it painful?

-A little bit.

I've just make it for you and we're just going to let it burn.

The fact I spend all day keeping this from happening

and now standing here just watching it happening is...

well, it's painful.

I don't like it.

I'm calm here cos things are in my control.

I control things that happen whereas if something happens

out of my control it's hard for me to keep calm. I'm very...

I reckon I'll be a panicker.

Maybe you can try and focus your control

-on sort of coping with Holly...

-Yeah.

..by helping her with her breathing

exercises or getting into a position that she finds comfortable.

If I stay calm in any situation, then Holly will stay calm.

That sounds like the perfect birth partner response.

-We haven't got there yet, all right?

-Just stay calm.

To ram home to Martyn just how vital his role is, Isla throws him

out of the frying pan and into the fire.

It's a lot more... Well, not relaxing....

WOMAN SCREAMS

Isla has arranged for an actress to play the part of a woman

in the early stages of labour to see how Martyn will cope.

Just help her with some breathing exercises.

I'm not ready for this. No, seriously.

What do you want me to do?

Just help me stand. Oh, that hurts so much.

Just breathe.

-Tell her to keep breathing, Martyn.

-Keep breathing.

'Basically I was shitting myself.

'Just out of nowhere it was like, I was sort of shaking it was...'

it was nerve-racking.

SHE GASPS AND PANTS

-Just keep calm.

-OK.

It'll be all right.

'I dealt with that awfully.'

I need to know more what's going on as to what I need to do,

what's going to happen.

-All right.

-Can you help me in?

-All right, do you want to get the other side?

-Yeah, oh...

'That's a bit of an eye-opener. I was like a rabbit in the headlights.

'I didn't know what to do.'

If that happened to Holly, I'd be useless.

All right, we're going to go to the hospital now, yeah?

Oh, I got another one coming.

It's all right, it's all right. Keep breathing.

'I don't expect to be responsible outside of work.

'And that's sort of what I had to be then and I wasn't.'

SHE WAILS

So I need to know how to be to help everyone.

cos I was no help to her whatsoever.

She was sort of looking to me to help and I didn't.

I don't want that to be Holly.

That was a real shock for Martyn and, although it was

an actress, it simulates how it's actually going to be like

when Holly goes into labour

and the sort of level of support that he's got to give

right from her very first contraction to getting

her in the car and being organised

and how he'll get her to hospital to supporting her

through the delivery and birth of this baby.

While it's finally dawned on Martyn that he has a big part to

play at the birth...

..Shane still wants to make it a one-man show.

He's seeking the advice of his dad, who helped bring Shane's

younger brother into the world.

So I had the top of the head and then I just pulled him out.

-It's not a feeling like you've ever had before.

-Yeah.

But once you've had it, it is a buzz.

I want to be able to do it, though.

I do... I want to actually, like you said, like, hold the head

and everything when it comes out.

-The only advice I can give you is you need to be there for Lauren.

-Hm.

-You need to be calm for her. Cos she's not going to be calm.

-Yeah.

If she gets wound up, then it's going to put the baby in stress.

But he'll be all right, he'll be all right.

When it comes to it, I just want to be able to deliver the baby.

Why should someone else get to bring my son into the world?

Why should, why should I miss out on that chance?

Despite his dad's words of wisdom,

Shane's still set on taking control of his son's birth.

What Shane wanted to do,

he wanted to actually deliver the baby himself.

And whilst he can be involved as much as he wants to be,

there are limits.

Midwife Emma has the perfect thing to give him a reality check

and show him why he has to leave it to the experts.

So, Shane, you'd like to deliver your own baby,

so let's go and have a baby.

SHANE LAUGHS

Now this is Noelle.

And we're going to help her have her baby today.

I'm actually really nervous and it's just a doll.

But Noelle isn't just a pretty face.

She's a state-of-the-art training model for midwives.

Controlled via computer,

she can be programmed to demonstrate all kinds of labour scenarios.

She does everything a normal mum would do

when she's having a baby.

It's actually, like, blinking and everything.

She's blinking, breathing and is going to push a baby out.

Minus the blood and everything, though, obviously.

It's a very realistic model.

Getting him to actually deliver the baby, I think, will really

make him think, "Actually, that's not quite what I had in mind."

NOELLE SHRIEKS

We try and keep mums covered as much as possible, but obviously

-when they're pushing...

-Yeah.

..we need to be able to see what we're doing.

So if you just tell her we're going to move her legs.

Just going to bring your legs up.

Emma wants this exercise to show Shane why, by law,

a qualified midwife or doctor is required to deliver his baby.

Just keep going, go on, you're all right. Keep pushing.

I think at the moment Shane doesn't really have an idea

exactly what's involved in the delivery room.

-It looks like... Oh, baby's head is coming out.

-See the head now.

-Get her to breathe now, get her to breathe.

-Breathe.

'He will really have his eyes opened

'and I hope he will understand more what his role is going to be'

and what mine is and that they are very different.

That's it, keep going. Keep pushing, keep pushing.

Big push and baby's going to come.

-That's it.

-That's it.

But no sooner has the baby been born...

-Give baby to mummy.

-..than something goes seriously wrong.

Ooh, she's had a big bleed.

Noelle is haemorrhaging badly.

Tell you what, Shane, can you pull that red buzzer for me there,

-just on the side there?

-It's an emergency and could be fatal.

She needs the attention of the medical team fast.

Hi, Georgia, she's just having a PP8.

MONITOR BEEPS

We're going to just pop a drip in her arm,

so we're just going to try and stop the bleeding.

I'm actually feeling quite, like, light-headed and sick now.

That's fine.

'That really scared me then. It's only a doll'

but the rushing around and everything, it made it so realistic.

Could you get me a catheter in a minute, would you mind? Thank you.

It's scary to know that that situation could happen with Lauren.

Having had a baptism of fire, Shane is reassessing

his responsibilities in the delivery room.

I'd never in a million years expect that to happen

and nothing I could do there, I'd be useless.

As much as I want to help deliver,

by me just doing the things, making sure Lauren's breathing right

-and she's pushing at the correct times and that...

-Yep.

-..that is still helping and still being involved.

-It is.

That role is just as important as my role.

I think he's learnt a lot about my role as a midwife

and he realises that actually delivering his own baby

isn't quite what he'd like to do.

I think he'll be a good support to Lauren

and he'll hopefully be able to do the bits he wants to do,

but most of all be there to support her.

As Shane has realised his limitations...

Two chicken curries instead, yeah?

..chef Martyn's wised up to how much Holly will need him

in the delivery room.

But he's still daunted by the responsibility and, like many men,

struggling to grasp the reality of becoming a parent.

I think for any geezer to relate to a pregnancy,

I think, is difficult, innit?

I dunno what she said but Holly doesn't see me

as a part of it at the moment, I don't think.

I can physically feel it every day.

In the middle of the night I will think about it

because he'll be kicking me or whatever.

But Martyn will be in a deep sleep,

probably dreaming about something else.

I need to be a part of it, cos I don't...it doesn't happen

every day, does it?

To help Martyn feel more connected to his baby, Isla's had a bold idea

and invites him to a water park.

Isla's just told me to meet her here with my swimming stuff

and that's all I know.

Isla wants Martyn to understand staying in control and keeping calm

at the birth is just as important to his child as it is to Holly.

-Hiya, Martyn.

-You all right?

-Yeah, are you?

-Yeah, good.

-Good. Recovered from last time?

-Yeah, pretty much.

-OK.

So, here at the water park...

..I just want to, in a very small way, give you an indicator as to

the kind of experience a baby might go through on the birth process.

-Have you got your trunks with you, Martyn?

-I have indeed.

Lovely, well, go and get changed

-and then I'll meet you by the pool.

-Lovely.

'I brought Martyn here today to have an experience

'which will hopefully represent'

how stressed a baby can feel during the labour and birth experience.

Going to take him through a situation where he's feeling nice

and calm to quite a stressed environment

and that's representing a little bit of what birth's like for babies.

Hopefully, this'll teach Martyn how important his role is in labour

in keeping Holly nice and calm and hopefully

that'll have a knock-on effect in keeping baby nice and calm.

To give Martyn a sense of panic a baby can feel during labour,

she's going to send him down a water slide

but with something that's going to take all the fun out of it.

What I want you to do is wear these goggles.

They're a little bit blacked out.

So it'll just give you more of an idea of how disorientating it is

-for a baby, all right?

-Yeah.

-So off you go.

-Right.

-I literally can't see a thing.

-That's great!

-Go, yeah?

-Yeah, go!

You literally can't see anything.

That's horrible with the glasses on.

I can imagine it being a lot more fun without it.

I understand what Isla's trying to say.

Then you come out and it's pitch black, you can't see where you are,

you don't know what's going on,

and I'm an adult, do you know what I mean?

And if you're a little baby, you don't know where,

first time out in the world, in the pitch black,

not knowing where you are...

You could've helped me there!

With both dads now on track

and with just days till their due date,

it's time to cram in some last-minute revision.

Martyn's come a very long way from the beginning,

from coming from not knowing what a contraction was,

to coming home and telling me all sorts of things.

He's even telling me stuff that I don't even know.

Question number two - what are Braxton Hicks?

They're pre-birth contractions.

'Anything I can do to make it easier for her is needed.

'Not just a, "There you go,'

"get on with it," and sit in the corner and play on my phone,

which is what I thought I was going to have to do.

After a slow start, they are both making real progress.

Giving birth - it will also put pressure on your rectum,

which can result in involuntary bowel movements.

You're in some serious trouble, you've got some of them already.

Compared to how he was four weeks ago when we met,

he's come on leaps and bounds.

I thought the more you knew, like, the more worried I'd be.

It's not, is it? It's the opposite.

The more I know, the more confident I am it's all going to go fine.

If you're not as worried as much,

then I'm not going to be as worried as much.

But will they manage to remember everything when the labour starts?

For Martyn, it's already begun.

Overnight, Holly's barely slept

because she started to have painful contractions.

Yeah, she hasn't got any sleep all night.

Collectively, I think she's had four hours in the last three days.

It's still every six minutes, so it's, like, they told us that

until they get closer together,

we shouldn't be... we can't really do anything.

But they're a lot more stronger.

Although Holly's contractions aren't getting closer together,

the pain is intensifying, so she calls the hospital to see

if there is cause for concern.

Hiya, um, I have rung up already today. My contractions,

they said come in, ring back if they're closer together.

They're actually further apart but a lot stronger.

A midwife has asked Holly to come in.

All ready to rumble, babes.

And Martyn makes sure he's there to comfort her.

Here you are.

-Hello, Holly.

-Hello.

-Come through.

-You look tired.

-I'm shattered.

So how often are they coming now?

-About every six...

-Five, six minutes.

-Is it all right to have a feel of your tummy?

-Yeah, yeah.

-So these are every sort of five to six minutes, then?

-Yeah.

Sometimes with a first baby, the early stages of labour can take...

-Longer.

-Yeah. You're not always talking several hours,

-sometimes you are talking of several days.

-Yeah.

-OK?

I think your best place at the moment is home.

There's no reason for you to be in yet.

You're managing beautifully with the breathing through

with your contractions.

I would probably hope that maybe towards the end of today

that you'll be phoning,

saying, "They're coming every three to four minutes,

"I need to come in for pain relief."

They'll have to return home and wait for the labour to begin.

But can Martyn continue to keep it together when he's alone with Holly?

Holly might be heading home, but Lauren is on her way in.

She's reached her due date,

so is having a scan to see if the baby's head is engaged.

So we're basically measuring the full...

At home, Shane is putting the finishing touches

to a very personal project he's spent weeks on.

The transfer says, "Always kiss me good night."

But whether or not it actually goes on right, I doubt very much.

I wanted to do this room all myself.

Basically, it's probably the only way I feel I could've bonded with him.

Obviously, Lauren's had nine months of him growing inside her,

so she's already got, like, a big bond with him already.

Everything else I can't be in control of. It's sort of

cos he's growing inside Lauren.

But this is kind of like the only maybe physical sort of input

I could have had towards...

..before he's been born.

This is all my input. There's no-one saying,

"Oh, do it this way, do it that way."

One part of the story to tell him

when he's a little bit older that I decorated his first bedroom.

MUSIC: 21 by Delilah

# I'll wait for you to waken

# I'll find the words to say

# I'll smile and take a picture on the day... #

Done.

It's a little bit lopsided, isn't it?

At the hospital, Lauren receives good news.

The baby is in the right position for labour.

Now he's head down, is there any chance that he could turn around

and be breech again?

It's unlikely at this stage.

You've got to get dressed, babes.

Across town, Holly's contractions are getting stronger.

Unfazed, Martyn takes charge and times them.

That's nine you've had within three and a half to four minutes.

I don't want to get in and they send me home.

They said between three to four minutes

-and that's what you're having. I'll ring, yeah?

-Yeah.

She said, yeah, come in.

Bring her bag, bring her notes.

A midwife called Kate will be looking after us.

All right?

Only a month ago, chef Martyn had his head buried firmly in the sand

when it came to the birth of his baby boy...

What you don't know can't hurt you. The less I know, the better.

..and had no plan to get involved in the labour.

When Holly goes in to labour, what do you think your role will be?

Turn up.

After a big wake-up call in his midwife sessions...

I'm not ready for this.

-No, seriously.

-SHE CRIES OUT

..can he now help Holly when it matters most?

Keep breathing, babes. Keep breathing.

Martyn lost his nerve in a trial run,

but so far he's keeping his head together for Holly.

No, you can. It's fine, it's fine. Lean on me.

'Getting her here, I felt like I was sort of controlling the situation.

'Work is a lot more high pressured

'but that is a different type of pressure.'

It's like a personal pressure.

You all right?

The work I'm doing it for myself, whereas now I'm doing it for her.

Nice to meet you.

Shall we do a little antenatal check?

Yeah.

Midwife Kate wants to check to see how far Holly's dilated,

which will show what stage of labour's she's in.

She's four centimetres,

but then when she contracts she goes to five.

Her cervix is really soft and thin,

so we're going to get her in the pool now.

But now labour has fully taken hold,

will Martyn continue to play an active role?

Things are also moving along for Lauren and Shane,

but there's been a complication.

Despite the all-clear at her scan,

blood tests have revealed

that Lauren's liver isn't functioning properly,

which could be dangerous for the baby.

Got a phone call today to say that her blood tests have come back

that her bile acids were too high.

Very scary. I'm really scared.

You'll be all right.

They've now said the safest option for the baby is to,

obviously, put you on the induce list.

Inducing the baby

means a midwife has to start Lauren's labour artificially.

The news has come as a surprise,

and now Shane has to show he is able to trust the experts.

It is a bit of a shock and it's a little bit scary now.

I've had no time to kind of think about it as such...

-But I said...

-..but then at the same time

we have - we've had nine months.

-But now it's...

-Oh, my God.

-..it's here now.

It's all good. Give us a kiss.

THEY LAUGH

You're excited.

Four weeks ago, control freak Shane wanted total command

of the delivery room.

I want to be able to help deliver.

But after the shock of his midwife sessions...

I'm actually feeling quite... light-headed and sick now.

..he's decided to leave delivering his baby to the experts.

But will he be a team player at the birth?

When he started learning about pregnancy,

Shane knew next to nothing.

But now he considers himself something of an expert.

This here is the baby's heartbeat.

And he isn't shy about showing it!

It's always around 130, the baby...the baby's baseline.

Once he moves and kicks, it does shoot up to, like, 157.

This line at the bottom is Lauren's muscle contraction.

He's clever. Clever, aren't you?

You keep pushing that down, because you keep moving it

and it's not going to pick it up.

It's dropped right down where you're messing about with it.

Did you turn the iron off?

But he can't be in control of everything.

The midwife gives Lauren a pessary - a drug that will soften her cervix.

She's keen Shane understands he has an important role to play.

..half an hour, and some they don't find...

I want him to be...to feel sort of part of the experience, really,

because the more he feels part of it,

the more he's going to do for, you know, for Lauren.

But for now, it's a waiting game.

It could take up to six hours

before the drug manages to kick-start labour.

MUSIC: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing by Jack Johnson

# Must I always be waiting, waiting on you... #

And Shane is determined to keep Lauren and himself entertained.

# Must I always be playing, playing your fool?

HE BREATHES HEAVILY

# I keep playing your part

# But it's not my scene... #

I could do with a pillow, really.

Oh-ho, that's much better!

Maybe one more.

What if I want to go asleep?

You'll be OK, princess. You're doing a good job already.

You just keep bouncing on that ball and it'll come.

And you just lay there and watch the telly.

My star sign says, "A joint or team effort needs a rethink.

"You're doing all the work."

Yeah, and since when have star signs come through?

Find out in a minute. Literally, any second now she's coming in

to have another check to see if she can have her waters broken.

So then it'll be all go from there, really.

OK, if I CAN break the waters, I will. All right?

It's been six hours since Lauren was given a drug

to stimulate her cervix ready for labour.

Now the midwife wants to break her waters

to start the birthing process.

This is when you're allowed to squeeze him really tight

because it's his fault.

And Shane also has to take the strain.

-You ready?

-Mm-hm.

It shouldn't hurt any more than what I'm doing at the moment, all right?

-Ow!

-You all right? Squeeze my hand, then.

-I'm squeezing!

-Oh! It's a big loss. Fabulous. Loads coming out.

Is there loads? I really wanted to see that as well.

Come and have a look.

Oh, my. Oh, my God.

Easy-peasy.

Sorry, I'm just letting more of it trickle out.

-Oh, my God.

-That noise!

-Did you hear that?

This is really weird.

-Can I take a photo of that?

-No.

-Please?

Lauren, that's only to show you, babe.

You wanted a bath.

Shane's and Lauren's baby could be soon be on its way.

It's been two hours since Holly and Martyn arrived at the hospital

and her contractions are now strong.

It's time for this chef to show he can handle the pressure

when the heat is on.

I was thinking about, like...

what would I be doing now if Holly was upstairs sleeping?

I'd have the baby.

Just thinking about things like that.

I never normally think about... that far ahead.

SHE MOANS

Now's the time for Martyn to show he's capable

of taking on the responsibility.

She's now contracting really strongly.

Fingers crossed, we're on the right path.

And he's on hand to give pain relief and comfort.

Martyn's doing really well.

He's being a really good support to Holly.

He's holding her hand, he's helping her with her breathing.

And he says that he feels quite confident now

with his role as a supportive birthing partner.

48 hours after their labour pains began,

Holly and Martyn's baby has reached the point at which

it's ready to enter the world.

So that's your cervix gone now.

Your baby's just sitting there.

What, she's fully dilated now?

Yeah. Fully dilated.

You've done really, really well.

Smashed it, babes.

Absolutely.

They've only been at the hospital for a couple of hours,

and it looks like their baby will be joining them very soon.

And Holly's not the only one.

Lauren's contractions have started,

and Shane is right by her side as the pain hits.

I don't think that's how you're meant to twerk.

SHE LAUGHS

You have to watch...

You watch some videos on it, all right?

-It will help me learn.

-All right!

At this stage of labour, the partners are really useful

to support them to get them through the contractions.

That's all right.

I didn't need that leg anyway!

HE LAUGHS

I think he's doing really well, bless him,

and cos he's making light of it,

that's really helping her get through it.

But you've really got to stop thrusting your butt onto that area!

SHE LAUGHS

I'm trying really hard not to think about stuff.

'I'm most impressed about the way he's supporting her.'

He's giving her a shoulder, which is what she needs.

That swaying motion got us into this situation

and it now seems like it's getting us out of it!

He's got a long way to go yet,

so we'll see how he is when the action starts to really happen.

Don't get upset. You are doing such a great job.

It's not long before Lauren's contractions become more intense.

Breathe, please, please. Lauren, baby, stop rolling and breathe.

As the pain increases, Shane is able to assist the midwives...

SHE MUTTERS

..by guiding Lauren through the pain.

Really long deep breaths, Lauren.

Listen to Shane. You're doing really well.

But a midwife has become concerned about the baby's falling heart rate.

She wants to attach a monitor to the top of the baby's head

to ensure everything is OK.

It's exactly the same as the monitor I've got on her tummy there,

but it's a little tiny scratch that goes onto baby's head.

-OK.

-All right?

Don't worry, all right?

Lauren, baby's heartbeat's gone down a little bit, all right,

so if you can just keep calm. You just want to keep...

LAUREN MOANS

Nice deep breaths.

But Lauren starts to panic that something is going wrong

with the labour.

Take your gas and air.

As things get complicated, Shane steps in to calm Lauren down.

Delivering his own baby is the furthest thing from his mind.

Lauren...

Listen, listen, listen, you've just had a little bit too much gas, OK,

and it's making you feel a little bit out of control.

I want you to take some nice deep breaths. Deep breath in.

-MIDWIFE:

-Deep breath, sweetheart.

-Look at me, look at me.

You're doing a great job. I know it's hurting.

You are doing a great job.

Stop, just relax, relax.

It's taking too long.

It didn't take this long last time.

Yes, you did. It's still not even four hours.

-..the position the baby is in.

-Don't start panicking.

You're doing extremely well.

-MIDWIFE:

-That's it, come on now, calm down, well done.

-See?

-That's it.

-See?

Your make-up still hasn't run. You still look as beautiful as ever.

-MIDWIFE:

-All right? Well done.

SHE GROANS

Holly is already in the final stages of her labour,

putting Martyn well out of his comfort zone.

In the past, he would have run a mile.

But now the pressure is on,

can he help her push through the pain barrier?

SHE GROANS AND PANTS

Go on, keep going. Don't be frightened. Keep going, keep going,

keep going, keep going.

Keep going.

SHE GROANS

There we go, well done.

SHE GASPS

One more. You can do it.

I can't, I can't, I can't. I'm sorry. Oh...

Holly is losing energy and she's struggling.

It's time for the king of the kitchen to come into his own

with a new plan.

SHE BREATHES HEAVILY

You OK?

Just hold my hand here.

Nice and calm. Stay relaxed. You're doing well.

-No! No, what are you doing?

-Nothing. I'm just...

Push, babes. You've got to push.

SHE GROANS

Push...

Hey, there we go. We've got a head.

-WOMAN:

-Head's out.

-Is he OK?

-Yeah, he's...

-He's not...?

-He's fine.

My hand's here.

You're absolutely fine.

Do the biggest push ever.

SHE CRIES OUT

Lay down, lay down.

Just tangled up.

-Congratulations.

-BABY CRIES

Oh, yes.

Holly and Martyn's son is born.

He's cute.

You did it.

And Martyn can barely believe what he's witnessed.

Like, every decent emotion you can ever think,

you feel it in, like, a second.

I can't believe it.

I can't either. It's not even real.

It's crazy.

And then you feel another one and then another one

and it just turns into one massive emotion.

It's crazy.

OK?

There he is. You got him?

Mm-hm.

BABY CRIES

From a man who wanted to bury his head in the sand

and avoid his responsibilities,

Martyn stood strong with Holly and is now a very proud dad.

The sessions with the midwife really helped,

and I don't know what I would have been like

if it wasn't for them.

It's not even worth thinking about.

It's crazy.

He's not paying attention. He's looking at his boy.

The things that mattered to me yesterday don't matter no more,

know what I mean? There's only one thing that matters.

Feels cool. It feels cool being a dad for the first time.

BABY CRIES

I can't believe he's my son.

You think of the million ways of how you're going to feel

and you don't feel nothing like you thought you would.

Martyn was everything I wanted him to be.

Million times more.

SHE MURMURS

It's the final stages of Lauren's labour.

Lauren, cos baby's heart rate's down and it's staying down,

I need to check you again.

I'm really sorry for all these examinations.

But, worryingly, the baby's heart rate is still low.

SHE CRIES OUT

Relax, relax.

Lift up your bottom. Baby's coming, darling.

Just bring the bed up a little bit.

You're going to have a contraction.

SHE GROANS

Ow!

Relax. Mandy, hold her hand.

She won't be comfortable without you holding her hand.

-It's really hurting me.

-I know. Baby's head just there.

-He's coming.

-You're going to have a baby, all right?

-You can do this.

-It's exciting.

OK, you've done it. And again.

-MIDWIFE:

-Push, push, push...

Just hold it a little bit longer for me. Well done, Lauren. Good girl.

Deep breath. And again.

Good girl. Well done.

SHE GASPS

-Good girl.

-Good girl.

-Well done.

-Good girl.

Super, brilliant, well done.

< You got it.

You all right?

You are so good. Well done.

-One more for us. One more.

-OK? Yeah?

Ouch!

Baby, his head's out. Baby, his head...

-MIDWIFE:

-It's coming.

- It's all right, his head's out. - Baby, his head's out.

Princess, keep your feet in here, baby, keep your feet...

-You're doing so well, trust me.

-Nice breaths.

-His head's out.

Little pushes when you've got a contraction.

Push, princess, go on, baby.

-Go on. You're doing such a good job, honest.

-Push. Push.

Go on, Lauren.

Go on. You're almost... SHE CRIES OUT

Baby, don't... Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

MIDWIVE: He's all right, he's there. Look, he's there.

It's all right, Lauren, it's all right.

Oh, look at him.

He's fine, he's fine, Lauren, he's fine.

They're fine, look.

He's a bit shocked cos he had a lot of cord round his neck.

Yeah, three times round his neck.

Shane has been a rock for Lauren throughout her four-hour labour.

And once he's steady enough to cut the umbilical cord,

the realisation of what they've been through hits him.

BABY CRIES Oi, oi, oi?

-Oh...

-So proud of you.

Oh...

Lauren, that's amazing.

Sharp jab in your leg.

He'll be straight back over in about two seconds flat, darling.

I'm so proud of you.

He's a good-size baby, Lauren.

I love you so much.

Oh, my God.

BABY CRIES

Can you bring him back over so she can see him?

Can you move that so I can give you a kiss, please?

I love you so much!

'I'm shattered, but then I just look at what she's just gone through'

and that - it's magic and she was great.

I just... I wouldn't... Oh...

Yeah, she was just amazing.

I couldn't have wished for it to have gone any better with her.

Just going to...

BABY CRIES

-Look at me.

-He's a proper gummy bear.

I'm so proud of you.

Oi, but we're definitely not doing it again!

Well done.

You did really well. Well done.

Congratulations, Daddy.

Cor, that was hard.

It's all right.

Hello.

It's mad, isn't it?

I wasn't worried about you at all.

You were just there the whole time,

squeezing my hand when I was just contracting,

and then...just there, weren't you? I wasn't worried about you.

-I can't believe how diddy you are.

-I'm so proud of you.

I thought you was going to be gigantic.

Two weeks after the birth, and chef Martyn is out of the kitchen

and concentrating on feeding just one happy customer...

..baby Henley.

My attitude to life has changed

cos there's someone dependent on me.

He can't do anything for himself, so it's like you got to sort of

just man up a bit, haven't you, and take a bit of responsibility?

From a man who was afraid to learn about even the basics of childbirth,

Martyn's now cutting the mustard as a fully-fledged dad.

I'm not looking forward to going back to work.

I'll be phoning Holly every two minutes.

"Is he all right? What's he doing? Send me a picture."

BABY CRIES

I don't want to miss anything - his first steps, his first words,

you know what I mean? His first laugh.

'Being a family...'

it's great, it's everything I've ever wanted, so...

Yeah, it's good.

I'm very proud of you, aren't I?

For control freak Shane,

fatherhood now sees him under the control of an 8lb boy -

his son Brody.

It's just a feeling that never wears off

like, it's still... I can still feel exactly the same as I did

the moment he was born.

What is it, Brody?

Shane was just so emotional the first couple of days.

It was really nice that he was just...just so in love with Brody.

He just... It was really nice to see that he was just amazed by him.

Sometimes you find yourself lose time just sat there

watching him, just looking at him. He does nothing either!

It's hard to believe that you've created something...

like this. It's just..

You can't explain what it's like being a dad because it is...

The feeling is just... It's just unbelievable.

Like...it's an overwhelming feeling.

All right?

Come on, then, bud.

Good boy.

Next time, on a mission to be the perfect birthing partner,

will Jay's fear of blood floor him at the birth...

Yeah, I'm squeamish.

Oh, God...

I'm not going to talk about it cos I'll throw up.

..and will stress-head James manage to keep his cool?

When people should shut up, I continue that extra bit.

Cos you are annoying.

I'd like to see you do it!

I'd like it to be as less stressful for him,

cos the calmer he is, the calmer I'll be.

MUSIC: All Of Your Love by Hellogoodbye

# I'm closing up inside

# And I was only just starting

# And you can't be close enough unless I'm feeling your heart beat

# All of your love

# Was all that I needed

# All of your love

# Was all that I needed. #