Brett and Jordan Don't Just Stand There... I'm Having Your Baby

-'Pain...'

-SHE WAILS

'Labour...'

Push... Good girl.

'..a new born baby.'

'The biggest day for any new mum.

'But what about the dads?

'One in three men in the UK feel left out of the pregnancy

'and side-lined at the birth.'

'Men do tend to take a back seat.'

We're just really there to take the abuse.

'But all that is about to change.'

This whole pregnancy is happening to me, as well,

I'm not pregnant, but I'm... in a sense, going through it.

'In this brand-new series, first-time dads-to-be will get a crash course

'to hopefully become the perfect birthing partners.'

-I haven't got a clue at the minute.

-I don't think I'm prepared at all.

It's such an unknown to me, and that really scares me.

'Guided by midwives with years of experience...'

-That's baby's head.

-Is it?

We've not done anything like this before, working with the father.

It's going to be really different for us.

'..and with each other for moral support...'

Thank God you're here.

'..these men will get closer to the delivery action than

'they could have ever imagined.'

He's done brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

I've got a tear in my eye now.

Yeah, yeah. Lovely, isn't it?

'But when push comes to shove...'

Come on, push, push, push...

'..will these dads deliver?'

Hard as you can.

I didn't think I'd cry, to be honest, but I did, I can't describe it.

Tonight, two first-time fathers need all the help they can get.

In Manchester,

there's a guy who's in desperate need of the midwives' attention.

22-year-old pharmacy technician Jordan and his girlfriend Jodie

were childhood buddies.

A year ago, they became more than just friends.

Jordan just asked for my number, basically, on Facebook.

They're expecting a daughter in a few weeks.

But the problem is, Jordan knows nothing about babies or childbirth.

I definitely don't think if I came into labour now he'd have a clue.

He'd probably just look at me funny and go, "Er..."

Erm, what do I know?

Push?

Scream, erm...

Erm... I don't know too much, no. I'm a bloke!

I don't think he's prepared for the actual moment where

she comes out and stuff,

I think that's going to shock him.

But instead of swotting up in time for their big day,

Jordan devotes all his time to one thing -

and it's not Jodie.

Where the bloody hell's my phone?

Never mind your phone.

He's always on his phone, texting all his friends.

Jodie's had one pain!

I like my phone.

Paying his pregnant girlfriend attention isn't his strong point.

I love my games - I could just sit here all day,

chilling on the settee, playing Xbox.

If he's like, talking to me and something happens on his Xbox,

-he'll just kind of, like, cut conversation.

-Oh, shit.

Too busy to attend to Jodie,

and completely clueless about labour, Jordan's not the dream birthing partner.

I want him to be paying, like, attention fully. I don't want him to be sat on his phone.

-I'm quite good at paying attention...

-No, he's not!

-I'm not on my phone that much.

-I'm quite good on my...

-No, he's not, he isn't.

He's really, really easily distracted.

I think he'll get a bit bored, I think he'll get a bit fed up,

and he'll lose a bit of interest...

..and I think the mobile phone may come out.

So can the midwives transform Jordan from hopeless to hero

to help Jodie through the toughest day of her life?

My motive for getting help is

so I can to do the best for her that I can possibly do.

50 miles away in Mansfield, another dad-to-be

is desperate for some antenatal know-how.

Technical sales adviser Brett and hospital employee Amy,

have been together for eight years.

The first thing that attracted me to Amy has got to be her bottom.

He does say things sometimes

and you're just like that... no, no, no...

Amy and Brett got married a year ago and before long, a baby was on the way,

which came as a shock to an unprepared Brett.

I don't think it actually hit me until we'd had the first scan

and the woman said the heartbeat's fine and everything else,

then it was like I'd been punched,

it was just, "Whoa, I'm going to be a dad."

Brett would like to be there at the birth, but there is one big problem.

I am a little bit worried she might poo.

It's common at any birth when pushing, that not just the baby

comes out, and Brett's seriously squeamish.

The very first nappy he changed, I know he had to put gloves on!

I won't be surprised if I faint. I'm just hoping it's going to be

a faint and not be sick, as well, because that would be horrendous.

And with a water birth planned,

Brett's not sure he'll have the stomach to jump in at the deep end.

I would quite like to get into the pool with her, I suppose,

but I think if Amy pooed in the pool I'd be straight out.

Brett's fears of bodily functions and his tendencies to joke around,

could result in some unwise remarks on the big day.

I do see the funny side of most things, and I'm expecting to say

something pretty bad when you're in labour, and I don't know what yet,

but I know it's going to be something pretty bad.

Like, if I'm having stitches,

he'll probably say, "Chuck another one in", or...

HE CHUCKLES

The midwives have got their work cut out to get Brett anywhere near ready

to be the perfect birthing partner.

I think, at the moment,

in the labour ward, Amy would find me utter useless,

she would definitely like me to learn a lot more so I can help her.

So, one hopelessly unprepared dad-to-be...

-See you later, have fun.

-Yeah, we'll see. See you later.

I'll be good... Well, I'll try to be good, anyway.

..and one squeamish joker, who always puts his foot in it,

have both signed up to this unique challenge.

To transform these lads into super dads in the delivery room,

are two teams of experienced midwives.

At Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester,

Jordan's midwife, Rose Corke, has got 35 years' experience

and plenty of advice for new dads.

You know, if your partner shouts at you or she swears at you

or she tells you she hates you or you're never going to have sex again

and that's it, this is a divorce, don't worry, she doesn't mean it.

-Hello, hi, there.

-Nice to meet you.

-Is it Jordan? Hi, I'm Rose.

'Rose has got plenty to do if she's going to whip Jordan into shape

'and get him anywhere near ready in time.'

'You don't want somebody who is going to ignore you'

and just sit there reading the paper

or looking at the television, or at their watch.

You've got to have somebody who's going to be empathetic

and helpful, otherwise, what's the point of them being there?

'Their journey to super-dads starts here.'

-Exciting times.

-It is exciting, yeah.

Facing the challenge of transforming dad-to-be Brett

at Kings Mill Hospital, is Jayne Platts.

I've never done this sort of thing just with the father,

I've always done it with either couples or just women,

so it's a bit of a new experience for me, and we'll see

how it goes, I'm quite excited about it.

What sort of things do you know?

I know she's going to scream, shout...

and my name will be mud and she'll be in pain obviously,

she's going to request every drug you've got in the hospital.

-Right.

-She'll be shouting, "You're not allowed near me ever again..."

I do need you just to step outside the room while I prepare it all

and then I shall get you back in, is that all right? Don't worry.

With no time to waste, Jayne has a plan to help

squeamish Brett overcome his nightmare -

she's mocked up a scene to help him face his fear head on.

Just going to pop this on the bed.

It's important for Brett to see this

because I think then it prepares him.

I know he's a bit squeamish so it's just going to prepare him, desensitise him.

OK, then, Brett, off we go.

-OK. Now I'm worried.

-Don't be worried, you're going to be fine.

This is going to be really grim, innit?

Ah, it's not that bad, OK?

Not that bad?!

It looks vile.

-Quite a bit of blood soaked into the pad...

-Couple of things of poo.

Bit of poo may be there.

Men are often quite surprised by how much blood there is at birth -

anything up to, kind of, like, 500mls is normal.

With a water birth planned, Amy wants squeamish Brett to

be in the pool with her for the big moment.

I'm starting to get a little bit worried now, cos I'm expecting all that to be the in pool.

It will be in the pool,

and what you also have to think is the water kind of dilutes all that,

so in the pool, that amount of blood would send the whole pool red.

Yeah, that is disgusting.

So that's normal.

'It seems Brett has got a poo phobia,'

I don't want him to be, kind of, "Oh, no, Amy, look what's happened."

I don't want to be in when that stuff's floating around, especially

if the water turns red, I'm definitely not going to be in there.

Poo's poo, dog poo don't bother me, pick it up, no problem -

it's human poo, it's different.

He was quite inappropriate

with his language, as well, and some of the things he said,

because he thinks he's funny, and I think it's just nerves,

but again during labour, that might become a bit of a problem,

because he's a liable to get slapped round the face, unfortunately.

In Manchester, midwife Rose is going to throw clueless dad-to-be Jordan

in at the deep end, too.

Jordan hasn't given labour a thought at all,

so to get him to think about what Jodie's needs are, and to be

supportive, I'm going to give him a DVD and I want him to watch it

and to really take note of what's going on in the labour process.

-I've, er, got something to show you.

-What?

'For moral support, Jordan's lured best mate Jay round -

'under the pretence of watching a movie.'

Midwife wanted me to, er, have a look at something.

-It's a DVD.

-A DVD of what?

-Women giving birth.

-Fuck off,

-I'm not watching that.

-You are!

-Right, this is not how I thought today was going to go.

'But it's not exactly a box-office smash.'

I can't believe I'm actually sat down, I'm going to watch this, man.

GAS AND AIR

-What the f...

-What's that?

WOMAN SCREAMING Oh, is she bleeding? Oh, lovely.

-This is horrific. Oh, my God.

-WOMAN WAILS

This has got to be the worst birth ever.

-This is... It can't be this nasty. Oh, what's that?

-Is that...?

Not anything the way I thought. Oh, my God.

This is what you've got to look forward to.

How long do you reckon Jodie's going to take?

-The midwife told me it's, like, 12 to 18 hours.

-Oh, my God.

What have I done to her?

-Has it finished?

-Oh, no!

-Fucking hell!

Well, that was easy.

I don't know how you're going to cope, man,

I really don't know how you're going to cope.

-If I was a woman, I wouldn't want to see that.

-You'll be doing that in two weeks.

No, I won't, Jodie will.

Are you not scared? No?

OK.

You're shitting it, I know you are!

Over in Mansfield, Brett is on his way to his next midwife session.

I'm just on my way to meet Jayne, the midwife, at an unknown location,

see what experiences she's got waiting for me.

Brett's not got over his poo phobia and habit of making jokes at

the wrong time, so Jayne's taking him to the great outdoors in an attempt

to make Brett realise that labour pains are no laughing matter.

This was the nearest thing I could think about to demonstrate birth.

We're going to mimic contractions, because I want you to push the zorb

-up the hill.

-Oh.

-Before we do that, though, I want you to put this on,

-which is an empathy belly.

-Right...

This is the sort of weight a woman at full term is carrying.

Jayne wants Brett to stop worrying about his own fears

and start thinking about what Amy will be going through.

-All ready?

-No kicking, baby, while I'm doing this.

-Start pushing.

OK.

Yeah. It is quite heavy, isn't it?

Come on, big push!

'The pain of pushing this 75-kilo inflatable up the hill

'gives Brett some idea of what a contraction is like.'

Go on, keep pushing!

You're making it look so easy.

-Now stop and have a rest.

-My arms are killing.

-Are they?

-It is hard, this.

-Come on then, next contraction off you go.

-No, it'll wait for me.

-Come on, go, now, off we go, push!

Push like mad,

come on, now, Brett, we're nearly there,

you're doing absolutely amazing, fantastic, well done.

-Baby's nearly coming out now... stop.

-Stop?

-Well done.

-Oh, thank God for that.

-I feel like I've just had a baby.

-SHE LAUGHS

So if you imagine a woman doing that for about an hour at a time,

you can imagine what sort of energy she's putting into it

and how shattered she is,

afterwards. Yeah, yeah.

Kind of wanted to say something back to you, all the way up.

-So what did you want to say?

-I'm bloody doing it, woman, leave me alone!

He's not going to make any jokes I don't think, he realises now how

much concentration's needed during that part of labour.

OK, then Brett,

now's the time.

-Something I'd never thought I'd be doing.

-I'm ready for lift off!

Who-a-a-a!

Now he's had a taste of what Amy will go through, Jayne wants

Brett to experience birth from the inside out.

I'm going out head first?

Head first. Big push! That's it, well done.

And then another push, and then the whole body.

Well done! Fantastic! It's a baby boy.

Having being born again, will Brett learn to see things from Amy's point of view

and keep his bad jokes to himself?

He realises now how much energy it takes up actually birthing a baby,

so I think he's got a better understanding of what Amy's going to go through.

With the births just weeks away, the lads are brimming with confidence,

and having had plenty of mental preparation,

it's time to get practical and boost their birth know-how.

Get your fingers like that, and just push in

and what you're feeling for is a hard area.

I can feel, like, the side of her.

-No, that's the baby's head.

-Oh, is it?

'Now he's had a taste of what labour's like,

'Brett learns how to use a tens machine, which releases electronic pulses to help dull the pain.'

This is a really good distraction

because it's got buttons and things to press, and things to touch and things to twiddle.

It feels like when you've got a twitch in the muscle

-and your muscle's twitching.

-Yep.

-That's what it feels like.

You can see it's actually making my fingers go and everything,

which is...very weird, feel like I'm playing my guitar!

This is a balloon with about two litres of water in it,

I'm going to show you...

'But when Jayne shows him a mocked up impression of the waters breaking,

'his jokes are still not pressing the right buttons.'

She's bloody cleaning it, I'm not touching it.

You do keep saying things that I'm thinking, "Oh, my God,

"if you say that whilst she's in labour, she'll absolutely kill you."

'Rose shows Jordan how he can ease Jodie's labour pains using massage'.

Your job then is to get down on your knees,

-and with the palm of your hand you're going to be right down there, does that feel OK?

-Yeah.

-Come on, try that.

-OK.

-Is that hard enough?

-No.

Right, yeah, that's it. The firmness, though, is important

because that's making her feel secure and it's also relieving the pain.

'And after today's session, for easily-distracted Jordan,

'it looks like things are finally sinking in.'

I can't remember how she did it...

'To Jodie's surprise, he's using his new skills

'to pay her a little more attention than she's used to.'

She said, bottom of your lower back, push there

but put pressure on it, just below there.

-Oh, you pushed me over, then!

-Sorry. How do you feel?

Better than your usual massages.

-You learnt some skills.

-What's wrong with my other massages?

-Awful.

Definitely seemed like he's looked at the woman's side of things

a bit better, and tried to understand that, which is something

he didn't know before.

That was good, you learnt some stuff.

-I'm impressed.

-I'm fucked...

'Don't strain yourself Jordan(!)'

'With the big day looming,

'midwife Jayne has called Amy in to help prepare Brett for their

'planned water birth.'

Welcome to the pool.

I'm hoping today's session is going to reassure Brett that if he

wants to get into the pool during the birth, he can do,

and there's nothing to be frightened of.

'Amy desperately wants Brett to take the plunge with her, but he's still not keen.'

You can get changed in there, as well.

Not that interested in going in the pool just in case she poops.

There's nothing Jayne can say today that'll make me go in the pool with Amy.

So just get in it now and just do whatever you feel need to do.

-I can get here, lean over here...

-You can get there, yeah.

Yeah.

I'd like him to be able to lift it out...

..but you're not interested in going in, are you?

I'm thinking it's going to be more comfortable for me

if I stay dry. The more comfortable I am, the more comfortable you're going to be,

cos I get to be with you and not worrying about...

I just think it's easier if I stay dry. It's going to be easier for ME

and more comfortable for ME, if I stay dry all the way through it.

I know you're thinking you're going to go in labour and all that...

Brett, Brett, unfortunately, this is not about you, it's about Amy.

Get in the pool now and see what it feels like.

'The girls join forces to coax Brett out of his comfort zone.'

-Get in the pool?

-Climb in this side cos there's steps there.

It's warmer than you think, ain't it?

You come and sit in front of him,

just lean back on him, that's it, he'll hold you...there.

So what does that feel like?

-That's nice. I like it.

-Yeah, me too.

You see, that's quite comfy, ain't it?

Probably more comfortable when he's in massaging me than when he's out.

-If you want me to get in...

-I mean, when the stuff starts coming out,

he can get out.

Nothing'll stop me getting out...

If you do poo yourself,

we're very, very good at getting rid of it without causing a fuss.

I've been trained on what I can say and what I can't say,

so I know what to say and what not to say now,

so there shouldn't be no inappropriate comments.

Back on dry land, Brett reflects on having gained his water wings.

Yay!

I like the fact that we were so close with you laid on me and stuff like that,

as you're in labour, I can imagine that being really nice,

really passionate between us, and stuff, you know.

I thought that's what you'd like,

that's why it's done you well to go in it.

Whilst I don't like the idea of getting in the pool whilst you're in labour and stuff,

I like what we did and think it'd be brilliant,

so I don't know. I'm kind of torn.

It can be whatever you want at the time.

'At last, Brett is seeing things from Amy's point of view.

'But despite the midwife's efforts, Jordan's struggling to focus.'

I could well play the Xbox on this.

'And with time running out, midwife Rose feels Jordan needs an urgent wake-up call.'

He really needs to step up his game because I actually haven't seen him concentrate yet.

-Erm...

-This is no laughing matter! I'm really uncomfortable here.

Help me! Help me! What are you going to do?

So I want Jordan to look after a robo-baby

'and really immerse himself in it...'

-This should be interesting.

-'..so that he can prove to me'

and to Jodie that he can really concentrate on something.

I'm looking after you then, yeah?

'For the whole day, Jordan will play Dad.

'He has sole responsibility of caring for a new baby.

'And he's the only one allowed to stop this baby from crying.'

Do you want to go in the basket for now? Come on, then.

'Robo-baby is just like a real baby - Jordan must work out

'if it needs feeding, changing or just a cuddle...

'so it'll need a little more attention than his phone or a games console.'

Aww, ain't it cute?

Oh, great, I've got a gang to kill now. I've just set my horse on fire!

-Jordan!

-What?

-You have to do it properly. No games. Watch her head.

-Don't let go of her head. Her head's going to fall!

-You all right?

You talking to me? Are you talking to me?

Jordan, you're supposed to take this seriously, I mean it!

Are you talking to me?

-You're being an idiot.

-Disrespect my family!

-Jordan!

-ROBO-BABY WHIMPERS

Do you want to go to sleep now?

ROBO-BABY WAILS

-Shut up!

-Do something to make it stop crying!

-Sit down, hold it properly.

-I can't be arsed, I want to stand up.

I'll put her back in there when she shuts up.

You're supposed to act like it's a real baby. Is this what I'm in for?

But it's not, it's a doll! HE LAUGHS

You're such an idiot.

-You've really pissed me off today.

-But you're not real, are you?

Yeah, exactly. You can't even look after that.

-Well, I can. I just...

-You're choosing not to because you want to be big and clever.

Do you want me to take the batteries out?

HE SNIGGERS

She's right, she's right, look at her, she's chilling.

Just restore her to factory settings!

I'm going for a cig.

ROBO-BABY CRIES I'm having a cig.

Annoyed with his attitude,

Jodie goes out and leaves Jordan to it.

She hopes that by being alone with the baby,

he'll have no choice but to take it more seriously.

Tonight, I'm going to show you all about Call Of Duty.

That's an Xbox. ROBO-BABY CRIES

Shut up.

As the hours go by...

..and the baby screams louder...

..new dad Jordan has to work harder...

-HE GROANS

-..and harder.

And slowly but surely, he seems to be getting the hang of it.

I don't know what that sound is, what she's making.

Burps.

# Baby love, my baby love... #

Once you're, erm, actually doing it, you feel quite satisfied.

# Instead of breaking up

# Let's do some kissing and making up... #

If you know you're doing something right for the baby, it does boost you up a bit,

it's like, yeah, I'm doing something right, so, you know...

She likes that rocking.

I just kept thinking, cos in my head I knew it wasn't real,

I think I was just a bit annoyed with that, to be honest with you.

I just wish it was my baby at the moment,

but I've got all that to come, eh?

'After being away for two hours, Jodie arrives home...

'..to a boyfriend she barely recognises.'

ROBO-BABY CRIES

# Cos she doesn't mind the oo, oo... #

'I think he felt like a bit of an idiot looking after her,'

but yeah, massive improvement within...within a few hours.

He seems quite attached now.

I can't believe how much you've bonded together

since I've been gone.

-Yeah.

-You look dead chuffed with yourself.

-I am.

Ow...

So your last contraction was 40 seconds long,

took 17 minutes from the one before.

'For Brett, the lessons are over, but as Amy starts to experience

'signs of early labour, his real challenge is just about to begin.'

Needs to stop 'em altogether, don't it?

'Using his knowledge from the midwife classes

'and a phone app, Brett's able to help Amy through her contractions.'

But they're consistent, aren't they? They're regular, I mean, 22 now...

how many do you think it's going to be till you have a baby, then?

-Dread to think.

-But you're handling them really well, aren't you?

Only 30 seconds and then you're all right again, aren't you?

You're not getting too uncomfortable yet or anything, are you?

'Over the last few weeks...'

Go on, keep pushing!

'..midwife Jayne has helped Brett appreciate

'the effort involved in labour...'

It's a baby boy!

'..and keep a lid on his bad jokes.'

A lot of men crack jokes, and they're not funny.

But now that it's the real thing, will squeamish Brett sink or swim?

-So your first one at 6:20, and now it's 10:10.

-Oh, my God.

-What?

-Four hours.

-Yeah, but this is four hours I'd rather

you be here than in a hospital,

but you're not really frequent enough to ring em up and go in, yet,

I mean, you might be later.

Feel shattered now, don't you?

Right, ready for bed?

'Despite Amy's pain,

'he's learnt that it's too early to head to hospital.'

See if we can get some sleep.

Without these sessions I'd be at hospital now saying I want a bed,

she wants to be in a bed now, get her in a bed, legs in stirrups, all ready,

'but now I kind of know it's not going to work like that

'and need to wait a little bit.'

How you doing, all right?

You OK?

You're doing well, darling.

'Of course if she does get to a point'

where the pain is unbearable, it'll be different again,

but, you know, only time can tell.

-Argh...

-You all right, sweet? You want me?

-You'll have it soon.

-No, I won't.

-Few more hours.

'It's half past midnight and the contractions start coming more often.

'Brett will need to put all his learning into practise to

'support Amy through the pain.'

SHE GROANS

'But can he resist the temptation to crack his trademark jokes?'

I think it's one of them times when you've been drinking,

day after, "Never again", and then you do it again...

or you don't.

Don't compare labour to a hangover.

He's doing really well at the minute,

apart from comparing labour to a hangover...

..saying, "I know, I know, I know you're in pain, I know how you feel".

But you don't know how I feel.

-Facebook's been blowing up all night.

-Who you texting?

-Jay.

'It's midnight, and phone-addict Jordan's sharing some news with the world.'

She started having pains at eight o'clock, and since the past hour,

they've been coming on every ten minutes, some six minutes,

so I'm guessing this is it.

'Over the last few weeks, midwife Rose has had her work cut out

'to focus the unprepared dad-to-be on Jodie in labour.'

I don't know too much, no.

'So he's been faced with the real thing...'

THEY GROAN

'..had to get real with a robo-baby...'

She likes that rocking.

'..and be realistic about his role at the birth.'

Actually lie back on him and sway from side to side.

'Jodie's in early labour and he's starting to put what he's learnt into practice.'

You all right?

Time to go in soon.

'He's even found a good use for his phone - timing contractions.'

Put on a scale, like... big pain, medium pain, small pain?

It hurts...

'Jodie's pains are getting closer together.'

I'm at 27, so four, five, six, seven...

four minutes ago.

And in the early hours,

the couple decide to go to hospital, to get Jodie checked out.

So Jodie's now, er, 3cm dilated so er, she's been taken up to the ward.

Everything is kind of going ahead as planned

and I'm going to go and get some kip.

Then I'm coming back up in a couple of hours.

Over in Mansfield,

Amy's been having contractions for over 12 hours.

Not great.

Brett decides to call the hospital.

She's obviously crying, she's in a lot of pain.

The midwives advise him to bring her in.

Hi, Brett and Amy Jewsbury here.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

Get your breath back, you're 2 to 3 centimetres.

But Amy is not ready to give birth.

So I don't know whether you want to go to the ward for a little bit

to see if you can establish or whether you want to go home

-and try and get some sleep.

-That's what you need to do, isn't it?

SHE SOBS

It's all right, it's not what we were wanting to hear,

obviously it's making Amy a little bit emotional,

because she wants the baby now and she's tired and so it's difficult

but, hey ho, come on.

You'll be all right. we'll go home and get some sleep, yeah?

There's no rush, darling. OK?

All right?

Get a couple hours' sleep, it might help you make you strong, OK?

They decide Amy will be more comfortable in her own bed

and head home to wait for the latter stages of labour to finally arrive.

-See you later, bye.

-Hopefully.

Jordan's back at hospital after a couple of hours' sleep.

Jodie is still in early labour, and Jordan is still glued to his phone.

I'm ringing Jay, he's off today. Hello?

Jodie's here with me now, she's rocking on me side to side.

Er, no, we're waiting to see how it goes but she should be here

at about nine tonight, something like that, at least.

-Ow, ow, ow.

-I can't hear you, babe.

OW!

With text-obsessed Jordan's mind on other things...

Right, I'm just going to ring a couple of people on here.

-Did she confiscate it, Jordan?

-No, no.

Both Jodie and Jordan's mums have arrived to offer support.

I said to Jodie, "I know he's going to be there on his phone."

Question is, can Jordan concentrate now that it really counts?

Come on, slip your shoes off.

Brett and Amy have been at home for 12 hours.

The contractions are getting stronger

and Brett decides it's time to take her back to hospital.

The pain's a lot stronger than what she's had all day, basically.

-Oh, God.

-And all night last night, we need to get moving.

Ow, ow, ow, ow.

Brett and Amy Jewsbury.

Amy has set her heart on a water birth

with Brett in the pool with her,

but a routine test has revealed a complication.

The baby's heartbeat is irregular

and will need constant monitoring to make sure it's at a safe level,

so a water birth is no longer possible for Amy.

Might be inappropriate but can I still get in the pool?

-Don't make inappropriate comments.

-Sorry

My role now would be wherever Amy needs me now, and reassuring

her that everything's OK.

I'd have preferred the water pool as she wanted,

but it happens, you know, not every pregnancy and labour's perfect.

I'm just going to apply a bit of pressure on the top

of your tummy, is that all right?

Deep breaths on the gas.

The doctors need to break Amy's waters to attach

a monitor to the baby's head.

That's it, that's perfect.

You're doing brilliantly.

-That's the waters breaking.

-You feel that?

Your water's gone, darling.

Ah, that's warm. That's warm.

Everything OK with the water then?

With Amy's contractions getting stronger,

can Brett stop putting his foot in it

and provide the support she needs?

The way you described when your waters went, was it really warm?

-Yeah, really warm.

-Was it, like you wet yourself?

-Yeah.

-Have you got a pain?

-Yeah, it's so much worse now.

Breathe.

In Manchester, it's been 17 hours since Jodie went into labour...

..and Jordan's still taking a backseat.

Probably, Jodie, like we said before,

because you're sat... They do hurt a bit more.

-I think he's about to nod, aren't you?

-Tired?

He's had more sleep than me, I've had none.

Driving back and forwards through them lights, it's a nightmare.

Oh, bless you.

Jordan's support role is more important than ever now

that Jodie's showing signs the birth's getting nearer.

When you're at the point of pushing,

what are your contractions like then?

As you get to fully dilated, as the baby just starts moving down

into your vagina, they change again

and they often don't come as regularly.

They become a bit irregular. But they still should be really strong.

-Yeah.

-But of course they change

cos you feel it all pushing out of your bottom.

When midwife Rose starts her shift,

she's keen to get an update from Jordan.

-Are you being supportive?

-Yeah.

What have you done? What have you done?

Erm, supporting her, you know, just complimenting her, you know.

-Keeping her reassured.

-Have you rubbed her back at all?

-Erm, no.

-Don't forget what I've taught you.

I mean, at some point, she'll get to that point, really,

when she's really feeling, you know, it's like a little bit

out of control and that's when you've really got

-to come into your own.

-Yeah.

-You've really got to sort of calm her down.

-You know, you're the chief in a way.

-Yeah.

It's all about Jodie but you're going to be the coach.

Is she in the loo? Is she feeling a bit sicky?

I thought we'd just make the most of just having a little try

-to put our mind at rest.

-Yeah, yeah.

-What's happened?

She's just feeling a bit sickly, yeah.

And she's labouring hard now.

Is it established labour pretty much?

We're nearly there, aren't we? Eh, Jode?

-We're nearly there, aren't we?

-I don't know.

-We are, we are. Shall we go back onto the bed?

-Yeah.

Yeah? Come on.

Rose's pep talk seems to have paid off.

-Is that better?

-Yeah.

Yeah, good girl.

Jordan's finally putting his skills into practice, using massage

and positions to support Jodie through her pains.

How's that? Feeling better now?

Jodie is halfway to being fully dilated.

It could be hours before she can start pushing.

Come on, babe.

It's almost 7am and Amy's cervix is nearly fully dilated.

Ow, ow!

She is now at the pushing stage of labour

and Brett is providing the support she needs.

Push me away. Hold your breath, darling, push me away.

Oh, shite!

For once it's not Brett using X-rated language.

Right, wonderful. Come on, keep it going, Amy, keep it going.

And as the pushing gets harder, Brett offers a helping hand...

Still there. Give me another long one.

..for Amy to crush.

-Well done.

-Ow, my hand!

He'll need to be on his best behaviour

-as the big moment gets closer.

-Don't worry about me.

Jodie, big breath for me now. Come on, right. Big breaths for me.

That's a girl, good girl, keep going, and again.

Come on, come on, babe. Breathe it in.

Things are going slow for Jodie, and after 21 hours in labour,

it's still not time to push.

Breath on your gas, I know, go on.

-Blow, blow.

-Slow down.

It's really hurting me.

It is, I know, go on, keep breathing. Keep breathing.

The midwives are waiting for her cervix to dilate to 10cm.

-We'll get you on a nice clean sheet.

-How far?

-You're about six but...

-Oh, my God.

No, listen, when you get a contraction,

it stretches up to eight.

Oww, I can't do it, I can't!

Go away, I can't!

Jodie's exhausted from her long labour,

so Jordan's support is crucial.

We're nearly there, baby, we're nearly there.

No we're not. We're not.

Go on, in, out, in.

That's it. Keep on. That's it.

Come on, you can do it.

Come on, babe. Babe, lift your head up.

-Jodie, come on, lift your head up.

-Fuck off!

-Come on, babe.

-I can't do this, I can't do this.

Now Jordan knows Jodie's in nice established labour,

he's being much more supportive and he's getting very involved.

He's talking her through her pains, which is just lovely

We're nearly there, babe. Babe, come on, come on.

Keep with the gas and air.

He was very involved with his phone, as a lot of young men are,

but now the phone has gone, mostly.

-That's very normal.

-PHONE RINGS

Fuck off.

Despite the odd distraction,

Jordan's attention seems firmly on Jodie.

Meanwhile Amy has been having contractions for the last 42 hours

and midwife Jane comes to check on her progress.

Go on, big push. Go on, big push.

How close you are. You've moved your baby all the way down.

He's just sat there waiting.

You're half a finger away, that's all. Keep pushing right down.

Oh!

You OK? Almost here, baby.

Eh?

Baby's that far away, need to push it that far, two inches.

But Jane's concerned by the baby's position and calls a doctor.

OK. In the meantime, we'll carry on as we were.

Yeah, push your baby out, that's what we'll do.

So did you understand, Amy? Your baby's head really low down

and you've done fantastic,

he's looking to the side and not looking down

The baby's sideways position makes it harder to move through

the birth canal naturally. The doctors may need to move Amy

to the operating theatre to help baby out.

Argh!

That really did move then. I see the head and then I see

everything round the head move rapidly then.

It was brilliant, really big push.

We'll just need one more of them by looks of it and he'll be out.

Brett's doing really well, I think he's taking

everything in his stride, he doesn't seem too flustered

about anything, even though things have not gone according to plan.

-It's coming.

-It's coming? OK.

I think that preparation has really worked for him

cos it's keeping him nice and calm, he's not panicking.

And Brett's squeamishness is the last thing on his mind

as he focuses on giving Amy all the encouragement she needs

to have a chance of a natural delivery.

You want your brow wiping?

This baby's so close now, I'm hoping that they're going to give her

a little bit more time, she's really, really pushed that baby down

since I've been there in the last half an hour,

so if she carries on pushing like that,

she'll be able to deliver this baby.

Thanks for coming, Jane.

It's a shame I've got to go really, at this crucial time.

You'll have to come round and see baby.

-I will. Don't worry, I'll be round

-Oh, I'm so hot.

Come on, right down here. Come on, give it some.

Jodie's been in labour for 23 hours.

Good girl. Go on, relax.

Jordan's proving to be a dab hand at the top end.

On your nose?

No, pat it, don't drown me.

Is that better?

Right, come on, make the most of this pain

-That's it.

-That's it babe, go on.

Jodie's fully dilated, ready to push out their baby girl.

-There you go.

-Go on.

-There you go, go on.

-Go on, babe.

-Right, now push, go on.

-Go.

-Go on.

-And again. You're moving her every single time,

and again, go on, and again... Right down into your bottom.

I can't go any harder.

All right, no, that's perfect.

Rest, rest, rest, rest.

Jordan, you've just got to be a bit careful that you don't get

too enthusiastic and kind of crush down into her,

because you actually want to really help her,

and so you tend to squeeze them harder and harder

as if you're giving them some of your strength,

-so just watch her neck.

-Yeah.

-Because if we hear a crack, it's a bit too late.

-Yeah!

You're doing good, just don't break her neck.

-Just don't squeeze too hard

-Go on.

-Go on.

-Go on, good girl.

-Ow ow. Oww!

Push down into your bottom. Push.

Go on, get mad.

Jordan takes a peak down south where he swore he'd never go.

Big breath, and again, go on. Really push, deep into your bottom.

Push around that corner.

Push around that corner.

Pushing could last a few more hours

so can Jordan stay focused on Jodie until she's ready to give birth?

-Go on.

-Well done. Push. Good girl.

-Oh, shit!

-Come on, you can do it, you can do it.

Push past that burning.

Amy has been pushing for over two hours

and Brett's role is to encourage and keep her calm.

Literally just inside, just.

It's been a couple of hours now of pushing,

so we need to discuss it with the doctors to see what the plan is.

It's just Mummy is exhausted I think at the moment.

Yeah, it's been too much, hasn't it?

She was going to be moved to the operating theatre,

but with baby almost out,

the doctors are going to try help her deliver, here in the bed.

Well done, that's really good. Head's really come down.

You may deliver the baby on your own, OK?

I just need some very good pushes from you, all right?

See how we go.

-Have you got a contraction?

-No.

And as a result of his midwife sessions, Brett's able to help

explain how the doctor will help Amy deliver the baby.

It's a little cup, a suction pad.

It sits on the head and sucks to the head.

Baby will have swelling on top of its skull.

So they're going to help Amy down there,

they're going to give her a little cut,

and they're going to use what they call a kiwi to get it out to help

Amy because she's obviously drained, she ain't got no more push in her.

I know it hurts, I know it hurts but you're so close, so close.

Hey, after all you've done in the last two days

-you can definitely do this.

-No, I can't do it. I can't do it.

You can. You can and I bet you will.

Just relax.

Come on, big pushes, big pushes, big pushes, big long push.

That's it, right down deep.

Come on, darling.

-I'm trying.

-I know you are, I know you are.

I'm really proud of you. I am.

Come on, darling, push, push.

-Keep pushing, keep pushing.

-Who's this here, who's this here?

Perfect

One big push.

-Here it comes.

-Just relax now.

Just relax, relax.

Well done, well done.

Do you want to find out what you've got?

What is it? It's a little girl!

-Is it? Oh.

-Happy birthday, princess.

You want to have a look at your mummy?

After 44 hours of contractions, baby Jessica is born

and both mum and daughter are doing well.

We're going to give her a bit of rub and air, OK?

I'll bring her straight back to you.

Brett stayed right by her side throughout and is now a dad.

That's it, good girl.

Hey, baby.

Hello.

It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen ever.

Hello, darling.

He said the right things at the right time,

he was always there. Yeah, I think he did a really good job.

Brett's been absolutely fantastic.

I don't think I'd have been able to do it without him,

he's been really supportive.

How much?

Seven, five and a half.

Oh, come on then after all the midwife sessions with Jane,

all the pieces came together and I think knowing everything I knew

managed to keep me relaxed and it made it so much easier for her.

I thought I'd be standing around and not knowing what to do.

But it's all worth it in the end, isn't it?

I was expecting some inappropriate comments

but he didn't say anything, really. Well, not that I heard of.

-OK.

-He's been really good.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthing partner.

In Manchester...

Oh, what's that?

..Jodie's Mum has stepped in to support Jodie,

because despite his initial fears,

Jordan is now so engaged in the birth

he wants to give Jodie encouragement by watching what's happening.

Keep it going, babe.

Big breath for me.

You're certainly not a dad "I don't want to be down the business end," are you?

I thought he wouldn't go down there!

-Keep her coming, come more, push more.

-More, more.

-Come on.

-Go on, babe, you're nearly there.

Big breath and pull this up out the way, Jodie.

I know it's horrid. Get rid of this leg.

That's a girl, go on push your baby right round the corner.

Keep her coming, keep her coming.

-She's there, she's there.

-Go on, good girl, go on.

I think maybe two or three more pushes on that

and she'll be out, or her head will be out.

-New midwife.

-Yeah, midwife me.

Jordan's down there watching every minute.

Keep going. Don't stop.

-It really stings, I know it does.

-One more push.

Keep pushing. And again.

One more, one more, come on, Jode.

-I want you to go...

-MIDWIFE PANTS

JODIE PANTS THEN SCREAMS

No, no, no. Pant for me, Pant, Jodie, pant, pant, pant.

22:52.

After 24 hours of labour,

Jodie and Jordan's daughter is born.

-Say hello, you!

-Hi!

-Look at you.

The couple's baby's head is elongated

after spending so much time in the birthing canal.

This will settle down soon.

Jordan's supported Jodie until the very end.

Why has she stopped?

BABY CRIES

You won't be asking that in a week.

Amazing, I'm a dad.

I didn't think I'd cry, to be honest, but I did.

I couldn't control that so, yeah, absolutely amazing.

She deserves a medal for that.

Erm yeah, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Absolutely. I'm still shocked. I'm shaking still.

He tried his hardest.

He needed to be reminded sometimes of what he had to do

but when it actually came to the point that mattered at the end,

he woke up and he actually did what he was supposed to do.

He was very, very good.

Jordan was really good.

He was there if I needed my back rubbing, there with the gas and air.

Ooo, daddy?

Get off your phone, pay me some attention.

You and your bloody phone!

He was on his phone a few times, a few cheeky comments

but I'll let him off with that.

Put it in the bath.

The midwife training definitely taught him a lot.

I think if he didn't learn some of the stuff then

he wouldn't have been nowhere near as good.

I think I did my best I could. I tried my best.

I can't wait to take her home. I can't believe it.

Fucking hell.

Two weeks after the birth of baby daughter Maisie...

What's the matter, babe? Yeah, hiccups.

..their 24-hour labour was well worth the wait for new parents Jodie and Jordan.

Sometimes I think back to it and I still get the buzz, you know.

Thinking when she came out and it's just like, wow.

It'll never be a blur. I'll get to an old man and I'll look back

and I'll still remember that clear as crystal.

Every moment, every second in that time I was in the delivery room,

I'll remember all of it.

Definitely happy that Jordan got, you know, all the extra help

and like the antenatal classes because I think if he didn't have

those then he wouldn't have been no way near as good as he was.

And he actually looked, he was down there at the bottom and stuff,

which I wasn't expecting him to do.

So he's definitely changed loads for the better.

I think you did ten out of ten.

Thank you.

You're like a little midwife.

I don't think I'll take it as a career path.

I think you'd do good.

Hey, yeah, you having it then?

Three weeks after the birth of their baby daughter Jessica,

Brett's relishing his new role as father.

Is that nice?

I think without the sessions with Jane I would have absolutely

panicked at every single stage. If they said baby's heartbeat's low,

I'd go, "Right, get her in, Caesarean. Get it out of her!"

So knowing as much as possible before I went in there,

it was just, it was brilliant.

He knew everything that was going on,

he explained everything to me, reassuring me that everything

was normal, nothing seemed to faze him or bother him, he kept me calm.

And he's taken to nappy changing like a duck to water.

You don't see the gore,

you see the beauty of the baby.

You know, all I can remember is wiping my tears off my face

for the first hour, it was just amazing.

Absolutely amazing, and to be honest I can't wait to do it again.

She's doing her feeding thing.

He was really good. I wouldn't want to do it without him.

Definitely. He's having the next one.

Next time in their quest to become perfect birthing partners.

He knows the baby comes out of the vagina and that's about it.

Can party boy Jamie change his ways and face up

to being a dad, and stop clinging on to being a lad.

I've just got to prove to her and myself that I am going to change

and I am going to be there.

And can teenager Jordan fulfil his dream of catching his baby?

I'm not trained to do it like you are so it's a bit daunting.

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