Miracle Babies

The birth of a new baby should be a joyous moment for every parent. It is also one of the most dangerous times in a babyʼs young life and when things go wrong, the consequences can be terrifying for the family. One in every nine newborns needs medical treatment at birth and the neonatal unit at the Liverpool Women's Hospital cares for around 1,200 of the most premature and unwell of these babies every year. Miracle Babies follows the newborns, parents and medical staff over six months at the unit, from extremely premature babies born at the very edge of survival to full-term babies born with life-threatening complications. The condition of these very vulnerable babies can change by the minute. For the doctors and nurses every day is full of demanding moral and medical dilemmas that they must carefully negotiate. For the parents, it can be a journey of emotional extremes. The series looks at both the devastating downturns and the uplifting stories of survival against the odds.