Baby Surgeons: Delivering Miracles – St George’s researchers and alumni feature in Channel 4 series
Published: 26 April 2021
Photo by Wonderhood Studios for Channel 4
A new Channel 4 documentary series focused on the extraordinary work of the fetal medicine, neonatal and maternity units at St George’s Hospital will feature staff and alumni from St George’s, University of London.
The three-part series, beginning tonight, will tell the story of women with rare and complex pregnancies.
As one of the UK’s leading fetal medicine units, the series will showcase some of the most pioneering baby surgery performed.
In the second episode, Professor Asma Khalil, Consultant Obstetrician and Multiple Births Lead at St George’s Hospital and Honorary Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Medicine at St George’s, University of London, performs a procedure that’s been carried out once before at St George’s.
Professor Khalil said: “I’ve done hundreds of surgeries throughout my career, but this one will always stick in my mind. The baby had amniotic band syndrome, a very rare condition in which bands of tissue become tangled around the baby’s limbs. With a telescope inside the womb, we go and look for the band and cut it.”
The first episode will also feature St George’s alumna Flora Wood, who studied on the Midwifery course at Kingston and St George’s, as she supports the care of a woman in the programme.
Baby Surgeons: Delivering Miracles was originally planned to be two programmes, but Channel 4 commissioned a third after watching a preview of the footage captured by Wonderhood Studios – the production company for the series.
Filming took place throughout 2020 and was able to continue during the pandemic, with most filming undertaken using GoPro cameras worn by staff, temporary fixed cameras in clinical rooms, and video diaries recorded by the patients at home.
Sadly, despite medical intervention, not all pregnancies go to plan – and St George’s Hospital, together with Channel 4 and Tommy’s charity, will be aiming to raise awareness and break the silence surrounding baby loss, including miscarriage and stillbirth.
The first episode of the series will be broadcast on Monday 26 April at 9pm on Channel 4, with the following two programmes going out at 9pm on Monday 3 May and Monday 10 May respectively. The episodes will also be available on Channel 4’s streaming platform, All4.
You will be able to follow the conversation on Twitter, via the @StGeorgesUni and @StGeorgesTrust channels as well as through the hashtag #BabySurgeons.