Virgin Media’s new series ‘Born Too Soon’ starts tonight

A brand new series is hitting Virgin Media this evening, but be warned, it's a heavy one.

Born Too Soon begins tonight on Virgin Media One at 9 pm, with the four-part series airing every Tuesday throughout September. The series is set to be highly emotive and gives a full-access look into the lives, both in and out of the hospital, of the families, babies, and staff in the busy newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at Cork University Maternity Hospital. The documentary series has been filmed over the course of an "exciting, challenging, and life-affirming year." Following the journeys of staff and families, Born Too Soon "gives a unique insight into the dedication and care that goes into offering life-saving treatment to vulnerable newborns at the Cork hospital. [caption id="attachment_433397" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Credit: Virgin Media Television[/caption] "We get an insight into the care required for some of the most vulnerable humans on earth." The series has been supported by Coimisiún na Meán's Sound and Vision funding scheme. The series is set to see new parents Marcelina and Washington, originally from Brazil, whose baby Diane was born at 26 weeks. Marcelina tells the documentary: "I feel alone, I feel isolated, lonely. First, because I think it’s only me and my husband here in Ireland. We have no family here.” Also appearing in the series is Jennifer Crowe and her husband Patrick who welcomed twin girls, Hannah and Emily. Hannah was brought home after four weeks, leaving her sister in the neonatal intensive care unit for much longer. Speaking to the Irish Examiner ahead of the series, Jennifer said: "The hardest thing for me anyway, that killed me, was bringing Hannah home and having to leave Emily in there.

"Also, with Emily, her oxygen levels kept dropping so you’d go in one day and she’d be perfect and you would be elated. Then you go in the next day and she was back on oxygen. It was just constant up and down, emotionally."

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