Building a baby:

Michael Mosley looks at the miracle of birth – and celebrates our differences.

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irth is often described as a miracle and a Prime documentary series aims to show just how miraculous the process really is – and how sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. Nine Months That Made You,

presented by Michael Mosley, tells the amazing story of how we are made, using groundbreaking imagery to capture all the drama of human development.

“I was really, really delighted to be asked to do it, but also to discover how important those nine months are and how much impact they have on the rest of your life,” Michael says. “It was full of delights and surprises. I’d delivered quite a few babies in my previous existence as a doctor, and I thought I knew quite a lot about the subject, but there is so much new stuff that’s been discovered in the last few years.”

The three-part series breaks down just what it takes to build a human baby, from fertilisation to birth.

It took Michael – who admits to an insatiable curiosity about all things health-related – on a trip around the world where he met people and families with traits that make them stand out from the crowd.

For example, there’s the Brazilian family where members have six fingers. The burning question for them at ultrasounds isn’t what sex is the baby but how many fingers does he or she have?

“They just think having six fingers and six toes is completely marvellous. They make the most of it,” Michael says.

“Quite a few of them are really good guitarists, a talent handed down from the father who was a noted and celebrated Brazilian guitarist who wrote music for six fingers. They were just a hoot.”

That family’s attitude reflects what happens again and again in the series – people’s ability to