WHEN I was heavily pregnant, one of my friends gave birth in the comfort of her own living room, in a birthing pool in front of a roaring log fire, surrounded by scented candles while listening to soothing music.

It sounded wonderful.

But I wasn't tempted to cancel my appointment at the hospital. Because, like most women, I was nervous - if I'm honest, petrified - about what lay ahead.

Bishop Auckland's new midwife-led, low-tech maternity suite is billed as "one of the safest places to have an uncomplicated birth" and a model for other units in the region.

Sadly, for North-East couple Andrea and Dean Harrison it was anything but, as their baby Olivia was in distress and tragically died before they could get to another hospital equipped to save her.

Most women don't want to be in "the safest place for an uncomplicated delivery". They want to be in the safest place for their delivery, however that turns out.

Complications may be rare but, judging by the handful of friends and relatives I know who ended up having emergency Caesareans, they are not uncommon and can occur unexpectedly, at any time.

Each of my five labours was different. No matter how experienced I was, I didn't know how they were about to unfold.

Once, I had a late scan in the delivery suite as the baby's position had changed and staff were on standby to carry out a Caesarean. Another time, I had a bleed in labour and had to be closely monitored.

Thankfully, everything progressed normally. But they were anxious times and, while I had the utmost confidence in and admiration for my midwives, I knew further help was there if I needed it.

Giving birth in hi-tech, clinical surroundings with the most modern equipment available was a small price to pay for that reassurance.

Sadly, Andrea and Dean Harrison didn't have the expertise they needed on hand when it all went wrong. And for that they, and their unborn baby girl, have paid the ultimate price.

And this, we are told, is progress.

BRINGING the TV into the bedroom surely sounds the death knell of a marriage. So Posh Spice should be worried. Not only does David watch TV when he is in bed with her, she revealed this week, he watches programmes like Ground Force.

THE Hell's Kitchen reality TV show is a bit too contrived to be gripping. But the driven, volatile chef Gordon Ramsay (right) still makes for compulsive viewing. I want to see a follow-up where he has to master the skills of his trainee celebrity chefs. Let him spend a week as a stand-up comic, sing live to thousands in a huge stadium and play a character in a TV soap. As a perfectionist, he would surely give his all. But, more importantly, it would give his co-stars the chance to get their own back.