Planning a maternity scene (or multiple!) for your TV or film production, but not sure where to start? You’re not alone! These storylines can involve multiple scenes and equipment, each requiring its own specific props and medical accuracy.
Your storyline might take you through antenatal appointments, labour and delivery, or neonatal care, and each of these moments requires different equipment and dressing to feel authentic. That’s where we come in at Medical Hire. Think of us as your trusted partner for both medical advice and props, here to guide you through every stage of the process.
We hope this acts as a valuable tool to help you discover which maternity props you need and at what stage you may need them.
The Journey from Pregnancy to Birth
Let’s break down the key scenes you might be filming:
Antenatal / Prenatal Care (the three trimesters leading up to birth)
- Midwife appointments at the GP clinic
- Ultrasound scan appointments
- Miscarriage storylines
Miscarriage scene featured in Hollyoaks (Channel 4)
Labour and Delivery
- Early labour and admission to the labour ward
- Natural vaginal delivery
- Caesarean section surgery
- Premature births and stillbirth scenarios
Post-Delivery
- Mother and baby recovery on the postnatal ward
Neonatal Care (for premature or unwell newborns)
- Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Now we’ll explore what props and equipment you’ll need to bring each of these scenes to life authentically.
Antenatal:
Baby scan scenes
Most antenatal scenes feature that memorable hospital or private clinic visit for a baby scan, typically around 12 weeks. Those emotional moments when parents first see their baby on screen and hear the heartbeat. To create an authentic scanning room environment, you’ll need these specific props:
- Ultrasound machine, the focal point of your baby scan scene
- Baby scan footage and images. We provide appropriate ‘live’ footage for different routine scans, including 12 and 20 weeks
- Fetal Doppler, used when sonographers need to check the baby’s heartbeat if visualisation is difficult
- Ultrasound scan probe
- Doctor’s surgery examination couch
- Ultrasound accessories, including disposable gloves and ultrasound scan gel
Ultrasound scan scene, featured in Vigil (BBC iPlayer)
Midwife scenes
Throughout pregnancy, expectant mothers have regular check-ups with their midwife at the GP clinic. These appointments involve routine monitoring, weighing, blood pressure checks, measuring the growing bump, and collecting blood and urine samples. To bring these scenes to life authentically, you’ll need these specific props (alongside your standard GP clinic setup):
- Doctors’ surgery examination couch
- Couch roll dispenser, for fresh paper coverings
- Doctors’ scales, for weight monitoring throughout pregnancy
- Blood pressure monitor, to check maternal health
- Midwife nurses bag
- Mobile screen panel for discreet patient changing
- Tape measure, for measuring the baby bump
- Blood collection tubes and urinal sample pots for routine testing
Labour scenes:
When active labour begins, expectant mothers are admitted to the labour ward where they’re closely monitored throughout the birthing process. These scenes are often intense and emotional, involving pain management options, continuous monitoring of both mother and baby, and a team of healthcare professionals providing support. To create an authentic labour ward environment, you’ll need these essential props in addition to your hospital bed setup:
- Maternity bed designed to adjust to different birthing positions
- Hospital chair, usually where the partner or visitors will sit
- Overbed table to hold drinks and consumables
- Medirail wall panel, a mounting system for medical equipment (available in different sizes to suit room layout)
- CTG machine (to track a baby’s heart rate)
- CTG machine straps and accessories to monitor the baby’s heart rate and contractions
- Patient monitor, to track the mother’s vital signs throughout labour
- Birthing pool for water births
Labour scene, featured in Toxic Town (Netflix)
Pain management equipment:
- Tens machine for early labour pain relief
- Gas and air cylinder and mouthpiece
- An epidural machine for more advanced pain relief, and the container that holds the epidural medication and attaches to the pump
- IV/drip stands for administering epidurals and induction medications with fluid bags
- Birthing aids such as birthing balls
Labour & pain management scene, featured in Daddy Issues (BBC iPlayer)
Delivery scenes:
These are some of the most powerful and emotional moments you’ll film as delivery approaches when healthcare teams prepare delivery packs and ready resuscitation equipment. Then comes that incredible moment of birth itself, followed by skin-to-skin contact, cord clamping, and those first vital checks.
Whether you’re filming a calm, natural birth or a more dramatic emergency delivery, having the right props on hand, from surgical instruments to warming equipment for baby and postpartum care supplies for mum, ensures you can capture every moment of this life-changing experience.
To capture the reality delivery scenes, you’ll want to add the following props to your scene in addition to the labour props mentioned above:
- Maternity delivery pack (includes scissors, bowls, towels and other essential delivery equipment)
- Forceps, for assisted deliveries
- Umbilical cord scissors, for that symbolic first cut of the cord
- Baby weighing scales, for baby’s first weight check
- Baby crib, for those first moments after birth
- Cellular baby blankets, to wrap the newborn baby in
- Personalised hospital ID baby wristbands
And let’s not forget the star of the show, the baby! You have a few options here. You might work with a real newborn, or choose from our incredibly lifelike baby props.
We have a whole range of babies, like our full-term gel real-life-like babies to realistic premature babies that help tell different birth stories authentically.
Caesarean section (C-Section):
If your scene involves a caesarean section, you’ll need an operating theatre setup. Here are the essential props you will need to create a realistic C-section scene:
- Operating table
- Operating theatre lights, overhead surgical lighting for the procedure
- Anaesthesia machine, for administering spinal or general anaesthetic
- Stainless steel trolley, for holding surgical instruments
- Surgical instrument tray and instruments to make the incision, including scissors and scalpels for the incision
- Surgical gowns for the patient and gowns for surgeons and nurses
- Catheter and urine bag to keep the bladder empty during surgery (apple juice or tea makes a great urine substitute)
- Cannula, for delivering IV fluids and pain relief throughout the procedure
C-section surgery scene
Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
If your storyline involves a premature or unwell baby after delivery, they’ll likely be transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This unit has specific equipment designed to treat and care for vulnerable newborns.
Essential props for an authentic NICU scene include:
- Baby incubators, provide a safe, temperature-controlled environment for premature babies needing extra support
- Resuscitaire, for newborns requiring immediate breathing support after birth
- Infant ventilator, to be used immediately after the birth if a baby is struggling to birth
- Phototherapy machine, to treat babies with jaundice with specialised blue light therapy
- Baby warmer
Accessories to enhance NICU authenticity:
- Hospital-grade electric breast pump with bottles
- Preemies crochet octopus, given to neonatal babies for comfort, as the tentacles mimic umbilical cords
- Animal print incubator cover, adds a comforting touch to the clinical environment
Beyond our huge range of modern maternity props for hire, we can provide access to specialist medical advisors, including maternity and NICU midwives with active hospital experience. They’re available to guide you through pre-production, filming, and post-production.
NICU scene, featured in This is Going to Hurt (BBC iPlayer)
Ready to Bring Your Maternity Scene to Life?
We hope this guide has given you a better understanding of the props and equipment you’ll need at each stage of your maternity storyline. From those first antenatal appointments through to the intensity of labour and the specialised care of the NICU, Medical Hire are here to help you create authentic, medically accurate scenes that resonate with your audience.
Remember, you don’t have to navigate this alone. Our wide medical and hospital prop collection, combined with our expert medical advisory team, means you have everything you need in one place. Whether you’re planning your shoot, need advice during filming, or want to discuss specific scenarios, we’re just a call away. And even though we’re based in Leeds, we work with productions all across the UK, including London.
Browse our full range of maternity props here or get in touch to discuss your production needs. We would love to help bring your story to life.
Call us on 0113 262 8000
Or email: info@medicalhire.co.uk