New mother Xiao Fang sits proudly next to her two-hour-old daughter.

Husband Henang lays asleep on the floor of recovery room five of the post natal unit, exhausted by the most momentous day of his young life.

“I am so happy,” explains the beaming 24-year-old through her interpreter.

“The midwife was fantastic to me – I was very worried but she made things a lot easier for me. I’m very grateful for her help.”

It’s an unusual scene for an interview but, then again, my tour of the birthing rooms and pools of the maternity unit was anything but a typical day at the office.

Xiao is just one of the 12 mothers who, on an average day, give birth at the unit.

Although most do not require an interpreter, each come with their own unique set of challenges for the 18 midwives on round-the-clock duty.

“It can get pretty hectic down here,” explains Matron Jennifer Fake.

“We get a few born in the car park but most get here in plenty of time.”

The unit’s three wards seem eerily quiet. I’m told that October typically represents the calm after the September storm; a trend that has as much to with meticulous planning as with festive exuberance.

A hospital stay, explains Matron Fake, can range from as little as two-to-three hours; to days, to weeks and even months.

“I always tell women that childbirth is not an illness, and it’s important that they remember that. It’s a natural process. For most women it’s reasonably straight forward, but for others it’s more problematic.

“One or two women will have complications requiring them to stay for the course of the pregnancy. Whatever happens we have the facilities here to deal with any problems that we face.

“But every woman’s experience is different. It’s our job to reassure them, make them feel comfortable and deliver healthy babies.”

This relatively simple promise is delivered by 163 midwives.

One of the most experienced is 20 year veteran Nicky Williams, who, just minutes after delivering baby Fang, reflects on her career after a well-earned cup of tea.

My mention of a proper lunch break, however, is laughed off – a seemingly daft idea in the hectic field in midwifery.

“It doesn’t really work like that here,” she says.

Nicky has delivered three to four babies a week for the last two decades. I ask her if her job ever seems mundane.

“Never,” she answers. “Every day is different – that’s why I love this job so much. There’s not much else you can do that is more rewarding.

“I can still remember the first baby I delivered. I’ve delivered hundreds since then but it’s always a special and memorable experience.”

It’s a memorable experience, also, for the hundreds of mothers to have passed through her hands.

“I live in St Albans so, yes, I recognise women whose babies I’ve delivered. I’d never approach them but plenty recognise me and start talking to me.

“That’s always nice. I was actually at a party recently where three of them were there together – I could hardly believe it.”

Previously the subject of much criticism, a good deal of it from the National Childbirth Trust, managers are confident that recent patients’ “overwhelmingly positive” experiences of the unit will translate into a much improve rating when Government inspectors report in January.