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'5 Life' takes a modern look at the challenges many people face when trying to start a family.

In the first programme of this two part series, Anna Foster investigates why can it be so difficult to conceive a baby. For many people the process of pregnancy can be fraught and emotional from the very beginning. Anna has full access to a leading private IVF clinic to witness the physical process of IVF and understand how it works. She looks the various stages involved through the eyes of the medics and scientists who make it happen, as well as the couples who are hoping to achieve their dream of pregnancy. Anna visits the lab to watch embryos being created, and analyses the chance of success in conceiving for couples using IVF.

5 life draws together some of the most respected experts in the field of fertility and reproduction, including Professor Allan Pacey and Professor Adam Balen - the current chair of the British Fertility Society - who talk about their research into infertility and reveal what happens in their consulting rooms. The programme looks at the most cutting-edge scientific developments in fertility treatments and ask how things might develop over the next decade.

Anna also investigates the causes of infertility and asks why some fundamental elements are still unexplained despite the advancement of science. The programme also explores the limitations of IVF - the fact that for some people the cost is prohibitive, the 'postcode lottery' of getting treatment on the NHS, and the problems that advancing age can bring.

Beyond conception the first weeks of pregnancy can become filled with worry if there are complications and the programme explores some of the problems that can happen in the earliest stages.

Miscarriage is by far the biggest cause of pregnancy loss in the UK - with 1 in 4 pregnancies ending this way - but it's also the least understood. 5 life goes into the labs at Tommy's cutting-edge National Centre for Miscarriage Research in Birmingham, the UK's first national project dedicated to finding answers about unexplained miscarriage. We'll hear about the very latest in pregnancy screening and the problems it can reveal.

Anna also reflects on her own personal experience of both an early miscarriage and the loss of a baby at 21 weeks - which then led to her own diagnosis of a genetic abnormality. She visits the Northern Genetics Service in Newcastle and reunites with the team that treated her, seeking to understand more about how our own genetics affect our chances of starting a family.

Anna also visits the doctors and scientists at the Liverpool-based Harris Wellbeing Preterm Birth Centre, who are conducting research to try and understand why preterm birth happens and what can be done to prevent it. Professor Susan Wray who leads the centre calls for more funding and more research into such an important aspect of our human lives.

5 Life looks at the issues that face many would-be parents, shining a light on the kind of complications that many people are living through but few are talking openly about, and bringing together real-life stories with the latest scientific research to create a programme that is both compelling and educational.

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