Bethany Morledge and her fiancé Tommy Martin were over the moon when they discovered they were expecting their first child.

But just six weeks into her pregnancy, Bethany, from Ilkeston, developed a pain in her side and knew something was wrong.

The couple were told at their 12 week scan that there was a one in five chance of their much-wanted baby being born with Down's syndrome.

Determined to give their bundle of joy all the love he could need, Bethany and Tommy were dealt another devastating blow when they were told at their 20 week scan their baby also had serious heart problems.

Their little boy was diagnosed with AVSD, a serious problem that meant he would need life-saving surgery when he was just four months old.

Bethany and Tommy were over the moon when they found out they were having a baby (
Image:
Derby Telegraph WS)

Against all the odds, Oscar was born bouncing, happy and screaming his lungs out and Bethany says the day the couple finally brought him home was the "best day of our lives".

But despite his brave fight for life, little Oscar developed serious health complications during his short life.

Bethany and Tommy's beloved baby boy - who loved to smile and stick his tongue out - died in his heartbroken mother's arms when he was just over three months old.

Now, his courageous mum wants to share her family's devastating experiences to help others facing the same trauma.

Bethany admitted her pregnancy had been anything but smooth sailing from the start.

Bethany said bringing Oscar home was the best day of her life (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Doctors initially feared she was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy but it was an ovarian cyst, which could be treated with painkillers.

The came the first scan.

Bethany said: "I have never felt relief like the relief at seeing baby’s heartbeat for the first time.

"I couldn’t stop staring at the screen. ‘That’s my baby’, I thought, over and over again. There really is a baby in there."

At their 12 week scan, Bethany and Tommy were told there was an increased chance their baby would have Down's syndrome and they faced an agonising wait for a blood test to give a more definitive result.

Four days later the results revealed their baby had a one in five chance of having Down's syndrome.

Oscar had to be taken to a specialist neonatal unit when he was born (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Bethany said: "We were prepared for a baby. We were prepared for a child. We were prepared for the wild ride of parenthood.

"We were not prepared for the very real threat of having a potentially very poorly child who would need extra care and nourishing for the rest of its life."

But over the course of the pregnancy, the couple said their fear "melted away" and even when they were told the devastating news about Oscar's heart problem, Bethany and Tommy couldn't wait to meet their baby boy.

It was decided Oscar would be induced when his mum was 37 weeks pregnant but his heart struggled to cope with the contractions and he had to be delivered by emergency caesarean.

Oscar was born three weeks early (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Oscar arrived on September 13 last year and let the world know he was here by "coughing a few times" before being whisked away to the neonatal unit for specialist treatment.

As well as his AVSD Oscar was diagnosed with a leaky heart valve and transferred to the specialist Glenfield Hospital in Leciester.

Bethany said: "When he was a week old he was taken off sedation and opened his eyes for the first time. It was so exciting and a really special time."

When he was a month and a day old Oscar was finally able to come home with his mum and dad for the first time.

Bethany said: "It was amazing but also terrifying because he was still very poorly and would still need surgery when he was bigger."

Oscar was allowed home with his mum and dad when he was a month and a day old (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

However, because of all his health problems, Oscar needed a feeding tube as he didn't have the energy to swallow and drink.

This meant his mum and dad had to be trained how to use the feeding tube at home.

Bethany said: "That was scary because there are a lot of risks but once we'd got the hang of it, it was fine.

"There were a few times when Oscar would hook his finger into it and try to pull it out."

The brave little boy had to be re-admitted to hospital several times so his medication could be changed but for several blissful weeks in November, he was at home with his mum and dad.

But then, in the week leading up to his final hospital admission, Oscar began to scream for no reason.

Oscar had several blissful weeks at home with his mum and dad (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Bethany said: "He was normally a very peaceful and calm baby but once a day he would scream so much he would exhaust himself.

"I called 111 and an ambulance came to pick him up and take him to hospital.

"For a few days doctors didn't think anything was wrong and there were a couple of times when Oscar as almost coming home.

"But then his heart rate suddenly went up and he was taken to intensive care because he was strugling to breathe.

"He had a big mask on his face to help him to breathe and scans showed his heart problems had got worse and that he would need his surgery sooner than we thought.

"They also discovered his lung had collapsed to he had to be put on life support to reinflate it.

"When they tried to take him off life support he was struggling to breathe so they put him back on while they waited for heart surgery."

Oscar developed a serious stomach problem (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Then, the Friday before his operation Oscar's tummy became very swollen and he was constantly being sick.

Bethany and Tommy were called in the middle of the night to be told their beloved boy was desperately ill with necrotising enterocolitis, an inflammation of the bowel.

Medics spent the next day struggling to keep little Oscar stable.

Bethany said: "It was so strange because he had been fine one day and really ill the next, it was terrifying.

Oscar gradually stabalised and, even though he was sedated, Bethany and Tommy spent their Christmas Day with their adored son.

Bethany said: "It's not the Christmas you imagine but it was still very special and the hospital were amazing with the parents."

When Oscar had his breathing mask taken off, he beamed at his mum (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

But by Boxing Day Oscar's stomach problems had returned and he was rushed into surgery so doctors could find out what was wrong.

Bethany and Tommy were then told the words no parents wants to hear - their little boy's condition was "no longer compatable with life".

The hospital were determined not to give up on Oscar and gave Bethany and Tommy a choice.

They could operate and removed Oscar's bowel and replace it with IV feeds until he was old enough to have a bowel transplant - or they could make him comfortable before he passed away.

Bethany said: "We opted for the surgery but it was still really hard because we knew they were giving us the option because the outlook wasn't good for either the operation of for life after surgery."

On the Monday, Oscar's medical team scheduled a team meeting and made the heartbreaking decision that because the IV feeding tube was going to be close to the heart, which he still needed surgery on, the surgery wouldn't work.

Oscar's parents were determined to do all they could to help him (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

Bethany and Tommy then had the ordeal of calling their families so everyone could come and say goodbye to brave Oscar.

Bethany said: "It was so hard to accept. I kept asking them to say it again because it wouldn't go in.

"He had fought for so long and been through so much bit I also had a feeling this was going to happen. I had already been told once that he was going to die.

"We expected to have longer with him that we did but his heart rate got higher and higher so we turned off the life support because we didn't want him to suffer.

"He was in my arms when he passed away. That was really important to me, I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Oscar passed away in his mum's arms (
Image:
Bethany Morledge)

While Oscar's funeral was heartbreaking for his parents, Bethany says it went "perfectly".

She bravely read her son's eulogy and even wrote a poem for her little boy.

And Bethany has nothing but happy memories of Oscar's time with his family.

She said: "Oscar was just so cheeky, he was always sticking his tongue out - he was even doing it in the scans when I was pregnant.

"He loved cuddles and loved holding things, he was just starting to put his fingers in his mouth

Oscar

Oscar, you are the sweetest boy


With your chubby cheeks and smile


I wish that I could hold you now


If only for a while.

The time keeps ticking further away


From when I last saw your eyes


I wish time would stop or go back to you

Or I could meet you in the sky.

The little coos you used to make


And your tongue poking out

The stars are watching over you


Of that I have no doubt.

You made so many fall in love


With your strength and heart

Our little warrior, small but strong

This is just the start

Of a new life with you


High up in the stars

Our baby boy, forever loved

We know you’re never far

You’re with the stars in heaven now

Flying through the sky

I love you more than I could say

But, for now, this is goodbye.

"Before he went into hospital he hadn't mastered eye contact and was only smiling occassionally but when he was in Glenfield and they took his mask off, I had my head next to him on the bed and he looked me straight in the eye and gave me a big smile. That was really special."

Bethany has now started an Instagram account to share her experiences of grief.

She wants it to be help other parents in the same situation.

And the brave mum is also planning to re-train as a midwife.

She explained: "It's really helped me since and given me something to work for.

"I just want to keep showing that Down's syndrome people are amazing and I'll keep promoting that forever.

"I also want to become a midwife to help other women who find out their child is poorly, or has Down's syndrome or mothers who have lost their baby."

To follow Bethany brave journey on Instagram, click here.