A courageous mother gave birth to a baby boy with Trisomy 18 in the height of the national lockdown, even though his condition meant that he would have a very short lifespan outside of the womb.

Mother, Jessica Herbert from York, had suffered seven miscarriages when she and her husband Simon found out she was pregnant again. They discovered that her son had the genetic condition after her first ultrasound.

Trisomy 18, also known as Edward’s syndrome, is a condition in which a baby has an extra copy of the 18th chromosome. Children with Trisomy 18 are very unlikely to survive.

Medical professionals were quick to offer Jessica with an abortion, which she was equally quick to refuse. She said: “As he was still alive, I couldn’t do it.”

Instead, her whole family prepared to welcome him into the world for however long he was to be alive, supported by Martin House, a local children’s hospice in North Yorkshire.

Baby Oaken was born and lived for two days. The hospice provided a room for his family so that they could spend quality time with him.

Oaken’s older sister, Willow, was also a big help for the family. Jessica told of how the five-year-old helped them to remain steadfast in their defence of Oaken’s right to life: “She taught so many people about death and not to be frightened of it. It was a privilege to have that perception from a young person.”

As Willow had been so desperate to have a younger sibling, her parents ensured a close relationship between them once he was born. She had the chance to hold him and dress him, and Martin House even gave her a sibling box to remember her little brother by.

Although brave little Oaken is no longer with them, Jessica insists that he remains an integral member of the Herbert family: “We also talk about him quite a lot in a positive way. We talk about our happy memories. There are photos of him all over the place. He’s part of our family, just not with us.”

While it is true that many children with Trisomy 18 do not live long after birth, it has been reported that some doctors view them as if they are guaranteed to die, and so do not provide them with adequate care, adding to the babies killed before birth on the grounds of having a so-called “fatal fetal abnormality.

Jessica has no regrets and is confident that she made the right decision allowing him to live: “He was such a brave little man who showed us we’d done the right thing to give him a chance at life.”

"Life is precious"

Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications said: “Life is precious no matter how long or short it is, and the lives of those born with conditions such as Trisomy 18 are no different.

“The Herbert family have shown great courage in a difficult situation, focusing on the joy of little Oaken, rather than the length of his life.

“SPUC extends its best wishes to the whole family.”