Tracey Moreton, 35, was 21 weeks pregnant when doctors discovered little Theodore’s lungs had failed to develop and he would be “incompatible with life”. A brave mum has released heartbreaking pictures of the stillborn baby son she was forced to give birth to knowing he wouldn’t survive.
She has decided to release the photographs of Theo five years on in a bid to tackle taboos around stillbirth. The mum-of-three, from Leeds, West Yorks., had to make the painful decision to terminate and less than a week later gave birth to her son in a four-and-a-half hour labour.
WARNING – DISTRESSING IMAGES: Tracey Moreton, 35, was told little Theodore’s lungs had failed to develop and he would be “incompatible with life”
Tracey, who is also mum to nine-year-old Finlay, Benjamin, three, and 18-month-old George said: “I appreciate not everybody would want to see those pictures or people might get offended, but I want to remember Theo and help others be able to talk about baby loss.
“People who have had miscarriages have said to me that they know how I feel. But what I went through is something completely different.”I feel really passionate about it. I’ve realised it’s not just about Theo anymore, it’s about all those other babies that have been lost too.
“Losing a baby in the early stages is incredibly hard, but having to give birth to a lost baby is something else again.”I find it really hard thinking about all those things that Theo never got the chance to do.”
In August 2011, in-store demonstrator Tracey was told during her 21 week scan that her baby had a rare condition called Posterior Urethral Valves.
His lungs had barely developed and he also had pulmonary and renal failure, meaning he had no chance of survival outside the womb.
Tracey said: “I’d been really excited for the 21 week scan.
“He was kicking but something wasn’t feeling right compared to my first pregnancy with Finlay. I’d been feeling pretty ill.
“I was asking what was wrong, and then she went to get another doctor.