Joe and I have always known we wanted to be parents. We started trying for our first baby after we ran the Manchester Marathon together in 2023. Our first two pregnancies ended in missed miscarriages. We approached our third pregnancy with cautious hope which built and built with each week and each successful checkup.

During the final few weeks of our pregnancy we had various monitoring and scans due to reduced movement concerns, the baby's positioning, and growth concerns. All monitoring came back normal and our son was growing as he should.

At 39 weeks, with what we thought was an abundance of caution, we admitted to St Mary's for reduced movement again. After a failed check with the Doppler, the ultrasound machine was brought around. We'll never forget the doctor's face when he said the words no parent wants to hear: "I'm so sorry, your son has died".

We were induced the following day. Oliver Leaney was born in the wee hours on October 11. He weighed 7lbs and looked just like his dad. He was a tall, lanky Leaney boy with big feet and that signature black hair. We are so proud to have had Oliver for the time we did and heartbroken to have lost him before he had a chance to live his life.

This spring Joe will be running the Manchester Marathon again with his dad Paul, his brothers Sam, Rob, and Phil, his sisters-in-law Christina and Josie, and our good friends Liam, Pete, and Ellen in memory of Oliver.

Collectively, we are fundraising for Tommy’s who exist to stop the heartbreak and devastation of baby loss and to make pregnancy and birth safer - for everyone.

Tommy's is dedicated to finding causes and treatments as well as providing trusted pregnancy and baby loss information and support.

Your donation will help find answers, cures and make breakthroughs happen. Each donation will help take a step closer to saving babies' lives.

1 in 250 pregnancies in the UK end in stillbirth. To learn more about the research projects your donation would contribute to, see Tommy's Stillbirth research info page.

Thank you.