THE heartbroken parents of a baby boy who died at just three weeks old are raising money in his memory for the hospital unit that cared for him.

Grace Mullen and George Unsworth welcomed Oakley Immanuel Mullen-Unsworth on June 20 at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

Oakley, who was the couple's first child, weighed 4lb 8oz but his parents found out that he had Hydrops Fetalis a week before he was due to arrive.

Grace, from Latchford, said: "I found out about Hydrops Fetalis a week before I had Oakley, I was having a procedure done which involved inserting shunts into Oakleys lungs through my stomach and this caused my labour to start."

Hydrops Fetalis is a life-threatening condition where a baby has an abnormal build-up of fluids in the tissue around the lungs, heart, or abdomen, or under the skin.

Grace said: "I also struggled badly with breathing and my back throughout the pregnancy and my doctors thought this was because of Covid-19.

"But it ended up being down to Polyhydramnios.

"I was measuring 40 weeks pregnant when I was only at 29 weeks."

Polyhydramnios is a condition caused by too much amniotic fluid surrounding the baby during pregnancy.

The 21-year-old had a quick labour at Liverpool Women's Hospital but Oakley was born breech and Grace lost two litres of blood.

During Oakley's three weeks in the world, George and Grace were grateful for the hospital staff who became like family while caring for their son.

Grace said: "The staff were so friendly there.

"They allowed me to have my own room as I struggled with staying with other people.

"I had an even better experience with the staff in neonatal ICU where Oakley stayed until he passed away at three weeks and four days old.

"They became like family, even though he had different nurses, they always did the best they could for Oakley and his family.

"I want to give back by raising money to help them buy equipment such as cooling costs which we used.

"These cots allowed us to spend time with Oakley after he passed and to see him in clothes for the first time without multiple wires around him.

"The staff also allowed us to stay in an apartment at the top of the hospital so we was always around Oakley and we just want to say thank you."

You can donate to Grace and George's fundraiser at www.gofundme.com/f/oakleys-charity