Michelle and Vin Manley from Drogheda opened up about the difficult decision they faced in 2014 after it was discovered their baby had a fatal foetal abnormality during a routine pregnancy scan.

A brave couple who lost their newborn son hours after his birth have welcomed twins, one year after their emotional story touched the nation's hearts on RTE's Late Late Show.

In February 2016, Michelle and Vin Manley from Drogheda opened up about the difficult decision they faced in 2014 after it was discovered their baby had a fatal foetal abnormality during a routine pregnancy scan.

The couple decided to continue Michelle's pregnancy and carry their son to term, but hours after welcoming Jamie in January 2015 he sadly passed away.

Returning to the programme last night, the couple were joined by their three-week-old twins Owen and Bethany but said the loss of their son Jamie is something that will forever be on their mind.

Expand Close Baby Bethany Jamie featured on the Late Late Show with her brave parents / Facebook

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Whatsapp Baby Bethany Jamie featured on the Late Late Show with her brave parents

"It has been a rollercoaster. It is a difficult decision to know whether you should have more children because you're saying, 'Is it worth the risk, is it worth the heartbreak?' We had to weigh that up.

"We left it a while. We wanted Jamie to have his spotlight and to have his own time. We were hoping that when the time was right something good would happen.

"Jamie is everywhere. They get wrapped up in Jamie's blankets every night, they sleep in the cot Jamie would have slept in at home," the couple said.

Speaking of their three-week-old twins, mum Michelle said it was important to give her children the middle name 'Jamie' to remember their older brother.

"They've changed our lives."

"The names are bringing him forward. He's their big brother. It fits that it's a unisex name. He's a big part of it."

Last year, the couple explained the reason they chose to carry their son to term after doctors tragically told them he would be incompatible with life

"The right thing to do is what is right for you and your unborn baby."

"A member of his team took us into a room and told us basically that there’s too many things wrong... and with these anomalies is it certain that your baby is not going to live past birth if you get to term. He won’t live past birth.

"There is only two choices. You can stay and continue your pregnancy or you can travel to Liverpool or England for a medical termination.

Expand Close Michelle and Vin pictured with their son Jamie / Facebook

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"We sat down and we said ‘What are we going to do’ and ‘How are we going to do this’? We were lucky enough to be in a position where we could continue [the pregnancy]. We just decided that this baby was going to decide what happened. We handed over power. He was a jelly bean at the time. We didn’t know he was Jamie. We just said ‘You know what Jamie? You decide when you come, how you com’ and we’re okay with that.”

"We felt he knew what he was doing. It worked for us to keep going. We really firmly believe that Jamie was brought us into our lives to make us happy, not to make us sad," said Michelle speaking to Ryan Tubridy.

The nurse revealed that her decision to continue her pregnancy gave her valuable time to spend with her child.

"I was lucky enough to be in a position to take off work. Every couple of weeks we had scans. That time was so precious. It sounds so bizarre. We looked forward to it.

"We got to see him move, hear his heartbeat. That was the time we needed to enjoy. It was our time with our baby. We had to take it minute by minute and day by day. We felt that we owed it to our child to do the best for him. Any parent just wants what’s best for their child. That was our time being his parents.

The couple welcomed their son on January 9, 2015 and revealed they feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to spend three hours with their son while he was alive.

"The hours went by so quickly. It felt like only a matter of minutes. Just watching the sensation of watching him breathing. It was amazing.

"We told him how happy we were to meet him, how courageous he is. He lived for three hours. We were never meant to get that time if you went by the statistics and the facts. We’re so lucky," she said.

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