For Tina and Eddie McManus, their son Jamie’s life is a testament to the profound dignity of life. Though the journey was filled with deep sorrow, their love for him runs even deeper, and by sharing his story, they hope to bring more awareness about the beauty and value of life, especially that of unborn children — and the sacredness of every life, no matter how brief. 

The International Day of the Unborn Child is celebrated every year on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the day when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Mother. 

First officially celebrated in Argentina in 1999, this day was established with the support of Pope St. John Paul II — who viewed the day as “a positive option in favor of life and the spread of a culture for life to guarantee respect for human dignity in every situation” — to be a celebration of the value and dignity of every human person from the moment of conception. 

While it is also a day of remembrance for those unborn children who have lost their lives to the violence of abortion, the day also remembers children who have died at birth through miscarriage, stillbirth and other causes. 

For the International Day of the Unborn Child, Jamie’s mom Tina courageously shared the hardships and beauty of carrying and loving a child that she knew would have a limited time on this earth. 

 Tina, Eddie and Jamie 

Eddie and Tina first met in October 2016 in O’Donoghue’s pub in Dublin. From the start, the two felt an instant connection despite their differences. 

“I am a city girl and he is a country guy,” Tina McManus, 44, from Dublin, told the Register. “I am very outgoing and he is quite shy, so we were an unusual match, but from the get-go we got on like a house on fire.” 

Not only did the two have “a huge amount in common from a work and travel perspective,” but, most importantly, McManus continued, they shared the same values “focused on trust, faithfulness, kindness and generosity.” 

“We were both 35 and knew what we wanted in a partner,” McManus added, “so following a four-month whirlwind romance, Eddie asked me to marry him in the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.” 

After a beautiful wedding on Jan. 1, 2018, and a honeymoon in New Zealand — “the trip of a lifetime” — the couple returned home to Dublin to build their home and life together. 

Worried that she might not be able to have children because she had polycystic ovary syndrome — a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age which can impact fertility — Tina shared that she and her husband “had discussed this before [they] got married and agreed that if [they] couldn’t have children naturally, [they] would look to adopt and give a child who needs it a loving home.” 

“As you can imagine,” she continued, “to say we were over the moon to find out I was pregnant when we got back from our honeymoon is an understatement!” 

However, things took a very sad turn following a screening test, Tina recounted. 

“I got a call at work one day from the doctor in the clinic to tell me there was an 85% chance my baby boy had a chromosomal condition called Edwards syndrome or trisomy 18,” she said. 

A Hard but Very Special Pregnancy 

“It was a terrible shock and a lot to take in at the time,” Tina said. “The minute Eddie got my call, he drove straight to my office to give me a big hug and discuss what this meant.” Neither of them had heard of the genetic condition before.

The rare condition causes a range of serious developmental and physical issues, including intellectual development delays, growth deficiency, heart defects, skeletal deformities and other abnormalities, which often lead to early death. Most babies with trisomy 18 die before birth or within the first few days or weeks after birth due to severe medical complications.

“Eddie’s care, support and kindness this day reminded me, as it did many times in the years to come, of what an amazing man I had married,” she said. 

Tina described the remainder of her pregnancy as a “hard but very special time,” during which they focused on creating as many memories as possible together, and 3D scans every couple of weeks allowed the parents to “see him in his full form, kicking, jumping and waving.” These videos, Tina said, they will “cherish forever.” 

“We knew that if baby Jamie did survive post birth that it would only be for days, but there was a high chance that his organs wouldn’t withstand the trauma of childbirth.” 

On Nov. 21, 2018, McManus went into labor in the middle of the night. 

When they arrived at the hospital, Jamie had a strong heartbeat. Tina shared that she “was really hoping that they might get to hold him alive” but that Eddie was worried that if we did, “it might make his death all the harder for both of them.” 

“We never found out the answer to that question,” McManus added, “as Jamie passed away during childbirth.”

Saying Goodbye to Jamie 

While Tina was brought to the operating room, a necessity, as her placenta did not deliver, “Eddie took Jamie to our hospital room where both families and my best friend Jodi were waiting to simply be there for us and meet little Jamie.” 

Stressing that while the mothers are often the focus, fathers too experience indescribable pain and grief, Eddie was overcome with emotion once she was no longer in the room,Tina recalled,

She said, “This time was really sad for Eddie, I think because I wasn’t there, so he didn’t feel he had to be strong for me and he was overwhelmed by what had happened and now all his family were there to surround him with love and support.” 

“The next couple of days were so special,” Tina added, noting that “the bereavement midwives were amazing; they bathed Jamie, and we clothed him.” 

A memory box arrived from the charity Féileacáin, allowing Tina and Eddie to take Jamie’s hand and footprints, as well as a small lock of his hair, to keep as cherished mementos. 

“My friend Helen from work delivered a small white coffin to the hospital,” Tina continued. “The following day, we took Jamie home in a Moses basket and he spent a night with us. We didn’t want this time to end.” 

Another charity arranged for a photographer to visit their home, capturing precious photos of Jamie and taking clay prints of his hands and feet. “These clay prints hang in our sitting room,” McManus said, “and are the most valuable possession we have in our house.

“Kissing Jamie on the forehead before closing his little white coffin in our sitting room is probably one of the saddest memories I have, but Jamie’s funeral brought our close family and friends together, and it was a beautiful celebration of his short life.” 

Miscarriages, Cancer and Adoption 

Despite the physical and emotional exhaustion, “things were surprisingly peaceful,” Tina said. After her sister Maria arranged “a beautiful Mass in our local church in Dublin,” Jamie was buried in Drum Cemetery in the countryside close to Eddie’s hometown. 

Complications from childbirth damaged Tina’s womb lining, leading to scarring and further fertility struggles. Even following four miscarriages — “each one as heartbreaking as the next” — she and Eddie continued to hold onto the hope to grow their family as they began the adoption process,” in the hope to one day “give a child the loving home that [they] could provide.” 

But the suffering and setbacks did not end there. Tina was diagnosed with breast cancer, requiring three major surgeries, including a double mastectomy, followed by four months of chemotherapy. 

“I didn’t mind having cancer,” she shared, “but what upset me the most was that the oncologist recommended around 10 years of medication that would shut down my ovaries and mean I would not be able to get pregnant.”

As a result, their adoption journey was put on hold for several years. But in February 2025, after recovering from cancer and waiting nearly six years in the adoption process, the McManuses were finally approved by Ireland’s Adoption Authority to adopt. 

An Exciting Journey Ahead

Unfortunately, as “there are on average only six infants available to adopt each year [in Ireland] and a long queue of applicants hoping to be chosen to be adoptive parents,” the McManuses had to look elsewhere to adopt. 

“This really made me so sad, as I knew that we now live in a country with one of the most extreme abortion laws where over 10,000 innocent unborn babies were killed in 2023 alone.” 

“I often think of these babies and the beautiful lives and loving homes they could have had and the joy and happiness they would have brought to couples that couldn’t have children,” Tina added. 

However, after turning to the U.S. for the opportunity to adopt, they are both filled with anticipation and excitement, eagerly “looking forward to the exciting journey” ahead of them, without ever forgetting baby Jamie, Tina said.

“I truly believe Jamie is in heaven,” McManus added. “We pray to him every night, and I feel he is always there guiding us through life and the challenges it brings.” 

“Often, I look back on our time with Jamie and my overwhelming emotion is that of peace and happiness. I feel so privileged to have had the chance to be a mother, to experience childbirth, to carry him for nine months and to have given him the best chance of life. I am so happy that he was safe in my womb and that he was surrounded with happiness and love for his short life on earth. These graces will stay with me forever.” 

SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

Catholic Support for Parents Experiencing Miscarriage or Infant Loss| National Catholic Register

Healing Sorrow: Faith and Fellowship Aid Those Grieving| National Catholic Register