Influencers Tash and Marcus O’Brien Mourn the Loss of Their Baby

Melbourne influencers Tash and Marcus O’Brien have opened up about the devastating death of their first child, a baby boy named Billy.

Both bodybuilders, the couple had been eagerly preparing to meet their son following what Tash described as a “perfect pregnancy the whole way through”.

But a series of distressing events during her induction left their hopes of bringing Billy into the world alive shattered.

As they cope with the aftermath, Tash and Marcus have shared the heartbreak of losing their son and having to say goodbye.

Speaking to Daily Mail on Wednesday, personal trainer Tash said her pregnancy had been considered low-risk and was closely monitored through a midwife program, with regular appointments and ultrasounds.

When she reached 38 weeks, Tash asked whether she could be induced, saying she believed she would feel more reassured with her baby outside the womb.

“I just needed him out,” she recalled. “I felt that I could keep him safer on the outside.”

The couple were initially told that an induction could not be scheduled until Tash reached 41 weeks.

At an appointment on the Monday of that week, Tash said she was finding it difficult to feel Billy move as he grew larger.

Doctors examined the baby and found that he was moving happily before arranging the induction for Saturday.

However, Tash said she remained uneasy after returning home and contacted her midwife to ask whether the appointment could be brought forward.

The next morning, she received a call offering an induction on Thursday, with the birth expected to take place on Friday.

Although their regular midwife would not be present, the couple decided to go ahead.

“We trust that these other midwives, they’ve been doing it a long time, it’ll… let’s just get him out,” Tash said.

Tash went to hospital on Thursday for the induction and said Billy was alive and well on the monitor at the time.

But the couple became concerned during the insertion of the balloon catheter when several midwives went back and forth discussing how much water should be used.

“We were told the balloon was so safe, so safe,” Marcus said.

Tash said she experienced significant cramping after the balloon was inserted, although staff told her Billy was fine. She also noticed blood coming from the tube attached to the balloon.

When she reported the bleeding, she said she was told it was normal spotting and was sent home.

Tash recalled being in excruciating pain after arriving home. 

Later that evening, blood again gushed from the tube and ran down her leg.

She called the midwife who had inserted the balloon and reported both the bleeding and her pain.

According to Tash, she was told the symptoms were normal and that the blood was acceptable as long as it was coming through the tube.

‘I feel extremely let down,’ she said.

That night, Tash remained on the couch because she did not want to go to bed until she felt her baby move.

She said she was gently poking her belly and talking to Billy, asking him to give her a sign that he was okay.

At around 9pm, he kicked. ‘So I was like, okay, so I have to go to bed,’ she recalled.

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The next morning, Tash told Marcus she had not really felt Billy move.

She wondered whether the cramping was distracting her from his movements, but was eager to get back to hospital and have him checked.

After arriving at the hospital, Tash asked a midwife to check Billy before beginning the routine preparations for the induction.

The midwife attempted to find his heartbeat but nothing could be heard. Another midwife was called in, followed by two doctors with an ultrasound machine.

The scan confirmed that Billy had died.

‘It’s like the most devastating moment of my life,’ Tash said.

After the heartbreaking news, the couple spent several hours waiting before Tash underwent a caesarean section.

Later, the couple were able to see Billy.

‘He absolutely looks perfect,’ Tash said. ‘You could tell that he hadn’t been gone for long. Literally just like he’s sleeping.’

The couple spent the next four days in hospital with their son.

‘We got to give him as much love as we possibly could,’ Tash said.

But after Billy was taken for his autopsy, the couple returned home.

‘We came home to an empty house,’ Tash said.

Tash and Marcus have raised concerns about the care Tash received during the induction and the advice she was given after reporting pain and bleeding.

They said they are awaiting the autopsy and coroner’s report before deciding whether to pursue any legal action.

‘If we find that there’s evidence that I should have been more supported, then it’s maybe something that we will look into,’ Tash said.

‘But at the moment, we’re just trying to get through day by day.’

The couple have been connected with counselling and Red Nose, while Marcus’s family has organised a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Billy’s funeral.

They are also being supported by Tash’s usual midwife, who she described as ‘absolutely incredible’.

Despite the heartbreak, the couple said they have been overwhelmed by the support they have received since sharing Billy’s photographs.

‘It’s been overwhelmingly good,’ Marcus said.

For Tash, however, the pain remains raw.

‘Even if it was going to happen, if they got me in and I was checked, I would feel so much more reassured knowing that it happened while I was at the hospital, and there was nothing they could do. But I wasn’t even checked,’ she said. 

As they wait for answers, Tash and Marcus are facing the unimaginable task of grieving a baby they had spent months preparing to meet.

‘We’re broken,’ Marcus said. ‘We’re honestly just so, so heartbroken.’

Click here to donate to Tash and Marcus’ GoFundMe.