Soap harrowing baby storylines – EastEnders child swap to Corrie sudden death

Soaps are known for being full of dramatic twists and turns and this doesn't change when it comes to children.

With EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale beginning decades ago, the soaps have produced countless harrowing storylines when it comes to having children.

Recently, Whitney Dean recently learned that her unborn child has been diagnosed with Edwards' Syndrome – a genetic condition which begins to affect babies when they are in the womb and means they usually die shortly after birth.

READ MORE: Soap wedding day heartbreaks – from gay secrets to fake pregnancy exposed

While Home and Away's Ziggy Astoni is currently expecting her first child but after falling down the stairs at Salt, was rushed to hospital with fears she could lose her baby.

Ahead of these characters preparing to give birth, Daily Star has looked back at the most memorable yet heartbreaking baby storylines.

Sudden death

Back in June 2000, Corrie characters Kevin and Alison Webster were over the moon when they welcomed a son named Jake.

Alison went to tend to the newborn shortly after his birth, but began screaming for doctors when she noticed her son had turned blue.

Baby Jake was was diagnosed by doctors with a fatal Group B Strep infection and wasn't responding to treatment.

A doctor then spoke Kevin and Alison and delivered the heartbreaking news that their son would die.

Saying a final goodbye to their son, Jake passed away in the arms of his parents in the devastating scene.

After Jake's death, Alison had a breakdown and snatched newborn Bethany Platt.

She eventually handed her back but ran in front of a lorry and was killed, leaving Kevin heartbroken.

Baby swap

One of the most controversial storylines that EastEnders has ever had was the infamous baby swap involving Ronnie Branning and Kat Moon.

The plot saw Ronnie and Kat Moon give birth on New Year's Eve in 2010 , but just one day later, Ronnie and Jack Branning's son, James died suddenly of infant death syndrome.

After finding a lifeless James in his cot, a despairing Ronnie swapped him for Kat's son, Tommy.

After watching the story unfold, viewers quickly rushed to Ofcom and the soap was hit was 13,400 complaints.

This was one of the show's most complained about plots across its entire history as many slammed the “distressing” scenes.

In the end, the plot concluded when Tommy was returned to Kat and Ronnie was put in prison for child abduction.

29 minutes old

In February 2018, Chas Dingle discovered she was pregnant with Paddy Kirk's baby after forgetting about her contraceptive injection.

Despite the surprise, the pair were overjoyed and couldn't wait to become parents again.

But Chas learned at her 20-week scan that her unborn child had Bilaterial Renal Agenesis – a condition where both kidneys and bladder fail to develop.

The barmaid was told her daughter would not survive long after being born and was unable to tell Paddy the truth.

After she broke down in their unborn daughter's newly decorated nursery, Paddy discovered Chas and finally learned of the diagnosis.

While the doctors told Chas and Paddy to consider a termination, Chas was unable to go through with it after feeling her unborn daughter kick for the first time.

On Aaron and Robert's stag night, Chas went into labour and gave birth to a baby girl named Grace.

Grace tragically died just 29 minutes after she was born, passing away in Chas' arms as she and Paddy said goodbye.

Forced C-section

EastEnders sparked outrage in 2008 following the storyline that evolved between May Wright and Dawn Swann.

After learning Dawn was pregnant with her estranged husband's child, May offered her £10,000 to allow her to raise it as her own.

But after changing her mind, May held a heavily pregnant Dawn hostage by chaining her to a bed and threatened to cut her baby from her body using a scalpel.

Dawn managed to escape and gave birth to her daughter, Summer, shortly after.

Nearly 200 viewers complained about the graphic episode and a further 12 complaints were made to Ofcom due to the scenes involving a pregnant woman nearly suffering a forced C-section.

EastEnders bosses planned to take the storyline to the next level, with the intention being Dr May kidnapping the baby after her birth.

The plot was rewritten however, because it was deemed to similar to the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine McCann who went missing in Portugal around the same time.

23-week labour

In 2017, Michelle Connor, played by Kym Marsh, suffered a devastating miscarriage when her waters broke at 23 weeks.

After being rushed to hospital, Michelle and her then husband Steve McDonald were told their baby wouldn't survive.

In the harrowing scene, Michelle was then forced to give birth to her son who was pronounced dead just moments after his birth.

In the agonising scene, Michelle cradles her tiny baby as sobs as Steve tries to comfort her.

The storyline was particularly poignant for Kym, 46, as she lost her own baby son Archie at just 21 weeks following a premature birth in February 2009.

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity). You can call them on 0808 164 3332 or email [email protected].

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at the Miscarriage Association. You can call them on 01924 200799 or email [email protected]

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