A MUM described as “totally healthy” died just hours after giving birth to a “gorgeous” baby boy.
Emily Lockley is believed to have suffered a pulmonary aneurysm – a bulge in a blood vessel caused by weakness in the wall – which damaged her heart.
The 26-year-old, who was said to have a “perfectly normal pregnancy”, welcomed little Harley into the world on February 6.
He was born full-term at Royal Stoke University Hospital at 7.56am, weighing 8lb 1oz.
Emily, who was induced and had gas and air during labour, passed away just after 12pm on the same day.
Her exact cause of death has not yet been determined, but her family believe a pulmonary aneurysm was to blame.
They are remembering the mum, who worked at a GP surgery in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, as “one in a million”.
Her sister Chloe Stokes, 24, said on a GoFundMe to raise money for Emily’s funeral: “She dreamed of becoming a mother her entire life.
Emily, we will look after your gorgeous boy Harley, and we will pass him your love that you will be sending from heaven
Tracey Wootton
“Emily kept her little boy so safe and spoke daily about how excited she was to finally have her dream life.
“She had no medical conditions, before or during her pregnancy, so as you can imagine, this has come as a huge shock to us all.
“No one ever prepares you for something so awful to happen, especially to a young, low-risk, healthy woman.”
Speaking to The Mirror, she added: “She was very beautiful – inside and out.
“We called her the little dancing queen, as she loved Abba.
“As a family, we are in complete shock, as Emily had a perfectly normal pregnancy.”
Harley spent the first week of his life in the NICU, but he is now “home and healthy” with Emily’s partner Tyler Collinson and mum Tracey Wootton.
She dreamed of becoming a mother her entire life
Chloe Stokes
Tracey, 46, said: “Emily, we will look after your gorgeous boy Harley, and we will pass him your love that you will be sending from heaven.”
Welder Tyler, 27, added: “We were both so excited to become parents and Emily helped give me so much faith in myself that I was going to do the best job as a dad.
“She was so supportive and prepared, I was in awe.
“I felt like the luckiest man in the world that she chose to go through life with me. She was one in a million.”