36-year-old mother dies just half an hour after giving birth to twin boys

Matt Whittaker told his fiancée that “life couldn’t get any better” minutes before she underwent a C-section to give birth to their twin boys.

Now the 36-year-old is busy planning her funeral.

Earlier this month, 36-year-old first-time mother Rachael Galloway died from complications just 30 minutes after giving birth to her sons Noah and Abel.

Mrs Galloway, who lived in Carnforth, Lancashire, was due to give birth by caesarean section at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, but died despite doctors’ best efforts.

A distraught Mr Whittaker recalled: ‘She died bringing beauty into the world, and bringing boys into the world.

Mrs Galloway, a business owner, was busy planning her wedding to Matt Whittaker. The couple got engaged just a week before her death.

“She was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Mr Whittaker said.

‘The Friday we got engaged, we were eating our dinner and I remember sitting there and saying to Rachael, “Can you believe this is our life? Life can’t get any better than this.”‘

Recalling the day of the operation, Mr Whittaker said: ‘Rach was a star. Although she was nervous, she was strong as hell and kept a brave face until the boys were born.

‘Then tears of joy flowed when I saw them, when I knew they were healthy and when I saw that I was giving Noah his first feeding.

“She was so happy, so proud, so full of love. She had the world in her eyes when she looked at our boys.

“It’s a shame this was the last time she saw them, but I hope she’s still watching over them.

‘Not only did she die that day on that operating table, but a part of me died as well, and I will never get that back.’

“But I won’t let the legacy and the dreams she had for our boys die too. We’ve had to say goodbye to too much.”

He described Ms Galloway as “the best person I have ever met” and praised her intelligence, sense of humour, caring nature and her beauty, both inside and out.

“She saw and brought out the best in people and I am living proof that she could see what no one else could see,” he said.

“I have to make her proud and make sure our boys grow up to be the gentlemen she would be proud of.”

Family friend Emma Jones helped set up a GoFundMe Page to raise money for Mr Whittaker and the boys. The current total is almost £20,000.

The 35-year-old lettings manager described the loss of Mrs Galloway as devastating and said the family were “absolutely devastated”.

“She was very excited about motherhood. She also got engaged the day after her birthday, she finally got her happy ever after,” she said.

A distraught Mr Whittaker recalled: ‘She died bringing beauty into the world, bringing the boys into the world

‘Before I left for vacation, I gave her a hug and said, “The next time I see you, you’re going to be the mother of two beautiful boys.”

“She was the best friend I ever had. I can’t believe we lost her.”

Sue Stansfield, interim director of obstetrics at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which includes Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said: ‘Losing a loved one is tragic and our sincere condolences go out to all family and friends affected by this great loss.

“As we are conducting an internal investigation and there is an ongoing coroner’s investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time. We will continue to offer our support to the family and colleagues involved.”

C-sections are considered a very safe procedure, but like any medical procedure, they carry some risks.

The most common are infections, rarely severe bleeding, and even more rarely dangerous blood clots and damage to internal organs.

According to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the maternal mortality rate for caesarean sections is one in 4,200 women.

For comparison, vaginal births have a mortality rate of one woman per 25,000.

C-sections may be planned, as in Mrs. Galloway’s case, if either the mother or baby have medical conditions that make this option safer or if there are multiple babies in the womb.

According to NHS data, around 16 per cent of births are planned caesarean sections.

C-sections can also sometimes be performed unplanned in what are called “emergency” C-sections when complications occur during a vaginal delivery. These account for about 17 percent of deliveries.

Caesarean sections that were refused or performed too late have been the subject of a number of scandals in NHS maternity care in recent years.