A ‘completely healthy’ woman who died just hours after giving birth to a baby boy had ‘dreamed of being a mother all her life’, her heartbroken family have revealed.
Emily Lockley suffered a suspected pulmonary aneurysm, which damaged her heart during childbirth. Despite medics’ efforts to revive the new mother, she died just four hours after baby Harley was born.
The tragedy has left the healthy baby, who was born on February 6 weighing 3.5kg, motherless and his father Tyler Collinson, 27, had to raise the child alongside his partner’s grieving family.
Remembering her older sister, Chloe Stokes, 24, the death – which happened a day after her 26th birthday – was a ‘complete shock as Emily had a completely normal pregnancy’.
A fundraiser to support little Harley and fund the funeral of Mrs Lockley, who was dubbed ‘The Little Dancing Queen’ by the family because she loved ABBA, has now raised more than £12,000.
Emily Lockley, 26, suffered a suspected pulmonary aneurysm, which damaged her heart during childbirth
The young woman had been taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital on the evening of her 26th birthday. Tragically, she died just four hours after giving birth
Mrs Lockley and her partner lived with her family home in Stoke-on-Trent, with her mother Tracey Wootton, 46, stepfather Mark Wootton, 57, and stepbrother Kieran Wootton, 17.
Mrs Wootton vowed to care for her eldest daughter’s “beautiful boy Harley”, adding that the family will “pass on your love that you will send from heaven”.
Harley and his father still live in the Wootton home as he continues to parent without his beloved partner.
He said: ‘We were both so excited to become parents and Emily helped give me so much confidence in myself to do the best job as a father. She was so supportive and prepared, I was impressed.
‘I felt like the luckiest man in the world that she chose to go through life with me. She was one in a million.”
The expectant mother’s social media pages were full of posts about her excitement about becoming a parent.
A photo shared just months showed Ms Lockley beaming into the camera and holding her baby bump, with the caption ‘in my mummy time’.
Other posts show photos from her gender reveal party and ultrasounds of her ‘lil bubs’.
Announcing her pregnancy in August, Mrs Lockley excitedly wrote: ‘Something exciting makes us happy, we’re changing our names to mum and dad. Baby Collinson due in February 2024.”
The young woman’s family said she had always dreamed of becoming a mother and wanted to have two or three children
After her death, her sister said Mrs Lockley had ‘dreamed of being a mother and would have wanted two or three babies if she could have had them’.
Mrs Lockley went into labor on February 5 – her birthday – and was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with her mother and partner, where she was kept overnight.
It was decided to induce her on February 6 at noon. She became very sleepy and suddenly “took a deep breath and collapsed.”
Her sister Miss Stokes told it the mirror: ‘The doctors rushed her to the cinema and took Harley out. Harley was born at 7:56 am and just after 12 noon the doctors told us that Emily had passed away. They tried to resuscitate her a few times, but it didn’t work.’
“As far as we knew, there was nothing wrong with her,” her younger sister said. ‘Emily loved running and regularly went for runs with Tyler. She ran a half marathon a few years ago.”
An exact cause of death has yet to be determined by the hospital, but her family was told by doctors that it was likely caused by a ‘pulmonary aneurysm’.
Despite the horrific situation, the family has remained grateful to the neonatal unit that helped keep Harley safe.
Miss Stokes added: “Harley is the absolute spitfire of Emily. He has her big blue eyes, he has her nose – his whole face is Emily. He would have loved her.’
A tribute to A GoFundMe Page for Mrs Lockley added: ‘Emily was a 26-year-old woman who dreamed of being a mother all her life. Emily kept her son so safe and shared daily how excited she was to finally have her dream life.”
MailOnline has contacted Royal Stoke University Hospital for comment.