A GRIEVING family has shared a heartbreaking photo after a dad was only allowed only minutes with his dead baby due to strict hospital coronavirus rules.
Aroha Nicola was nearly five months pregnant when she began to experience heavy bleeding, so her partner, Lee Paaki, 28, rushed her to hospital.
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There the 23-year-old, from New Zealand, was given the devastating news that her baby boy wouldn’t survive long after birth due to complications.
But due to strict hospital rules over the coronavirus pandemic, Aroha was alone in the hospital for five days before she went into labour, knowing her son wouldn’t make it.
The family was still reeling from the death of Aroha’s older brother, who passed away three weeks before from heart complications, aged just 28.
Aroha told the New Zealand Herald: “I was grieving alone for my brother, knowing my baby was going to die after I gave birth to him.”
He grabbed my hand and he smiled and pulled my finger closer, and then he took his last breath
Aroha
On April 2, she gave birth to her little boy at 21 weeks, with Lee finally allowed in as she was in labour.
The grieving parents had a few precious moments with their son before the baby was “ripped away”, just 10 minutes after being born.
The mum-of-four said: “He grabbed my hand and he smiled and pulled my finger closer, and then he took his last breath.
“My partner had to take the baby off me because I was crying and in so much pain.”
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The couple named him Te Whakanga, after Aroha’s older brother.
Aroha said not being able to have Lee, or her mum, with her as she grieved was “extremely hard”.
Lee created a fundraising page to to cover the costs of the funeral and burial, to help his family through “this tough time”.
He said: “(Aroha) the mum has already been through a loss of her older brother only 3 weeks ago which broke her…
“Then to go through the lockdown and then with her being in hospital and all the new rules put in place regarding who can be at the hospital during this time made it even harder and emotionally difficult….”
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He added Aroha “missed” another one of her children’s birthdays as she waited alone in the hospital, saying she had spent “a lot of time alone” during these difficult few weeks.
Aroha said she understood why the strict hospital rules were in place, but “begged” people to stay at home so no other family has to endure this “heartache”.
The family buried Te in a small ceremony, adding they would have a memorial for extended family – who they still haven’t been able to see – when the lockdown ended.
Lee added their son would be “always in our hearts”.
In other news supermum Sue Radford has given birth to baby number 22.
And a Me And My 10 Kids family reveal what life is like with a bumper brood and a newborn in quarantine.
Meanwhile this mum shared tips to make food last longer during coronavirus lockdown – and they won’t cost you anything.
