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Mum dies 'in agony' after giving birth to fourth child

A family have been left heartbroken after 25-year-old Tammy Nathan-Belk died just ten days after she gave birth.

On October 27 Ms Nathan-Belk from South Auckland gave birth to her daughter via emergency C-section, Stuff.co.nz reported.

This was her fourth child with partner, Troy Ruka, and each of her previous pregnancies had gone smoothly.

A few days after giving birth Ms Nathan-Belk was discharged from hospital and her mother, Tania Belk, told Stuff her daughter was told to rest because of the stitches stitches, which she agreed to do.

For a few days Ms Nathan-Belk was able to rest and enjoy time with her newborn daughter, Koraleigh, but less than 10 days after giving birth, the new mother’s health began to "deteriorated rapidly".

Tammy Nathan-Belk (right) and her newborn daughter (left)
Tammy Nathan-Belk (right), 25, died unexpectedly 10 days after giving birth to her fourth child (left). Source: Facebook/Tammy Nathan-Belk

Ms Nathan-Belk went to see her GP and was sent home with pain killers, that’s when her mother said her daughter was suddenly in “agony.”

"Troy called an ambulance but she died on her way into the hospital,” Ms Belk said.

"It's a huge, huge loss for us, she was our ray of sunshine, always there for us and we were always there for her," Ms Belk said.

The initial post mortem listed Ms Nathan-Belk’s cause of death as being due to ruptured acute appendicitis but the final post mortem report could take months.

"We were told her body had rejected the internal stitches from the C-section and it caused acute appendicitis,” her mother said.

Tammy Nathan-Belk with her new daughter (left) and with her partner Troy Ruka (right)
Tammy Nathan-Belk and her partner Troy Ruka (right) were celebrating the birth of their fourth child when tragedy struck. Source: Facebook/Tammy Nathan-Belk

Ms Belk said she doesn’t blame anyone for daughter's death but her family deserve answers.

A ‘Give a little’ page has been set up to raise funds for Ms Nathan-Belk’s funeral and to help her partner raise their four children.

Ms Belk said that 5-week-old Koraleigh is doing well “she’s just gorgeous,” but her older siblings, Taimana, Kaizarn and Traeziah - all under 10-years-old - are struggling with the loss of their mother.

“There are truly no words to explain the tremendous loss that Tammy's unexpected death brings,” the fundraising page reads.

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