A HEARTBROKEN mum has told of her devastation at the death of her baby boy, born when she was 33 weeks pregnant while having life-saving surgery.

In memory of Albert, who died in December, Natalie Smith, 31, of London Road, Westcliff, is raising funds for Aching Arms.

The charity – which gives a bear to all bereaved new parents and operates out of Southend Hospital – has helped to comfort Natalie, her husband Ewan, 33, and Albert’s big brother, Austin, two.

Natalie said: “In December our baby boy Albert died. I was 33 weeks pregnant and suffered a strangulated bowel as a complication from earlier surgery. This was misdiagnosed and I developed sepsis. I became critically unwell and by the time Albert was delivered he could not be revived.

“The surgery to save my life was complicated and I was sedated for two and a half days - when I awoke I was informed of Albert’s death.

“Losing him devastated myself, my husband, our little boy Austin and the rest of the family. It was some time before I got to meet Albert due to my health and him needing a post mortem. The second time I met him, we were given an Aching Arms bear – Rory – by the Bereavement midwife at Southend Hospital “I want to raise as much money for this amazing charity in Albert’s name. And it’s also about raising awareness and getting people talking about baby loss. No matter how tiny, every life is a little miracle and every baby is loved and missed.”

A tea party with friends and family, plus a cake sale has already raised more than £1,800 for the charity.

Apart from the scars and having 10cm less bowel, Natalie is recovering well from her surgery, But Natalie said: “Emotionally though, all we can do is take it day by day. You never really recover from losing a child, you just learn to deal with the heartbreak. It’s incredibly difficult when Austin talks about missing Albert.”

The family have now created a Facebook page called Love Albert where they will let people know about future fundraising events and keep people updated about how much they have raised.