A first-time mum from Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire died during childbirth after a “textbook” pregnancy, but her newborn son survived in what her family calls a miracle. Chelsea McGillivray, 31, suffered an unknown cardiac event while giving birth to Tommy on August 24 and died despite doctors trying “everything they could” to save her.
Her family said it was “the last thing she could do for him” that she held on long enough to deliver her son safely. Chelsea’s long-term partner and Tommy’s dad, Jack Mitchell, 31, now faces raising the newborn alone, but loved ones say “he's a natural” at parenthood.
Sudden collapse on the labour ward
Chelsea’s sister-in-law Lorna McGillivray, 33, described her as the “life and soul of every party” and said she couldn’t wait to become a mum. Lorna, married to Chelsea’s brother Steven, told Glasgow Live that Chelsea had shown no signs of health problems during her pregnancy and had been getting ready on the hospital ward at the Queen Elizabeth when she “crashed suddenly”.
Lorna said: “She got to the labour suite at around 8.30am and Tommy was born at 8.39am. So all of this transpired in nine minutes. They [c-] sectioned her and got him out, and then they started CPR. They worked on her for hours, and they had consultants and specialists from all over the Queen Elizabeth and the Jubilee.”
“But they just couldn't get her back. She was here one minute talking away, and not the next.”
“A miracle that Tommy's here”
Lorna believes Chelsea “held on” so she could save her son in her last act. She said: “It's a miracle that Tommy's here. I've spoken to some doctors and consultants, and this happening alone is extremely rare, but for the baby to survive is even rarer.”
“I like to think her body held on long enough just to get him here safely. But obviously she never got to meet him. All she wanted was her wee baby, and he's here and he's healthy. And that's the last thing she could do for him.”
Tommy was taken to the NICU and got home from the hospital on Wednesday, which Lorna called “bittersweet”. The cause of Chelsea’s death has not yet been confirmed; Lorna said: “We know her heart stopped but we don't know why... She was completely healthy as far as everyone was concerned.”
Family rally round to support Jack
As well as being the “life of the party”, Lorna said “glamourous” Chelsea was a huge football fan who loved seeing Rangers play at Ibrox, and that she was very close with her parents and family. She added that Chelsea had “the most infectious laugh”.
After her passing, Chelsea’s loved ones have “rallied round” Jack to help him navigate parenthood alone. Lorna said: “He's obviously grieving, but at the same time trying to learn how to be a dad. But he's a natural - he won't say that himself but he is. It's bittersweet. But he's got a great support around him, and we're all there for him.”
“They planned this for nine months- he knows exactly what Chelsea would've wanted. He's strong and he's really doing her proud.”
Lorna added of baby Tommy’s future: “None of us will ever let him forget his mummy. She got him here safely, it was the last thing she could do for him. He's our wee miracle and he's going to be absolutely spoiled rotten.”
A GoFundMe launched by Lorna to support Jack and Tommy raised nearly £50,000 in just one day.
