Young Mount Gambier parents Marisha Smith and Riley Raynor grieving as newborn baby Nova dies just before Christmas

A young couple has been left shattered and grieving after their newborn baby died suddenly in hospital, just before Christmas.

Riley Raynor with his daughters Malayah and Nova, before Nova's tragic death.

A devastated young mum and dad have lost their newborn baby a week before Christmas, despite a team of doctors and midwives working for more than an hour to save her.

Mount Gambier couple Marisha Smith, 19, and 21-year-old Riley Raynor’s beautiful baby Nova was born on December 18 at the local hospital via a planned C-section, her grieving grandmother Danni Smith said.

“Her apgar was 9.9, she was 7.6 pounds, healthy and pink and beautiful,” Ms Smith said.

“That night they went to go to sleep and the nurses came into to do their check and later Marish looked down and saw the baby’s lips were blue.

“She panicked and ran out and said, ‘there’s something wrong with my daughter’ – and there would have been a team of 15 midwives and paediatricians working on her for over an hour.

“It was heartbreaking. They lost her pulse three times.”

Marisha Smith and Riley Raynor with their daughter Malayah Smith.

Beautiful baby Nova Raynor, who died hours after being born on December 18, 2024, at Mount Gambier Hospital.

Ms Smith said the young parents, who have another daughter Malayah, were “beside themselves”.

“They were in and out of the room and when the doctors called us back into the room, we thought they were going to say Nova was stable … this was the last thing we were expecting.”

Nova’s “little heart and brain” is now being tested for abnormalities for a cause of death, which is so far unexplained.

“That was the early hours of the 19th – and at 2.45am they declared Nova had gone and Marisha and Riley were able to spend some time with her.”

Mount Gambier couple Marisha Smith and Riley Raynor with their baby Nova.

Ms Smith said her daughter and Mr Raynor were “grieving, heartbroken shattered”.

“They were expecting to bring home baby Nova from the hospital, they had the whole house set up,” she said. “For all this to happen the week before Christmas, we had to put on a brave face for the other children.”

Mr Raynor, who works in a crayfish processing factory, is struggling to process the loss of his daughter, she said, and was too overwhelmed to go back.

“They were given a beautiful bear with angel wings and Nova’s prints on it by family friends and he’s been sleeping with it every night, he’s absolutely heartbroken, as is mum.

“Marisha just needs her family support around her – when tragedies happen like this everyone grieves differently. They are only young – this is new for our whole family and it’s heavy on their hearts.

“It’s been challenging, especially when Nova was so wanted and loved and needed.”

To help the young family, Ms Smith has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to assist with funeral costs and hopefully provide some space so they don’t have to rush back into work.

You can help donate to the fundraiser here.