Family shattered after mum dies one week after death of unborn baby

Only a few weeks ago Lauren Thompson was a healthy and happy pregnant woman, now her family has to face life without her and her unborn little girl, Hannah.

Four children and a shattered husband are grieving a double tragedy after a Queensland mum died suddenly just one week after losing her unborn baby girl.

Lauren Thompson was 36 weeks pregnant with her first girl when, despite having experienced a healthy pregnancy, her uterus unexpectedly ruptured.

The baby girl, who the couple named Hannah, tragically could not be saved, and her mum’s condition continued to deteriorate to a point where, a few days later, she was gone too.

The 39-year-old had no issues throughout the pregnancy until she began suffering severe pains and had to be rushed to Redcliffe Hospital.

It was there doctors discovered her uterus had grown into her previous caesarean section scar.

The issue, Mr Thompson said, had not shown up in any of his late wife’s pregnancy scans, so took them and staff entirely by surprise.

While the exact cause of her death will be determined by the coroner, its believed she may have died from placenta accreta spectrum – a condition where the placenta grows too deep into the uterine wall, leading the uterus to rupture.

Lauren Thompson died last Saturday, a week after losing her unborn baby girl. Picture: GoFundMe/The Thompson family

Mr Thompson was inconsolable when he was delivered the news his wife had passed away.

“I remember when they told me she’d died. I fell to the floor wailing and sobbing uncontrollably,” Mr Thompson told Courier Mail.

“Then they said she was alive. She was going to make it and then she wasn’t. It felt like my emotions were being pulled from pillar to post.”

Mrs Thompson suffered a brain bleed before passing away, with her sons allowed into the room to say a final goodbye.

Her shaken husband said he held her hand through it all.

Passing his late daughter in the emergency department had also been excruciating.

The mum had a regular pregnancy until she began experiencing extreme pain. Picture: Facebook

“She looked exactly like our second son Liam. It was very hard. I started rocking and patting her and checking she was OK and happy. Then I realised no my child actually isn’t alive what am I doing? At least I got to hold her though,” he said.

Mr Thompson vowed to spend the rest of his life waiting for her.

The late mum has been remembered as a “one-of-a-kind” person who radiated “warmth, kindness and love”.

The “gorgeous wife” left behind her husband, Ben Thompson, and the couple’s four boys aged nine, seven, four and two.

“The news has hit everyone who knew her like a sledge hammer,” her best friend of 24 years and sister-in-law Kylie Kane wrote to a GoFundMe page established to support the family in her wake.

Earlier scans didn’t pick up that her uterus had grown into her previous caesarean section scar. Picture: Facebook

“Lauren was the most incredible mum, she devoted her life to her boys, she homeschooled them with so much patience and passion. Anyone who has met them could feel the love and respect between them all,” the page read.

“She will be so deeply missed by everyone, especially her family. The loss of such a kind human and amazing mum will be felt forever.”

She said while the family had been completely shattered by the loss, they were fortunate to have a mountain of support behind them.

Lauren and Hannah were going to be cremated together and the family will pick out a memorial location to visit.

Keep the conversation going, email [e-mail]