Mum Kymberlie Shepherd will never meet her baby Kyden

A YOUNG Perth woman has died giving birth to her son, leaving her rugby playing husband Wayde Kelly with the heartbreaking task of raising him alone.

“AT first I couldn’t look at him without crying,” says Wayde Kelly.

He’s talking about his son Kyden, born last Thursday — also the day Wayde lost the love of his life.

Kymberlie Shepherd, 26, a much-loved Gold Coast dance teacher, died giving birth to Kyden Thomas Bede Kelly after suffering a rare complication that strikes just 6.1 times in every 100,000 deliveries. Her son will never get to meet his mum.

“The only thing Kymmy wanted to do that she hasn’t done was be a mum and I thought I couldn’t enjoy it without her, but just looking at him ... now I’ve got something to focus on,” says a heartbroken Mr Kelly.

Doctors tried desperately to revive Ms Shepherd after she suffered an amniotic fluid embolism at a hospital in Perth, where the couple had set up a new life together after moving from the Coast.

An amniotic fluid embolism is a rare but serious condition that occurs when amniotic fluid — the fluid that surrounds a baby in the uterus during pregnancy — or foetal material enters the maternal bloodstream.

Mr Kelly said he was still struggling to understand what went wrong because the birth started fine.

Wayde Kelly and son Kyden pictured in their home in South Lake, Perth.

“They said the baby’s nearly here — she was trying to push and then she said she felt light-headed,” he said.

“I was holding her hand and I looked away for a second, and she just let go of my hand and had a bit of a fit.

“I was watching her lose colour. It’s something I’ll never forget. The last thing I saw was the smallest nurse jump on the gurney and start giving chest compressions and at that point I felt sick.”

The 26-year-old brand development officer with the NRL has been overwhelmed with support from thousands of people around the world who want to help the first-time dad.

Wayde Kelly and Kym Shepherd.

Mr Kelly said with so many tribute pages set up already, the outpouring showed just how loved his fiance was. He plans to return to the Coast, where the couple’s families are, to raise Kyden, who he says has become his focus in pulling through the crisis.

“Kymmy’s freckly and I’ve got brown hair and fair skin, so she was concerned he might be a ranga but he’s a little blondie with big blue eyes,” he said.

“I know everybody tells everyone they’ve got a cute baby but he goes all right.’’

Ms Shepherd’s funeral will be held on the Coast.

While the incidence of the Ms Shepherd’s condition varies worldwide, recent reports show it occurs in Australia on average 6.1 times every 100,000 deliveries, with a fatality rate of 14 per cent. It is a leading cause of maternal mortality in the developed world and cannot be predicted or prevented.

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Kym Shepherd died during childbirth last week, her son Kyden Thomas Bede Kelly.