Mother desperate to bring stillborn child home to Rotoiti

Noah James Cockroft Clay was born at 1.30am on Boxing Day. Photo / Supplied

Shyra Te Aroha Katene was five and a half months' pregnant, excited to visit the family in Rotoiti she hadn't seen for four years.

But, waiting to board a flight from London on Christmas Eve, her world crumbled.

"I was ready to board my flight and I just started having sharp pains and thought I don't really feel that good. I went to the bathroom and started bleeding. I knew instantly I couldn't board this flight," Katene said.

Rushed to hospital, Katene spent six hours in a waiting room, she said.

"I was still in pain and still bleeding."

Katene said she was told by doctors they couldn't do anything for her until she had a scan, which they scheduled for her at another hospital on December 27, then discharged her.

"I said to them 'there's something wrong I can't go home'," she said.

Noah James Cockroft Clay was born at 1.30am on Boxing Day. Photo/Supplied

"All I could do was hope and pray that my baby would be okay."

Nauseous and in pain, Katene spent most of the day sleeping then woke up at 1am on Boxing Day.

"I knew there was something wrong. I was just bleeding so much and then he came," she said.

"My heart just sunk and my heart felt heavy. I couldn't feel him or any movement inside. I couldn't feel his little tiny feet kicking anymore. All I felt was pain."

Katene's son, Noah James Cockroft Clay was born at 1.30am.

An ambulance came but it was too late.

They were taken to London's Royal Free Hospital where Katene held her son. She was discharged after five days.

Katene is waiting on the results of a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of Noah's death and had arranged with the hospital to provide a funeral for him.

But, she was told to expect a two to three months wait until a burial can be arranged and said she couldn't wait that long.

"Every day it gets harder just knowing that he's still there."

Katene has started a GoFundMe page to bring her son back to New Zealand so he can be buried alongside her grandparents in Rotoiti, outside Rotorua.

"It's important to me because I want him to be next to family. My grandparents were the most important people when I was growing up," Katene said.

"I want to give my little boy the send-off he deserves and take my little boy home to New Zealand."

She wants to raise £4500 (NZ$8680) for the trip and funeral. So far she has raised £180 in two days.

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