A TRAGIC dad was today coming to terms with the loss of his wife who died minutes before the birth of their baby girl.

The baby was delivered by Caesarean section after eight months pregnant Nusrat Hussein, 29, lost her fight for life from a suspected heart attack.

And staff at Blackburn Royal Infirmary were left grief stricken when they saw Nusrat being brought to the accident and emergency unit - she had been their work colleague for eight years.

Now the baby's father, Ashfaq, 28, is dealing with the heartache of losing a wife at a time they both should have been celebrating the birth of a daughter.

The baby, who may now be named after her mother, is said to be poorly at Queen's Park Hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit, where she was transferred after the birth.

The couple have two other children, Bilal, five and Anisa, two. Mr Hussein, who lives above his shop, Punjab Jewellers, Whalley New Road, Blackburn, said his wife had been fine until collapsing on the sofa as they watched TV.

Fighting back tears, he said: "She had been out in the afternoon shopping for children's clothes and had taken our children to see Father Christmas at a school fair. When she arrived home she was still fine and it was only later she collapsed. There was nothing I could do and the ambulance arrived and took her to hospital."

Mrs Hussein had been an emergency ward staff nurse for about eight years. She quit two years ago to look after her children, one of whom is deaf.

Mr Hussein added: "It's all come as a terrible shock. We had been looking forward to the birth and she had shown no signs of any illness.

"I don't believe what has happened. I've had to explain it all to my young son."

An ambulance crew from Altham arrived at the home and attempted to revive Mrs Hussein.

Paramedics fought to maintain an oxygen supply flowing to the unborn baby as they raced Mrs Hussein to hospital.

Doctors then continued fighting to keep the baby alive until it was delivered by a team of specialists who were called from Queen's Park Hospital.

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