Expat mom laid to rest in Eastern Cape while her baby fights for life in the UK

One-month-old Phumeza Esther will never feel cuddles and kisses from her mom, who died the day she was born.

A picture of her mother, Phumeza Gogela, is taped to her incubator and smiles down on her as the tiny baby fights for her life at Royal Bolton Hospital in the UK.

Yesterday Gogela, 35, was laid to rest in her home town of Alice in the Eastern Cape. Gogela, a South African expat who had been living in Manchester since 2007, died on Christmas Eve.

Her body was repatriated to South Africa on Wednesday after a group of expat mothers in the UK helped raise money to pay the transport costs.

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Gogela's cousin, Portia Gogela Roberts, from Northampton in the UK, said it had been a very difficult time. Roberts said Gogela, a healthcare assistant, had no problems during her pregnancy, until the day before her death.

"She complained of backache and was throwing up. She went to hospital and a day later we received news that she passed away. We were told it was due to cardiac arrest. We were notified that she died and they had taken the baby out through Caesarean section."

The baby suffered trauma and had bleeding on both sides of the brain - a risk associated with premature babies. There was also a lack of oxygen and she is on life support.

"Phumeza's partner, Sam, is with the baby every day. Baby is struggling. Her condition deteriorated last weekend, but has been stable after she was put on a different ventilator. The doctors have been talking to us about letting her go peacefully. But we are holding on because that is all we have left of Phumeza," said Roberts.

She said Gogela and Sam, a Ghanaian, had been together for two years and had been really excited about having a baby. Roberts said she had been spending time at the hospital with the baby.

"I go to give her a soft touch and talk to her." Roberts said the family had wanted Gogela's body to return to South Africa for her final send-off.

"Everyone at home hadn't seen her for a while," said Roberts.

Another former South African, Hayley Reichert, created a crowdfunding initiative with the hope of raising £10,000 (about R165,000) to assist with costs to repatriate Gogela's body and help with accommodation for Roberts in Bolton .

She posted a picture of the baby and a short update on her condition. Almost £5,000 was raised by crowdfunding and almost £1,000 through Gogela's friends.

"In my six years of being involved with the South African community here, it never ceases to amaze me that ... so many come together to support one of their own in times of need, no matter how big or small that need may be," Reichert told the Sunday Times.