A grieving mum has launched a fundraising appeal to provide a memorial headstone for her daughter who died days after being born.

Danakelly Taylor, 24, and her fiancé Joshua Mayne, 22, lost their daughter Maddison at just two and a half days old after Danakelly was rushed into the Royal United Hospital in Bath with complications in her pregnancy potentially linked to Covid-19.

The couple are now appealing to family, friends and strangers to donate to the online appeal to raise £1,500 to provide a headstone for tiny Maddison, who died on August 7 last year.

Miss Taylor, of Navigator Close, Hilperton, said: “My daughter’s story starts from August 4 when I rang my midwife worried that I couldn’t feel Maddison move."

She was only 31 weeks plus four days pregnant.

“Unfortunately, I had contracted Covid at work at the Zinc Night Club in Trowbridge on the Friday before, so I had to wait to be called in, said Miss Taylor, who is engaged to Mr Mayne, who lives at Southwick," she continued.

“As soon as I arrived at the hospital I had to wait until they were ready. I was then hooked up to the monitors to check whether Maddison was ok.

“Half an hour went by and it wasn’t good, with Maddison’s heart rate spiking from 170-190. I had to have her delivered by emergency c-section.

“They couldn’t figure out why I was cramping as I wasn’t in labour, and they put it down to the Covid."

Maddison was born later that evening at 5.35pm on August 4, 2021.

"They said that she was a healthy baby girl and she was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit while I was put in a coma as they couldn’t stop my bleeding. I was unaware of what was happening and hadn’t got to see my baby once," Ms Taylor said.

After RUH staff realised that Maddison was very ill, she was then rushed to the Bristol Children’s Hospital for special care for a bleed on both sides of the brain.

Miss Taylor said: “She was doing incredible until things went bad and unfortunately Covid played a role in why she was ill.

“Maddison suffered two to three seizures that we were told was down to a very serious bleed on her brain called severe bilateral intraventricular and parenchymal haemorrhage.

“Unfortunately, we were told that she was very ill and we had to make the decision to turn off her life support machine.

“On the August 7, me and Maddison’s father, made the most tough decision any parent has to make.

"We spent time with her and I even got to meet my baby and we even got to hold her.

“They took her oxygen away at 12.30pm and it was hard to hear our baby gasp for air; we thought she died as soon as they took her oxygen away.

“But her heart remained strong and slowly faded after three hours. She fought until the very end.

"Our baby fell asleep on the August 7, 2021.”

Miss Taylor says the specialists at Bristol still don’t know quite why Maddison suffered the bleeds on the brain and whether Covid played a key factor in her tragic death.

“Maddy was swabbed and was found to have tested positive for Covid but the doctors said the placenta was normal," she added.

“It’s a very rare case, something like one in a million, and they can’t answer any questions because they don’t know themselves.”

After she died, Maddison was interred at the Down Cemetery in Trowbridge. Miss Taylor and Mr Mayne now wish to place a memorial headstone on her grave and have already saved several hundred pounds towards the cost.

Miss Taylor said: “Me and her father Josh have made this gofundme appeal for a little help towards her headstone. We have already saved up as much as we possibly can.

“Her daddy is working himself into the ground to be able to give his daughter the headstone she deserves,” said Danakelly, who has an older child, Kaleb-Theo, aged four.

To donate to the appeal, go to gofundme.com/f/maddison-angeltaylor-mayne-memorial-stone