A first-time mother died after complications relating to a caesarean section just 30 minutes after giving birth to twin sons.

Rachael Galloway, 36, died on 1 August at Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The hospital said it was carrying out an internal review, and there was a continuing coroner’s investigation but it did not give any details.

Galloway, from Carnforth, Lancashire, lived long enough to see one of her sons be given his first feed by his father, Matt Whittaker.

He said there were “tears of joy, seeing them, knowing they were healthy … she was so happy, so proud, so full of love.” Whittaker, 36, is caring for the babies, Noah and Abel.

The couple had got engaged a few days before the twins were born, and were planning for them to be part of their wedding ceremony.

Whittaker said: “She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

“On the Friday we got engaged we ate our meal and I remember sitting there saying to Rachael, ‘Can you believe that this is our life? Life really couldn’t get any better.’”

On the day of the C-section, Galloway was “nervous as hell” but also “strong as hell”, he said.

She “kept a brave face throughout, right until the boys were born. Then there were tears of joy, seeing them, knowing they were healthy, and seeing me give Noah his first feed.”

Whittaker added: “She was so happy, so proud, so full of love. She had the world in her eyes when she looked at our boys.

“It’s a shame that was the last time she cast her eyes on them, but I hope she is still watching over them.”

His fiancee was “the best person I ever met, she made the world a better place”.

“Not just because she was smart, funny, driven, beautiful, caring, patient and so many other things, but because she made the people around her better.

“She saw and brought out the best in people and I’m living proof that she could see what nobody else could.

“I have to make her proud and ensure our boys grow up to be the gentlemen she would have been proud of.”

Friends of the couple set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to help Whittaker pay for his fiancee’s funeral and to support the family while he is unable to work. By Friday afternoon it had raised nearly £21,000.

Dan Galloway Rachael’s brother wrote: “She was an amazing girl, caring, strong, kind, and the life and soul of any party. She was passionate about keeping fit and was always planning what hike to do next. She was an avid Liverpool supporter also.

“She lost her mum at an early age and always vowed to live a life that our mum would be proud of. She achieved that and more.”

Sue Stansfield, the interim director of midwifery at Morecambe Bay university hospitals NHS foundation trust, said: “Our heartfelt condolences go out all family and friends affected by this sad loss.

“As we are in the process of carrying out an internal review and there is an ongoing coroner’s investigation, we can’t comment further at this stage – except to say we will continue to support the family and colleagues involved.”