A MOTHER has vowed to continue her fight for answers decades after the death of her full-term baby in hospital.

Four days before her due date, Avril Wilson, the wife of Rangers legend Davie Wilson, went into hospital to allow doctors to turn her healthy baby, who was lying in the breech position - a routine procedure.

But the drug that medics gave the expectant mum to relax her for the procedure apparently had catastrophic results.

Her baby died in the womb and Avril faced a fight for survival after her own heart stopped four times.

On Sunday it was exactly 47 years since the couple lost their first born child but the memories are still raw for Avril and Davie.

The couple. who are from Newlands, have faced a struggled to obtain records and only saw the death certificate last year which states the cause as an, "anaesthetic accident."

Avril says she has never had a full explanation.

The 67-year-old said: "I remember the doctor asking me 'do you feel any movement'?

"He examined me, looked at me and said: "Don't look for your baby" and walked out."

Davie was away training with Rangers at the time so the anxious 21-year-old expectant mum left the couple's Kilbarchan home and moved in with her mother in Shawlands.

Avril says: "I went for my check-up, just before Christmas and the doctor told me the baby was lying breech.

"He said he would have to admit me to hospital the next day to turn the baby.

"I told my mum and she said, "that's not a problem to get a baby turned."

"Whatever injection the nurse gave me to relax me, whatever happened, it didn't relax me and the doctor said he was going to have to take me into theatre.

"I don't remember anything else, all I know is that when I came to there was doctors all around me. I didn't realise how ill I was.

"I was getting jagged everywhere.

"David was told to come up and when he got there the doctors were waiting for him outside.

"They told him the baby was gone and I had collapsed."

As a high-profile footballer for one half or Glasgow's Old Firm, the media had taken a keen interest in Davie and Avril's first child.

Davie faced the agony of having to go outside the Queen Mother's Maternity Hospital to meet the waiting press to tell them that everything was okay, even though it was far from the truth.

Davie, 77, said: "They sent me down to meet the press and I had to tell lies. I says, no, everything is okay."

If a baby is in the breech position, doctors can try to turn the baby by hand.

This procedure is called external cephalic version (ECV) and can be carried from 36 weeks and up until labour begins.

The procedure works for roughly half of the women who have it.

ECV is considered to be a safe procedure and complications are rare.

After Avril's condition stabilised, she went into labour and four days later gave birth to a daughter, the couple named Susan.

Avril said: "I don't think I was taking it in.

"Because Davie was well known, it was in the papers.

"Someone called the papers to say I had lost the baby.

"I was in the ward with other mothers and I heard them saying, "that's her there." I couldn't stand it. The doctor sent me home.

"In those days stillbirth was treated very differently. I didn't even get to hold her."

A year after the tragedy, Avril gave birth to a daughter Sheena, now 46.

They also have a 38-year-old son, David and four grandchildren but not a day goes by when Avril does not think of her first child.

Avril said: "There are so many unanswered questions."

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "Unfortunately this sad death occurred before Greater Glasgow Health Board was formed in 1974.

"The NHS regulations on the management, retention and disposal of personal health records states that in maternity cases these are only held for 25 years and as such there are no records available relating to this case that we can refer to."