Pregnant and died?

Question
Hi,

My hamster was pregnant and was due at any hour today. And everyday when I come home I always walked by her cage to pet her and see how she is doing. And as I came home one night she was sleeping (and I know she doesn't sleep at night but I figured since she is pregnant she is tired) so I opened her cage I pet her and she looked at me from the corner of her eye. So I changed some of her bedding because it needed to be changed, and she went down to the bottom part of the cage and she seemed like she was in pain because she didn't know where to put herself. So I went to go tend to some things and decided to check on her before I went to bed and when I walked out and opened the cage she didn't move toward me like she usually does, and I blew on her and she didn't flinch like she usually does. And that is when I realized she wasn't breathing. And I am wondering was this because she was about to give birth (cause it looked like she started to push something out) or was her dying caused by something else? And I know you can not tell me much but please tell me as much as you can...thank you!

Answer
Oh wow Stephanie, I am so sorry your hamster passed away while giving birth. It sounds like she died due to complications of the birth which can happen. She was probably having a lot of trouble giving birth and passed away during the birthing process. I don't even think there would have been much that you could do if you were there because if you touched the babies she may have eaten them. It is very common in older hamsters for this to happen.