A mum-to-be with a gigantic baby bump – which was so large that doctors thought she had a secret twin – has given birth to a 13lb newborn.
First time mum Amber Cumberland, 21, from Aston, Oxfordshire, gave birth to her daughter Emilia on April 16, weighing a whopping 12lb 14oz.
Baby Emilia created such a big bump during pregnancy that doctors weren’t sure if there would be a surprise second baby in labour.
But instead, she is believed to be the second biggest baby girl ever born in the UK after the 2012 record breaker at 14lbs 4oz.
Amber was induced almost two weeks overdue and spent 24 hours in labour until baby Emilia entered the world via an emergency C-section.
‘Before the pregnancy I was 12.5st and a size 14 and at the end of the pregnancy, I couldn’t fit into anything smaller than a size 20 and was about 17st,’ said Amber, who is 5’9. ‘Since the birth I’m back in size 16 and weighing just under 15st.’
Amber said: ‘Doctors thought it was twins during pregnancy because she was so big, even though we could only see one on the ultrasounds.
‘We heard it so much we actually started to believe there was another one hiding in there.
‘It became a game when we went to the supermarket to see if we would get a comment about the size of the bump and we always did.
‘When she came out Scott’s face was white and all the surgeons were looking at each other in shock and laughing – they brought her to me and said “Congratulations you’ve had a toddler”.
‘We were just so glad it was only one baby and that she was healthy.’
Baby Emilia began measuring big in the third trimester, reaching the average size of a 36 week baby by her 32 week scan and was estimated at 8lb 12oz on an extra growth scan at 36 weeks.
Amber’s partner and Emilia’s dad, Scott Joy, 22, spent 42 hours in the car park of John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in the space of three days leading up to the birth – not allowed to join Amber until she was in active labour due to Covid restrictions.
Amber said: ‘I got to eight centimetres dilated and she couldn’t go any further – if she went any further down they wouldn’t be able to get her back up and she would’ve got stuck.
‘During the C-section it took two people to lift her out and one to hold everything back to get her out.
‘The whole outfit we brought didn’t fit her but luckily we had some spare 0-3 month clothes packed and the hospital staff had to hunt down bigger nappies from paediatrics for us.
‘Nurses at the hospital even stayed over time to see the weight of the baby and take photos with her because she was so big.’
Amber’s giant pregnancy bump created lots of painful complications that meant the first time mum couldn’t wait to be induced and get her baby out.
She tried home remedies to induce herself and get things moving but nothing worked.
Amber said: ‘I was so desperate to get her out I tried everything – I ate half a kilogram of raw pineapple, used essential oils and bath salts, even acupressure – anything I read online that might help.
‘The bump was so big I got lots of stretch marks and my skin was so weak from being stretched out that they would bleed if I stood up too quickly.
‘My stomach muscles completely split to the point where the doctors could barely distinguish them during the C-section and said they were the worst they’d ever seen.
‘I also had awful sciatica and compressed nerves in my hips and legs because of the weight of her and I couldn’t even roll over in bed without Scott to help me.’
Just over a week after giving birth Amber is starting to heal but expects to take a while to fully recover due to the damage done to her body by the difficult pregnancy and birth.
She is currently on a waiting list for physiotherapy to help heal her badly split stomach muscles.
Amber said: ‘I’ve still got a completely numb bit of skin around my belly button where the nerves have just given up.
‘Because of the damage to my stomach muscles the stitches have no support and I have to be really careful.
‘I can’t pick Emilia up or breastfeed her because she’s so heavy and there’s no protection for my organs, but I’m slowly getting better.
‘I’m still as uncomfortable as when I was pregnant but I do feel a lot lighter and have no more trapped nerves which I’m very grateful for.
‘We’re both so overjoyed with our gorgeous little girl.’
