Woman gives birth to one of the UK's biggest babies, weighing the same as a bowling ball
A mum has given birth to one of Britain’s biggest babies, who weighed the same as a bowling ball.
Emma Fearon, 34, welcomed boy Atticus, who arrived on 24 May weighing a very respectable 11lb 6oz at home during coronavirus lockdown.
Incredibly, she required no stitches following the birth, and only had gas and air as pain relief.
The mum gave birth to Atticus in a birthing pool set up at her home in Thornton-le-moore, Cheshire, and used hypnobirthing techniques to help her through the labour.
If giving birth to one of the UK’s biggest babies wasn’t enough dramatic, the mum-of-three revealed the midwife only arrived with half an hour before Atticus made his appearance.
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Fearon revealed: “The birth went amazingly – I used hypnobirthing to calm and ground me and the labour was only two-and-a-half hours long start to finish.
“I birthed him in a pool with the midwife arriving with only half an hour to spare.
“I only had a couple of puffs of gas and air and got away with no stitches.
“It just goes to show what women’s bodies are capable of, and a nice reassurance for those that are predicted to have big babies.”
Thankfully the birth went without complications, with the assistance of her husband James, 34, and two independent midwives.
“I’m really pleased that I got to give birth at home as I would have had to go alone to the hospital if not with my husband staying at home with the girls,” Fearon said.
“I had planned to have a home birth from the start and was concerned when NHS trusts started to close down the home birth service as I was so dead set on it.
“I researched unassisted birthing and then ended up hiring two independent midwives so that I could definitely have the birth that I wanted and felt this was the safest.
“The midwives were very supportive and weren't concerned about his size – they were very encouraging of my plans, although none of us thought he’d turn out quite so big.”
Read more: A baby who was born weighing just over 1lb is now a thriving toddler
Atticus isn’t the first big baby the third-time mum has welcomed – her firstborn Aria, 3, weighed 10lb 8oz at birth and her second child Amelia, 2, was 9lb.
Baby Aria was born in hospital after a long delivery that required forcep assistance and resulted in a big tear and an episiotomy.
Amelia was also born in hospital but without any issues.
These previous birth experiences led Fearon to decide to have a home birth with a birthing pool for her third baby.
Little Atticus is now doing well at home and Fearon is exclusively breastfeeding Atticus while also still feeding his 27-month-old sister Amelia.
Read more: Mum shares heartbreaking pictures of baby recovering from lifesaving heart surgery
Atticus isn’t the only baby to recently join the super-size list. Last year midwives and doctors at North Middlesex University Hospital helped deliver the heaviest baby reported to be born in England in 2019.
Baby Anila weighed 12lbs 6oz and was born naturally, with mum Armonita not using any painkillers.
According to data collected from the NHS, the average weight of a baby girl is 7.27lbs. For boys, it is 7.49lbs.
Additional reporting SWNS.
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