A MUM was shocked at giving birth – without an epidural – to a giant 13lb 7oz “Hercules” baby who weighs DOUBLE the average newborn.
Nicolina Newcombe, 33, said that while pregnant “many people said to me ‘have you got twins in there?’ But I actually did have a baby the size of two babies”.
Her whopping newborn son, Tobias Newcombe, also stunned the midwife and medical staff at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand, as he weighed the equivalent of an 11-week-old baby.
Nicolina’s midwife, Annika Reid, told the Waikato Times: “He’s a Hercules baby. I don’t think that I’ll [deliver] another baby that size the normal way in my career… it’s pretty unreal.”
Annika told the publication that it was unusual for newborns to weigh that much, let alone be delivered without a caesarean.
However, the midwife said there were no signs that Nicolina was carrying a much larger baby, as she “never looked enormous”.
Tobias’s older brother, Sage, aged 14, was vastly lighter when born, weighing eight pounds and ten ounces.
Had the boy’s size been known prior to his birth there “would have been a lot of pressure from (obstetrics) to have a C-section”, Annika said, adding that it was probably a “blessing” no one realised how big he was.
Nicolina said that when the birth “got a bit much” she asked for gas, and was given remifentanil, which is a very short acting but strong pain-relieving drug, similar to Pethidine.
But, she “did not have an epidural”.
Nicolina, who eats organic food, told the New Zealand Herald that her height probably disguised Tobias’s size, as she is 5ft 7ins.
The down-to-earth mum added that during her pregnancy, Tobias’s kicks were “really sore” and her stomach felt “so heavy” that she thought, “man, am I soft?”
And his birth last Wednesday wasn’t drama-free because, after being induced as she was two weeks overdue, his shoulder became stuck in her pelvis.
Nicolina explained: “He came out head first and once my midwife realised, she pressed the emergency button.
“Heaps of doctors came in and helped pull him out.
“Everybody was like, ‘wow, what a big baby’ and ‘how big is he’; everyone was really shocked.”
Given his surprise size, Nicolina’s first port of call after leaving hospital was the nearest shops – as none of his newborn-sized clothes fitted.
