Ayshah Maton gazed down at her newborn daughter in disbelief and tried to process what the midwife had just told her.
After a nine-hour home birth using nothing but gas and air, baby Eloise had weighed in at a whopping 12lb 1/2oz – the size of a typical three month old.
Ayshah knew she’d been expecting a big baby, but had no idea she would be giving birth to one nearly 5lb heavier than the average UK newborn.
“I was expecting her to be big, as she has three brothers who were all born large, but she beat them all,” says Ayshah, 35, a nanny and doula.
“I was shocked when they told me the weight, because she didn’t actually look that big.
"But when they placed her in my arms, I got it – she was definitely heavy to lift!”
Ayshah managed to deliver Eloise without needing stitches, but she is far from alone in having a heavy baby.
Research shows the average birth weight in England and Wales has increased by 1.4oz in the past 35 years.
There has also been an increase of up to 25% in babies born over 8lb 13oz in the past 30 years.
Cherral Mitchell, 34, from Thame, Oxfordshire, delivered her 14lb 15oz son Alpha by C-section in November last year at 38 weeks.
And even though he tipped the scales at nearly 15lb, he doesn’t hold the UK record. A baby, whose identity was never revealed, was born weighing 15lb 10oz at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2014.
Before that, Guy Carr from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, had held the record after he was born at 15lb 8oz in 1992.
“We are definitely seeing more ‘cuddly’ babies on labour wards,” says Darcey Croft, a specialist NHS midwife for Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust.
“It’s probably because, as a culture, we are more sedentary these days and our diets are not as good as they should be.
"Excessive calorie intake in pregnancy can stimulate increased growth of foetal tissues, change hormonal balances and perhaps alter structures in the brain that regulate appetite.”
One of the biggest risk factors for a mother carrying a large baby is gestational diabetes – high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth.
More ‘cuddly’ babies on labour wards
Rates have been steadily increasing in the UK, with one in 20 pregnant women now diagnosed.
You’re more at risk if you are overweight, of Asian, black or Middle Eastern origin, or if a parent or sibling has diabetes.
“When I was a new midwife starting out on a labour ward 12 years ago, I’d hardly see anyone with gestational diabetes,” says Darcey.
“But as the years passed, more and more women were being diagnosed, and they would end up in our observation bay with complications or to be monitored.”
Ayshah, who already had three boys, Ethan, eight, Hugo, six, and Cooper, five – two of whom were born weighing over 11lb – was monitored for diabetes during her pregnancy, but all tests came back negative.
In fact, she only gained around 1st in the nine months.
“It’s just the norm for me to have big babies,” says Ayshah, who lives with husband Gari, 39, an accountant, in Ashendon, Buckinghamshire.
“I ate well during my pregnancy and tried to keep healthy.
“Midwives were concerned during pregnancy that she was large, and I was offered growth scans.
"I didn’t take them up, as I wasn’t worried about her being big. Gari is almost 6ft and I’m 5ft 8in.
"Neither of us are especially overweight and I was only 8lb 8oz at birth. Gari was premature and 4lb 4oz.
“I was offered an induction two weeks before Eloise’s due date. I didn’t want that either, as I was concerned about it resulting in more interventions during the birth, and as she was my fourth baby, I stuck to my guns.
“If she’d been my first, I may have been persuaded to go to hospital, but I felt confident with my decision to have a home birth.
"I wanted a natural birth and I felt comfortable at home.”
Obstetrician Dr Sophie Relph says that while most big babies are born healthy, there are some risks for mother and baby.
“Larger babies may have birth complications and there is a higher risk of stillbirth,” she says.
“If you’ve got a bigger baby, it may not fit through the birth canal. The labour may progress slowly and sometimes the baby is too big to fit into the pelvis.
"This means some women may end up needing an emergency C-section during labour.”
Shoulder dystocia is another risk. It’s relatively uncommon, but happens when the baby’s head is born vaginally but the shoulders get stuck.
“This can deprive a baby of oxygen,” says Dr Relph. “We have to act quickly in these cases, as a lack of oxygen can lead to serious complications, such as cerebral palsy or, in the worst case, stillbirth.
"Thankfully, that remains rare. For the mother, it can cause severe tearing, but also psychological birth trauma.
"There is also a higher chance for her of haemorrhage after the birth.”
Fortunately, Ayshah’s labour, on March 12, 2021, was without complication, despite Eloise’s size.
Now 15 months old, Eloise was too big for newborn clothes when she was born, going straight into 0-3 month outfits, which she also quickly outgrew.
“Eloise was purely breastfed for six months and was on the 98th percentile, though things slowed down after that and she had dropped to around the 91st centile by her first birthday, where she remains today,” Ayshah says.
“Lots of people would comment on how big she was and about her chunky thighs, but I didn’t care what anyone thought.
"We loved her all the more for it. She was very healthy and strong. We started weaning her at six months and she loved her food.”
Tall for her age
TikTok user Katie, who posts under @Katieandbabyluna, recently put up a video hitting back at trolls who said her 18-month-old toddler looked like she was three years old.
Katie said she is just tall for her age, claiming: “People just can’t get it through their heads that every child is different and there is no normal.”
Darcey agrees that not all big babies go on to have weight issues. “Not every large baby will struggle with obesity or related chronic diseases,” she says.
Researchers from the University of Alberta analysed more than 80,000 children in Canada and found that, while 43% who were heavy at birth went on to become overweight or obese, the other 57% were a healthy weight.
Conversion strategist Nicci Lou, 43, says her daughter Eliza was born weighing 9lb 3oz after a straightforward six-hour labour at Homerton University Hospital, London, on July 11, 2013.
But by the time she was six months, she weighed more than 2st and was completely off the percentile chart. Health visitors told Nicci her daughter was obese.
“She was very long when she was born, but very cute,” Nicci recalls. “But as the weeks went by, she kept piling on the weight.
"I’d see mums carrying around little doll-like babies. Eliza was much bigger, with rolls around her legs and arms.
"From two to six weeks, she doubled in size and just kept getting bigger and bigger. I took her to be weighed, but was told not to worry.
Her weight was soaring off the chart, but as she was exclusively breastfed, it was fine.”
The advice changed when Eliza started weaning at six months, though.
“She really wasn’t eating very much,” Nicci says.
“She would mostly lick carrots and throw them on the floor. But I took her to be weighed and was shocked when I was told she was obese.
"They said I wasn’t feeding her the right things. It was quite scary and they were very rude to me. Even when I told them she was only eating vegetables, they didn’t listen.
"I guess they thought I was lying and was secretly feeding her unhealthy food. It made me feel like a terrible mother. I was already paranoid about her size.”
Her weight was soaring off the chart
Nicci was told to take her daughter back for weighing every week, but she didn’t go.
“I didn’t need their advice about my daughter,” she says. “She was very long, too, but they never took that into account.
“I’d have people walking up to me in the street where we lived in east London telling me: ‘Put her down. Let her walk and she’ll lose that weight.’
"She couldn’t walk – she was only six months old! None of these people ever stuck around long enough for me to answer – they’d just walk off.
“I was so paranoid about Eliza’s size, I weaned her late. She was also sugar-free until she was one.
"I struggled to carry her in my arms, so I used a special cushion so she could sit on my hip.”
Eliza is now nine and though tall and often mistaken for an 11 year old, she has a gymnast’s physique.
“Gradually, she just evened out, and by the time she was walking at 18 months, she was back on the percentile chart.
"By two, she was quite svelte and has remained that way,” Nicci says.
“It’s wrong that some health visitors make mothers feel bad when their children are just naturally big or tall.
"How can a child be fine one week when she only has breast milk and obese the next once vegetable sticks are introduced?”
Midwife Darcey says mums concerned about the size of their baby should speak to their health visitor.
“Both health visitors and midwives usually have a wealth of knowledge to support parents who are worried about their child’s weight.
“From 24 weeks, all midwives should be measuring mums to be every two weeks, and if they have any concerns, they will refer you for a growth scan,” she explains.
“That will give everyone a better indication about the size of the baby. Extra reassurance and a good plan will help reduce any worries you may be feeling.
"That’s why it’s so important for mums to go to every antenatal appointment, so midwives can make sure you have the best care possible.
"If we are concerned you have a larger baby, then we will put a plan in place to keep you and baby safe.”
Ayshah believes some mums are simply destined to have large babies.
“A woman’s body is capable of incredible things,” she says. Sometimes small babies have issues at bmiirth and often big babies are born without any issues.
