Mum gives birth to ‘mega babies’ – with one so big she was in the 99th percentile
Brittany Opetaia-Halls had her first child, weighing 9lbs 4oz, via c-section
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A mum has described how she only has big babies - one in the 99th percentile and the other who wore clothes for 12-month-old tots from day one.
Brittany Opetaia-Halls, 29, welcomed her first child via c-section, Malayisa-Maree, in August 2020 - weighing 9lbs 4oz.
Four years later, she gave birth naturally to another little girl, Milana-Mae, who tipped the scales at 9lbs 2oz, in a 24 hour labour.
Malayisa-Maree, now four, wears clothes that should fit an eight-year-old.
And after just six months Milana-Mae, born in June 2024, is a whopping 22lbs 9oz - more than 5lbs heavier than the average tot her age.
This puts Milana-Mae in the 99th percentile - which means a baby is heavier than 99 per cent of tots of the same age and sex. She was wearing clothes labelled 12 months when she was a newborn.
Brittany, who works in marketing and social media, from Brisbane, Australia, said: "I think I just knew they'd both be big.
"I was showing pretty quickly with both of them.
"My husband is very tall so in my head, I went 'oh no!'.
"Even when the midwives were scanning me they just didn't know if it was fluid but I knew in my head it was the baby.
"People on TikTok comments always said I was about to pop and I'd be way out.
"The views about my bump went so high and everyone was so shocked.
"When I take both of them out it's always like 'what are you feeding them?'."
After 20 weeks of pregnancy with Malayisa-Maree, Brittany's bump was already measuring over the average for that stage.
Brittany - who is married to Rajan, 31, who is 6ft 2in - said: "The midwives would put me on scans every few weeks and she was sitting on that high 98th percentile.
"Around 36 weeks they told us she was already hitting that 99th percentile size so they gave me a few options for birth - I was measuring quite big.
"I decided to have a caesarian and when I had her she actually got stuck coming out of the incision with her shoulder.
"When she did come out they rushed her off as I was losing a lot of blood.
"She ended up in NICU for three days and after the second day, I was able to see and hold her.
"I felt horrible that my huge baby was in this room of premature babies."
Caesarean section factbox
- Caesarean section rates are rising, with one in four babies born in NHS hospitals in England last year delivered via C-section.
- This is up from 23% the previous year and 13% a decade ago.
- Experts attribute the rise to factors such as increasing obesity rates and women having children later in life, leading to more complex births.
- Common myths about C-sections include: they are the ‘easy option’, that you can’t feel anything during the procedure, that you can’t have more than one, that you can’t have a vaginal birth after a caesarean, and that there are no risks involved.
- Medical experts debunk these myths, emphasizing that C-sections are major surgery with potential risks and complications, though they can be a safe and appropriate option for many women.
- Read the original article.
With Milana-Mae, Brittany was keen to have a natural birth.
She said: "We were monitoring throughout and I had a little bit of guilt for not having Malayisa-Maree naturally.
"I knew Milana-Mae would be big regardless and she was hitting the 88th percentile whilst she was inside of me.
"I went to 41+1 weeks with her and I was meant to be induced with her but luckily I went into labour without being induced and I really wanted to deliver her naturally - I was told it was safe.
"I was in 24 hours of labour and pushed for 45 minutes because she actually got stuck coming out.
"I think I was just in the moment of being glad I got to do it though.
"She was a little smaller than Malayisa-Maree but gradually after birth that's when she grew into the 99th percentile."
Now, both Brittany's children are wearing clothes well above their age.
She said: "Milana-Mae has just had her six-month weigh-in and she was 10.8kg at six months - the average is 7.4kg.
"She's practically the size of a 12 month baby.
"Milana-Mae is wearing one and two size clothing and she's only six months.
"Malayisa-Maree is four at the moment and she's wearing aged eight clothes.
"It felt like I'd be rotating clothes every few months.
"Something would fit one week and not the next.
"I think from when Malayisa-Maree was one-and-a-half I started to buy really big to ensure that it wouldn't be too small within a few weeks.
"It's slowed down a little now but we've saved all of Malayisa-Maree's clothes so we haven't had to buy Milana-Mae but it does feel like I'm rotating hers a lot quicker than Malayisa."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments