by Zara Mustapha

A baby who weighed so big that she became trapped during birth was saved by medics who had to break her arm.

The baby, Poppy Screen, eventually survived, weighing  10lb 15oz leaving her unable to breathe and doctors feared she would be stillborn after delivery.

Out of fear of losing the baby, a quick thinking consultant snapped her limb to free her and then battled for 12 minutes to get her breathing.

Daily Mail reports:

Poppy’s mother Lucy Screen, 26, from Abertillery in Gwent, South Wales, said: ‘We knew Poppy was on the big side but we didn’t know how big or I would not have risked a natural delivery.

‘She almost died and we were warned that because she had been starved of oxygen for so long she may have suffered brain damage. Thank goodness she is perfect. But we know how lucky we have been.

‘I think they were a bit worried when they told me they’d had to break Poppy’s arm, but I couldn’t thank them enough … She wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t broken her arm.’

In May last year, 37 weeks into Mrs Screen’s pregnancy, doctors induced labour due to complications with her blood type. But having had their first child Rosalie two years earlier, she and husband Jonathon were expecting a straightforward delivery.  Mrs Screen said: ‘I’d been told the second birth is always easier because your body knows what to do.’

The labour progressed quickly and everything went according to plan until after the baby’s head had been delivered.

‘I could see people’s faces change as they tried to deliver the rest of her but they couldn’t,’ Mrs Screen said. ‘They kept moving me around and I was pushing with all my might but it made no difference.’

Midwives called for emergency help after they suspected a case of shoulder dystocia, which means one or both of the baby’s shoulders get stuck behind the mother’s pelvis. The condition – which is common among larger babies – can be fatal.

It became clear that both of Poppy’s shoulders were trapped and she was being starved of oxygen.

Mrs Screen said: ‘Alarm bells were ringing and people were running in and out like a scene from a film … I knew we were losing her because I could see tears in the eyes of one of the midwives. I begged them to do anything to save her.’

It was then that a consultant snapped the unborn baby’s arm, freeing her so she could be delivered.