Ouch! Mum in Australia gives birth to 13.5lb baby without an epidural

A mother in Australia gave birth to 13.5lb baby — twice the size of an average new-born — without an epidural. Natashia Corrigan from Melbourne has been praised by well-wishers from around the world.

She gave birth to Brian Jr, her third child, on 24 January. In a Facebook post, she described the event as "the scariest times of our lives" for her and partner Brian.

On 6 April Buzzfeed reported that Corrigan gave birth without an epidural, a painkiller commonly injected into pregnant women before childbirth.

However, she was supplied with a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen as she brought the enormous Brian Jr into the world.

"I never dreamed he'd be this big, thought he'd be an 11 pounder at the max.!But we were blessed with a safe delivery of a 13.5 pounder! I'm still in shock," she wrote on Facebook.

"It's hard to get our minds around such a whirlwind of a day. I never dreamed we'd get so much love for our BIG baby boy and family," she added.

In another post, Corrigan commended hospital staff for helping her through the ordeal. She singled out one of her doctors, Dr Vulshee, for special attention after "he kept his cool in all the chaos surrounding the birth of our big boy".

While he was on the large size, Brian was smaller than the largest baby recorded by the Guinness World Records, a 22lb 8oz boy who was born in September 1955 in Aversa, Italy.

Brian Jr is thought to be one of the largest babies ever born in Australia. Facebook posts show him happy and healthy as he turned 3 months old at the end of March.

Around 30% of women in the developed world are believed to have epidurals while giving birth.