A enormous 68-strong team of medics weighed in to deliver 40-stone Leanne’s three healthy babies.
And the total bill to the NHS added up to a hefty £200,000—four times the normal cost of a triplets pregnancy.
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Leanne and the babies were at terrible risk throughout the pregnancy. But she defied the odds to deliver two girls—4lb 4oz Deanna and 4lb 1oz Daisy—and a 5lb 10oz boy, Finlee.
Cradling her triplets, single mum Leanne cooed: “I’m over the moon. They are gorgeous, happy babies and they love being cuddled.”
Talking exclusively to the News of the World, she added: “I knew it was a risk to myself and the babies because of my weight, but I had faith in the doctors. It’s amazing that all four of us have come through.”
Yet Leanne’s story will undoubtedly spark controversy. Her gross obesity meant the caesarean operation had to be planned with military precision and placed a huge strain on NHS resources.
The staff needed for the birth included FIVE midwives, FOUR surgeons, and TWELVE neonatal consultants, registrars and nurses.
FOUR anaesthetists were needed to administer an epidural to numb the lower half of her body because a general anaesthetic could have killed her.
TWO gynaecology oncologists were on hand for their skills in life-or-death surgery, even though there was no suggestion of cancer.
And the delivery couldn’t take place until SIX workshop specialists had built a special operating table reinforced with steel rods to support Leanne’s enormous body.
A HOIST also had to be made to haul up and support Leanne’s stomach to give the surgeons room to remove the babies.
It was an extraordinary end to an amazing pregnancy which was beset with medical challenges.
Her consultant wasn’t able to monitor the babies’ progress properly because sensitive scanning equipment couldn’t penetrate the deep layers of fat on her abdomen.
Medics thought she was carrying three girls, not two girls and a boy, and they could only just tell the mites were still alive.
Early on they offered her the chance to terminate at least one of the babies to give them a better chance of survival because docs were so concerned about the risks her weight posed for the pregnancy.
But Leanne, from Coventry, who has split from their father, was determined they should all have a chance at life. She said: “They told me the babies could come early, may not grow, or I could get a blood clot, for which I had to take drugs.
World’s fattest mother of three tells her story
“But there was no way I was going to terminate any of the babies. I knew the risks and I wanted to carry on with the the pregnancy and give it my best shot.”
Consultant Manu Vatish, who specialises in high risk obesity pregnancies, had NEVER treated a woman of Leanne’s size carrying triplets—and neither had any of the other world experts he contacted.
He said: “She was the biggest woman in the world who had ever been pregnant with triplets, so there was no advice available for me.”
Even weighing Leanne presented a problem because none of the equipment at University Hospital Coventry, where she was being cared for, was sturdy enough.
In the end Mr Vatish borrowed a special research machine that could measure up to a third of a ton. That recorded Leanne’s weight as 40 stone at week 30 of her pregnancy —four weeks before she gave birth.
He added: “I had to construct a special hoist to support her abdomen during the operation. It weighed more than a human being so it would have been impossible for the surgical team to support it themselves.”
Afterwards, Leanne was in critical care for two days as docs were worried she could suffer respiratory failure or a fatal blood clot on her lungs.
She said: “It was scary, both during the birth and after. But the staff were wonderful and all I could think about was seeing my babies.”
Leanne, who lives with mum Jane in Coventry, discovered she was ten weeks pregnant in February—just as she was finishing a course in business administration.
“Even though I am so large it has never affected my sex life,” she revealed. “But it was a shock when I fell pregnant and I was gobsmacked to learn I was having triplets.”
She broke the news to her boyfriend of five months, who she refuses to name, but they split up soon after. “He wanted me to have gastric surgery to lose weight after I’d had the triplets,” she explained. “I felt insulted he had suggested it, so I decided to do it alone.”
Her ex did visit her in hospital, where the triplets will be in special care for another week, but Leanne says there is no chance of a reconciliation. “I’m going to bring my babies up alone. I’ve never known my dad—he left when Mum was pregnant with me. She has done it alone and I can too.”
But the former shop cashier, who claims £75-a-week income support and is now entitled to £43.90 a week child benefit, has vowed to start slimming. She said: “I’m not ashamed but I know I’m too heavy and I want to be healthy for my babies.”
Leanne put on at least three stone during her pregnancy and has a body mass index of 80. The scale, a measure of obesity, only goes up to 70 with 20-26 being the healthy range.
She started putting on weight in her early teens, she says, after she was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, which slows the body’s metabolic rate.
The pounds kept piling on, and by the time she was 15 Leanne was already a size 18. She recalled: “I was always quite active and in the sea cadets from the age of 13 to 18. I even ran the 1,500 metres during those years and although I came last I still managed to finish the race. I never let my weight get in the way of what I want to do.”
Leanne was prescribed slimming pills but couldn’t get an appointment to see a dietician. The weight kept creeping on as she tucked in to a diet of cereal for breakfast, a sarnie for lunch, chicken and chips or pizza for dinner, and snacks of crisps, chocolate bars and sweets.
She went on: “I got badly bullied at school. The kids would yell, ‘Who ate all the pies’, as I walked past.
“I had no confidence but as I grew older I held my head high. I may be fat but I don’t like anyone telling me what to do and I still feel attractive.
“Before I got pregnant I was out every weekend at the pubs and clubs. My weight doesn’t bother me and my friends love me for who I am. I may not look like the next girl, but I like that. I’m unique.
“Now it doesn’t bother me if people stare at me in the street—like they did towards the end of my pregnancy because I was so huge.
“But I will try to lose weight for me and my babies.”
Leanne stopped smoking and drinking during pregnancy and tried to cut out junk food as she battled morning sickness. She exercised a little with gentle walks.
“But then I got so big,” she admitted, “and by the end I couldn’t even lift my leg to get up the stairs. Mum had to wash me standing up because I couldn’t get in and out of the bath.”
She has now agreed to go on a special diet. “Having these babies is going to be a big turning point in my life. I would like to lose some weight if I’m going to run around after my triplets. I’ve got to do it for them. It’s a miracle we’re all alive.”
Mum Jane added: “The pregnancy was risky and I did worry that I could lose Leanne. I’m so relieved now and I can’t thank the doctors enough. I’ve got three beautiful grandchildren and I’m on cloud nine.”
Time to change
By Dr Hilary Jones
LEANNE and her babies are lucky to be alive. It’s incredibly rare for a woman of this size to get pregnant, let alone give birth to three healthy babies because overweight women tend to suffer major fertility problems.
Triplets also carry enormous risks and put incredible stress on the body. Leanne’s heart would have been put under massive strain and she risked diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia and liver and kidney failure. The caesarean would also carry dangers.
Leanne has been incredibly fortunate but if she wants to live to see her babies grow up she needs to start taking care of herself and lose weight drastically. It will be hard, but she needs support and practical help.
[tags]560 pound birth, 560 pound triplets, very expensive births, woman gives birth to 560 pound[/tags]