Bethany Jane Turner, Britain's Third Heaviest Baby Girl, Delivered Via Natural Birth (PHOTO)

At midnight on May 11, Bethany Jane Turner came into the world at a staggering 12 pounds 6 ounces, making her Britain's third heaviest baby girl delivered via natural birth.

Mom Naomi Tuner was two weeks overdue when she went into labor on May 10, but she was determined to deliver her the baby in a birth pool set up at North Manchester General Hospital, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Despite the baby's size, the mother of three said Bethany's birth was no different from those of her previous two children.

"It wasn’t until she was born that we [realized] she was so big. They put her on the scales and everyone was shocked," Turner told the Evening News.

Although Bethany missed out on the title of Britain's heaviest baby girl by a just over a pound, she's a long way from being the world's heaviest baby.

The heaviest birth on record occurred in Seville, Ohio, in 1879. The baby boy, who weighed 23 pounds and 12 ounces, died 11 hours after being born, according to Guinness World Records. The runner-up title belongs to a baby boy born in Aversa, Italy, in 1955, who weighed 22 pounds, 8 ounces.

Earlier this year, Chun Chun, a 15.5 pound baby boy, made headlines after he snagged the title of China's heaviest baby. His mother, Wang Yujuan, said she didn't expect her son to be that big.

And in January, an Iowa woman delivered a 14-pound baby boy naturally, the Associated Press reported. Officials at the hospital explained that less than one percent of babies tip the scales at 11 pounds or more.

For more on baby Bethany Jane's story, visit the Manchester Evening News online.

Related on HuffPost:

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• Akbar Risuddin, 19.2 Pounds

  Akbar, born in October 2009, set the record for heaviest baby born in Indonesia. <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32999499/ns/today-parenting_and_family/t/whoa-baby--pound-boy-named-akbar/#.T4b2z4WA5Xc" target="_hplink">MSNBC reported</a> that his mother, Jakarta, had gestational diabetes which was likely a cause for his heavy weight.

• Nadia Barabanova, 17.1 Pounds

  In September 2007, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W0BsDDHSJQ" target="_hplink">Tatyana Barabanova</a> gave birth to her 14th baby. Though Nadia was the heaviest, <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/277535/17-lb-baby-born-in-Russia.html" target="_hplink">The Sun</a> reported that her other children were all over 11 pounds.

• JaMichael Brown, 16 Pounds

  Janet Johnson gave birth to<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/16-pound-baby-jamichael-brown-_n_894477.html" target="_hplink"> possibly the heaviest baby ever born in Texas</a>. "A lot of the baby clothes we bought for him will have to be returned. They're already too small for him to wear," mom told the <a href="http://www.news-journal.com/news/local/article_44dd91d7-bb4e-5ae3-80ef-bf3537ba7c96.html" target="_hplink">Longview News-Journal. </a>

• Axel Laverne Dolton, 15.6 Pounds

  Wendi Dolton, Minnesota mom,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/30/minnesota-woman-gives-bir_n_373795.html" target="_hplink"> gave birth to Axel in November 2010. </a>Mom told the "Today" show that she, too, was a large baby weighing in at over 10 pounds.

• Chun Chun, 15.5 Pounds

  Wang Yujuan, 29, gave birth to China's heaviest baby in February 2012. "I guessed the baby would be between ten and 11 pounds. I never expected to hear that he weighs 15.5 pounds," <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4113708/Big-baby-news-Chinas-heaviest-baby-on-record-is-born.html" target="_hplink">Wang told The Sun</a>.

• Asher Stewardson, 14 Pounds

  In January 2012, Iowa mom,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/asher-stewardson-13-pound-baby_n_1241904.html" target="_hplink"> Kimberly Stewardson</a>, gave birth to nearly 14-pound Asher after six hours of labor (without an epidural). Her older son, born just fifteen months early, was 12 pounds and one ounce.

• Jihad Yaghi, 13 Pounds

  Elfi Yaghi, 40, gave birth to her 14th child in November 2011. Baby Jihad broke the record as heaviest baby born in Germany. Mom <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/28/jihad-baby_n_1116406.html" target="_hplink">made headlines</a> because of her baby's controversial name -- it means "A holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty".

From our partners

• Mother's Day Starts Out Great And Then ... - NickMom
• I'm Not Doing Squat For My Son's Birthday - Mommyish
• 5 Ways To Nurture Little Yogis - LilSugar

Comments

[Gizmo9]

08:51 AM on 06/25/2012

Not sure what the bid deal is, my first son was almost 11lb's at birth delivered without Cesarian.
In Europe the babies are born bigger as i have seen from most of my relatives.

[greenstraws]

08:56 PM on 06/02/2012

Hope none of these woman had vaginal births with these 15 lb. babies. Ouch!

[Abrazing]

11:09 AM on 05/21/2012

Gestational diabetes anyone? Anyone?

[Beltane73]

09:29 AM on 05/21/2012

Really? You're going to label a baby "massive" and "staggering"? What's WRONG with you?

[Joshua Veverka]

08:21 AM on 05/21/2012

HELLO HELLO HELLO Is there anybody in there?

[SouthernComfort8425]

08:00 AM on 05/21/2012

She delivered naturally??? He cooch cooch must be as wide and deep as the Red Sea!!

[Ajax Johnson]

03:39 AM on 05/21/2012

i got a feeling we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg

[Mariah Smith]

01:05 AM on 05/21/2012

Damn those are some ugly parents!!!!

Not surprised she had a vaginal birth. This was baby #4...kid probably fell out.

[Marie Marie Marie]

06:07 PM on 05/20/2012

Fatty Mc Fatt Fatt!

[dearestnurse]

11:13 PM on 05/19/2012

All I can say is WOW, thank goodness everyone is ok. That is a very big baby to have naturally, but happy all turned out well.

[Ajax Johnson]

03:40 AM on 05/21/2012

You are so sweet

[OhNoUdinnit]

03:54 PM on 05/19/2012

Ouch!

[al pambuena]

11:33 AM on 05/19/2012

shhhh...michelle obama will hear this, and 6 months from now we will have a presidential proclamation, with regulatory mandates, on the maximum weight a newborn can weigh, then an increase in federal funding will go to planned parenthood.....then all fat babies will have to have a weekly weigh-in...........so shhhhhh.

[Taio1247]

02:33 PM on 05/19/2012

HA HA your so angry you cant even help but interject us politics in to every story you read. So sad i cant wait till they find a cure for your horrible disease. Oh wait you probably don't know you have a disease let me help you its called (21 century republicanism)

[leftcoastindy]

12:20 PM on 05/20/2012

Its called 'cant stop watching Fox noise'

[priscilla pearn]

11:04 PM on 06/01/2012

Your so full of CHIT I can smell you through the screen!!!!

[randinoel]

11:21 AM on 05/19/2012

It's just these huge preggos that eat constantly.

[WWJJD]

11:30 PM on 05/19/2012

Nice judgmental comment there esp. with your micro bio stating "God is the only way to ever-lasting life". Get real!

[Gizmo9]

08:45 AM on 06/25/2012

True the once that spew god in every sentence are the most judgmental of all.

[intrusion]

04:35 AM on 05/20/2012

It could have something to do with blood sugar levels maybe they had diabetes, a lot of woman develop this during pregnancy and it will cause them to have big babies. When they tell these stories most times they don't tell the WHOLE story!

[Ajax Johnson]

03:42 AM on 05/21/2012

cause their mouth is full

[anon201305]

08:41 AM on 05/19/2012

under my eugenics program, those two wouldn't be allowed to breed.

[Kerry Cook]

07:53 AM on 05/20/2012

please consider being neutered & spare the world the gems you'd bring to it.

[anon201305]

04:57 AM on 05/24/2012

you sound rather mad. besides, with no major flaws in my appearance, mind, or overall genetics, there'd be no need for such an action.

[thobora]

08:13 AM on 05/19/2012

!2.6 lbs. delivered naturally? YIKES!

[WWJJD]

11:32 PM on 05/19/2012

I cringed when I read that, but we had our first child with a midwife at home and she has several Mom's that deliver babies that big naturally every year. My son on the other hand was breech, I had him at the hospital (C-section) and he as 11.3, we were shocked! No one had a clue he was that big.

[Ajax Johnson]

03:45 AM on 05/21/2012

Bork....splat