A mum-to-be's slight stomach pain was caused by a huge watermelon-sized cyst, it's been revealed.
Josephine Hall, 32, had emergency surgery to remove the 20cm-long cyst on her ovary when she was 19 weeks pregnant.
Her unborn baby was unharmed by the invasive cyst, and little Solomon was later delivered weighing 8lbs 4oz.
Doctors later told Josephine that the growth could've been life-threatening for both her and the baby as it was growing so fast, despite it not being cancerous.
Josephine said: "If I hadn't of being pregnant with Solomon, I don't think the cyst would've been detected."
It was initially spotted during Josephine's 12-week pregnancy scan.
The sonographer advised that the cyst was likely benign, so they waited to operate.
"I'd had a slight stomach pain but nothing of note.
"But the pain gradually got worse, to a point when I could barely stand and that's when I was told the cyst had grown and was twisting my ovaries dangerously."
Seven weeks after initially finding the cyst, Josephine was rushed to hospital and "fell into A&E".
Just half an hour later, doctors decided to carry out emergency abdominal surgery.
"When I was being wheeled down to surgery, I was just thinking about my baby.
"I'd never imagined I'd be having major surgery while pregnant, it was terrifying."
During the two-hour procedure, doctors discovered the cyst had grown to 20cm across, and removed it along with her right ovary and fallopian tube.
The cyst had completely cut off Josephine's blood supply to her ovary, and ultimately killed it.
Josephine said: "When I saw a picture of the cyst after it was removed, I was speechless.
"I couldn't believe that something the size of a watermelon was growing inside of me but it did explain the excruciating pain I was experiencing."
The baby was completely unharmed by the procedure, and his little heartbeat was normal. The cyst itself was actually bigger than the baby.
Throughout the rest of her pregnancy, Josephine had extra check-ups at the hospital and scans to monitor the baby's growth, until giving birth naturally at 40 weeks.
Little Solomon was born still in his embryonic sac on November 5, 2022.
"He's just the best," said Josephine. "He's such a happy baby considering everything he's been through.
"I'm so thankful to the NHS team and James has been my rock throughout it all.
"Solomon has been a dream from the beginning - it's like he doesn't know anything has happened."
