I was shocked when a scan revealed my baby was sharing my womb with a ‘melon-sized invader’
A MUM has warned other women to get their cysts checked out after scans revealed her baby was sharing her womb with a 'melon-sized invader'.
Eve Lincoln found out she had a small cyst on her right ovary at just seven weeks pregnant with her third baby.
She had her first ultrasound in September, but wasn't initially worried.
The 36-year-old claims doctors advised her against undergoing surgery to remove the cyst mid-pregnancy due to the risk to the baby, especially since it was not causing her any issues.
But over the next few weeks her pregnancy hormones 'fed' the cyst, causing it to grow and make her baby bump abnormally large.
Eve collapsed in pain at 23 weeks and a scan revealed that the cyst had swelled by 5cm in one week, increasing it to 17cm.
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Eve, from Hudson Valley, New York, US, said: "I got my first ultrasound at seven weeks pregnant and it showed a nine centimetre cyst on my right ovary.
"It grew so big that it looked like another baby sac but you could tell that there was nothing in it so it was clear that there was a baby in one and not the other.
"I noticed that my baby bump seemed to be much bigger and rounder than it should have been and now it makes sense because it was making room for that big mass."
As time went on, Eve said she started to worry as the cyst continued to grow.
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However, medics didn't recommend surgery but said that if she started to experience pain, then she should go back.
Soon after that appointment, Eve started to experience cramp in her side which didn't go away.
"It stayed - like a dull stabbing. It wouldn't go away so I waited 24 hours and then called my doctor and he said to come in for an ultrasound the next day.
"That night I collapsed and basically couldn't walk. Every little movement was such a sharp, stabbing pain so we went to the hospital.
"I explained to them that I had a cyst on my right side where the pain was so they sent me for an ultrasound and were like 'oh boy it's now 17 centimetres big'.
"It had grown like five centimetres in one week. That was very alarming.
"They said it weighed four pounds. The baby weighed barely two pounds at that time so it was much bigger - it was about two and a half times the size of the baby."
The 8 symptoms of ovarian cysts you need to know
THE NHS states that ovarian cysts only usually cause symptoms if it splits, is very large or blocks the blood supply to the ovaries.
In these cases, guidance states you might have:
- pelvic pain – this can range from a dull, heavy sensation to a sudden, severe and sharp pain
- pain during sex
- difficulty emptying your bowels
- a frequent need to urinate
- heavy periods, irregular periods or lighter periods than normal
- bloating and a swollen tummy
- feeling very full after only eating a little
- difficulty getting pregnant – although fertility is usually unaffected by ovarian cysts
You should see a GP if you have symptoms of an ovarian cyst and guidance states you must immediately contact a GP or local out of hour service, NHS 111 or go to your nearest A& E if you have sudden, severe pelvic pain.
The mum was rushed to Montefiore St Luke's Cornwall Hospital, Newburgh, where doctors ran extensive tests due to fears the mass could be cancerous.
Thankfully an MRI reassured them that the cyst seemed to just be filled with blood and fluid and she was then transferred to a gynaecological specialist at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla.
There, NICU specialists were on standby in case her baby had to be delivered prematurely during the surgery, on Monday 9 January.
Eve had the two-hour procedure while awake with a spinal pain block in order to reduce the risk to her baby.
Eve said: "It was alarming to see how fast it had grown and of course when they kept suggesting that it could be cancer that scared me.
"It was very frightening when they explained to me the risk to your baby when you have surgery because it could trigger labour or cause distress to the baby.
";I had to meet with the NICU and hear about everything that was going to be wrong with the baby if it had to come out at 24 weeks and sign all this stuff to say you understand.
"They had to give me a larger cut than normal because if you're not pregnant they can push your stomach out of the way but you can't really shove a baby in the uterus because you don't want to make it contract.
"My cut is five inches from my belly button down so that they had more room to get their hands in there and pull it out."
She is now urging women to get ovarian cysts treated before becoming pregnant, in order to avoid them being in the same situation as her.
"If you know you have an ovarian cyst before getting pregnant, don't get pregnant until you resolve the cyst or have it removed.
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"It's very likely to grow tremendously throughout your pregnancy because of the hormones so you might end up having to have emergency surgery during your pregnancy like I did.
"If you're told in the very beginning of your pregnancy that you have a large cyst I would push back and ask that they take it out right after the first trimester while it's still a manageable size, before it's huge and painful," she said.
