A new mother has shed nearly half her bodyweight after her size caused complications during childbirth and threatened her daughter's life.

Despite only being 5ft tall, Leila Mounji hit 15st during her pregnancy so when doctors went to administer painkillers, they couldn't get the needle into the epidural space around her spine.

Medics feared giving her a high-risk general anaesthetic because of her BMI, but felt they had no choice and performed an emergency Caesarean during the ordeal in July 2012.

Because of the circumstances, baby Bella suffered breathing problems, which subsequently starved her of oxygen.

As a result of the incident, Leila, 29, decided to improve her wellbeing and has since shed 7st.

Leila, from Derby, said: 'I put Bella through hell during birth. I thought she was going to die, it was horrific.

'They said she was one of the sickest babies they had seen and was expected to die because her heart and kidneys had shut down.

'She was my first child and I thought it had gone horribly wrong. It was the most tragic experience of my life seeing her shut down.

'I was ashamed and embarrassed because I knew this was all down to me and how big I was.'

Leila said her pregnancy had been difficult leading up to the point of birth, and blames her size. 

Before her pregnancy, Leila admits that she had always been big and was often the victim of strangers' taunts. 

On one girls' holiday to Benidorm, she resorted to wearing baggy jumpers and trousers around the pool but still heard nasty comments about her size.

After the ordeal, Leila signed up to Slimming World and, at 8st, feels like a new woman.