The baby girl lucky to be alive after developing a massive ovarian cyst BEFORE she was born Laura Horne, 26, had a scan when her baby bump grew faster than expected Showed that daughter Ruby had a two-inch ovarian cyst growing inside her The growth was putting pressure on the baby's organs and could have burst Ruby was born by Caesarean at 36 weeks and had surgery to remove cyst The cyst was benign and Ruby, now 23-months-old, has made a full recovery By Lucy Laing When pregnant Laura Horne's bump suddenly started growing much faster than expected, worried doctors carried out a scan to find the cause. What they discovered was a huge ovarian cyst - growing on the ovary not of the mother-to-be, but of her unborn daughter. And as well as putting increasing pressure on the baby's vital organs, if it burst the little girl could suffer serious complications. Mrs Horne had to have an emergency Caesarean to deliver her daughter, so she could then undergo a life-saving operation. Laura Horne had a scan when her baby bump started to grow much more quickly than expected. She is pictured with baby Ruby and husband, Michael The scan showed that Ruby had an ovarian cyst which was two inches in diameter. The cyst is the round black area in the centre of the image Ruby, now 23-months-old, has made a complete recovery and is at home with her parents in Stirling, Scotland. Mrs Horne, 26, a pharmacist, said: "The scan saved Ruby's life. If the doctors hadn't carried out the scan to see why my stomach was so huge, then they might not have spotted the growth in time. It was in the top of her stomach and growing upwards so that it was squashing her major organs. It could have ruptured any minute whilst she was in the womb - which would have killed her. She is the luckiest baby in the world. The growth of Mrs Horne's bump started accelerating after she went past the 30-week mark in her pregnancy in April 2011. She said: "When I got to 36 weeks my bump was so enormous that I looked as though I was having triplets. I couldn't fasten my seatbelt in the car. My pregnancy had gone smoothly at first. I'd had a bit of bleeding initially, which was a worry, but that soon stopped. And my scans had shown nothing was wrong. But then after I reached 30 weeks pregnant, my bump really started to grow over the next few weeks. Even the midwives were shocked at the size of it - they thought it was absolutely huge. Ruby had to be delivered by emergency Caesarean because the cyst was putting pressure on her vital organs and was in danger of rupturing and killing her Doctors at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital thought Mrs Horne might have had excess fluid in her womb so carried out a scan. It was then they discovered that the baby had a mass growing in the top of her stomach. Ovarian cysts in newborn baby girls are quite common and usually clear up on their own but Ruby's was unusual as it was putting pressure on her organs and was in danger of rupturing. Mrs Horne, who lives with husband Michael, 25, an engineer, said: "It was terrifying. The sonographer ran the scanner over my stomach and then said they could see a mass growing in the baby's stomach. I had another scan to check, and at that point the doctors weren't sure whether the mass was a tumour, a cyst or a bowel blockage. Mrs Horne underwent an emergency caesarean to deliver Ruby, who weighed 7lb 6oz. After she was born Ruby had to have an operation to remove the cyst which turned out to be benign. She has now made a full recovery Ruby had to have one of her ovaries removed but her parents have been told that it should not affect her ability to have children in the future Ruby was immediately transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, where she had an operation. Doctors discovered she had an ovarian cyst measuring nearly two inches in diameter. The surgeons managed to remove all of it, and Ruby immediately lost half a pound. Mrs Horne said: "We were so worried about Ruby having the operation as she was so young, only a few days old. But we knew that the cyst could have ruptured at any moment, so we didn't have a choice. When surgeons removed Ruby's cyst she immediately lost half a pound in weight When they told us afterwards that it had been a success it was such a relief. The couple have been told that although one ovary had to be removed, it should not affect Ruby's chance of having children in the future as she still has one ovary remaining. Mrs Horne added: "We were so amazed that a baby could even have an ovarian cyst like this. The doctors told us it was incredibly rare but it had probably developed as she had absorbed excess hormones through me. Tests showed the cyst was benign, not cancerous.