Back from vacation, which involved spending lots of time with the kids, both of whom were under eight pounds at birth. That's not usually how I think of them, but usually I haven't started the day reading an article about the alarming rise in the weights of newborns. In general, weights are up a bit over the last thirty years, but there's a marked increase in the incidence of macrosomia, or excessive birth weight. That category is reserved for newborns ten pounds or more, and it's up twenty percent over the last decade. It's even more noteworthy when you consider that weights tend to increase with each successive birth, and families are smaller these days, so there's less time to get to the later, larger babies. There are many possible reasons, ranging from better prenatal nutrition to gestational diabetes, and many effects, including an increase in C-sections.
Do you know (or have) any babies who were over ten pounds at birth? If they were over fifteen, please write your comments in all caps.
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Posted Jun 10th 2008 8:11AM by Ben Greenman
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. There was a baby born at 16 pounds in a South American country either last year or in 2006. The country might have been Brazil or Colombia. I don't remember anything else as the story was so long ago. That's the biggest one I've heard of.
K at 11:22AM on Jun 10th 2008
2. Do twins that have a combined weight of over 15 pounds fit into the category of macrosomia?
Elyse at 2:06PM on Jun 10th 2008
3. A woman in Brazil has given birth to a "giant baby" weighing 17lb (8kg) - twice the size of an average newborn.
-Here is the Brazilian Baby, He was 17 lbs.
But the biggest ever was this one:
The Guinness Book of World Records says the heaviest baby ever was born to Anna Bates of Canada in 1879.
It weighed 23.12lb (10.8kg) and died 11 hours after birth.
Freja at 1:06PM on Jun 12th 2008
4. My daughter was 11 pounds 2 ounces at birth. I did not have gestational diabetes, she was just a big girl.
tara at 1:03PM on Jun 16th 2008
5. If they were over fifteen, please write your comments in all caps.
XXXX
I WAS 65 SATURDAY AND WAS OVER TEN POUNDS AT BIRTH. I WEIGH EVEN MORE NOW. WHY AM I SHOUTING?
Clif Kuplen at 5:53PM on Jun 16th 2008
6. My son, born on his due date this year, was 11.3 lbs. and 22.5" long. I did not have gestational diabetes and this is my first child. I delivered him by c-section, that was scheduled due to ultrasound revealing his large size. Now at 6 months, he's almost 24 pounds and over 30" long. I am almost 6'1" and my husband is 6'2".
Susan at 1:29AM on Jul 29th 2008
7. I have 2 sons, my first was average size, 7lb 9oz, 19.5 in long. My 2nd born about 5 years later was 11 lbs 6 oz and 23.5 in long!! I did not have gestational diabetes he was just big. He is now 8 and is still a big boy. I didn't have a C-section, my dr was not good to me. My baby was black and blue from head to toe!!
Danielle at 7:48PM on Aug 14th 2008