A woman in Germany naturally gave birth to a huge baby boy who would normally have been delivered by caesarean section.
The baby was born on June 8, weighing 13 pounds and 24 inches tall, at a hospital in the city of Hagenow, Germany, local news outlet SVZ reported.
The baby, named Raphael, is one of the biggest babies seen in the city in 30 years, and his natural birth makes him a rarity. Raphael’s unusually large weight and length are equivalent to the weight and length of a 3.5-month-old baby, according to the CDC’s newborn growth charts.
A woman holds her large pregnancy bump. Child in Germany was born weighing 13 pounds, twice the average weight in the US. ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
“This child is certainly among the top 10 births in Hagenow in the last 30 years,” Lars Autrum, chief physician of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital, told SVZ..
Senior physician Frank Schönherr and midwife Benita Dähn told a local media outlet that they had never seen such a large baby, especially one born naturally.
On average, babies in Europe are born weighing around 7.7 pounds, ranging from 5.5 to 8.8 pounds. Babies born to more than 90 percent of newborns are known as “large for gestational age.”
About one in 10 full-term babies born in the US in 1991 weighed more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces, while three out of 100 babies weighed more than 9 pounds, 11 ounces.
The Guinness World Record for the largest baby ever is held by a baby born in 1879 in Ohio who weighed 22 pounds. The mother herself was 7 feet 11 inches tall while the father was 7 feet 9 inches tall, and the baby sadly died 11 hours after birth.
A woman with a large baby bump and open jeans. Larger babies are often delivered by caesarean section to avoid the risks of naturally delivering a heavier baby. ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES MORE
Large babies can pose significant risks to both baby and mother if delivered vaginally: A natural delivery can mean prolonged labor, injury to the baby, blood loss to the mother, and the need for a C-section, according to the University of Rochester.
Older babies may also be at higher risk for respiratory distress syndrome and have excessive amounts of red blood cells, which can lead to liver damage and jaundice.
Babies of this size are often recommended to be delivered by caesarean section to avoid the problems that can arise with natural delivery. Raphael was born naturally because he was predicted to be much smaller than he actually was.
“Children gain weight very differently in late pregnancy, making it difficult to diagnose exact weight,” Autrum said.
Fortunately, his mother Stefanie Oldag had no complications during the delivery and Raphael was born healthy.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn