Pittsburgh Baby Born Weighing Nearly 14 Pounds Is Hospital's Biggest Baby Ever
New parents Michelle and Brad Hall say friends thought they’d be having twins; Michelle’s stomach had grown so large from the pregnancy. But while she wasn’t carrying twins, she was carrying the weight of two babies.
Following a C-section on Thursday, the couple discovered their baby boy, named Isaac Michael Hall, weighed a hefty 13 pounds, 10 ounces — double the weight of the average baby, who weighs in at about 7.5 pounds. “We knew the baby was going to be very large. As large as this? No. But at the same time, too large to deliver any other way,” said Dr. Andrew Sword of West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa., according to CBS News.
Isaac was born a week early. Along with being extra heavy, he is also about 5 inches longer than the average newborn, at 25 inches. However, unlike many babies born overweight, little Isaac (or big, shall we say) is completely healthy with no underlying health issues.
“We have never seen a baby of this size,” Sword said. “And when I polled all the pediatricians from this hospital, some of whom date back to the early 1980s, there’s never been a baby on record who’s this size.” The Halls said they didn’t know of any family history of big babies, although Brad’s height is 6 feet, 5 inches.
Though doctors said Isaac was healthy, studies have shown that babies born weighing over 8.8 pounds are typically at an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and some neurological problems. The so-called “sweet spot,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is between 5.5 and 8.8 pounds.
