16-Pound Baby Delivered in Texas Hospital
Perhaps the largest in the state, a 16-pound baby was born in Longview, Texas, recently, twice the weight of an average newborn.
Born to proud parents Janet Johnson and Michael Brown at the Good Shepherd Medical Center on Friday, JaMichael was expected to be 12 to 13 pounds, but not more than that.
Though a woman’s uterus could handle about 16 pounds, many doctors hope not to see such a large baby due to possible health complications.
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“He was much larger than expected,” Dr. John Kirk, Johnson’s obstetrician, told ABC. “Both his mother and father are large people, and she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which contributed to the baby’s size.”
Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes mellitus that develops during pregnancy, common to those past 25 and overweight. Johnson, 39, developed the diabetes during pregnancy, which will most likely go away after birth.
JaMichael is Johnson’s fourth child and the couple’s first.
“That’s it, no more now. I’m happy,” Johnson told Medical News Today. “We’ll be here for a few more days, and then I’m looking forward to bringing JaMichael home and just loving on him.”
The father, at a height of 6 feet 7 inches, knew that his baby would be larger than most newborns. Delivered by Cesarean section, JaMichael was the size of a normal three to sixth month old baby – two feet long with a 17-inch chest and 15-inch head, according to MNT.
“We may finally have a star football player in the family, or maybe a basketball player,” Brown also shared. “I’m just proud of him.”
The engaged couple revealed that they would have to replace some of the prepared clothing, diapers, and other goods they bought.
JaMichael is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Unit, where he is being fed through a feeding tube. Doctors want to regulate his blood sugar because larger babies tend to have a risk of low blood sugar.
Dr. Kirk believes that the baby and the mother will most likely be released from the hospital in a few days, reported ABC.
Nicknamed “Moose,” JaMichael is not the largest baby ever born, though he may have broken past records in the state.
Currently, the Guinness World Records recorded that a woman by the name of Anna Bates, from Canada, gave birth to a 23-pound baby in 1897. The baby died, however, 11 hours later.
JaMichael is expected to be fine with only a few minor problems reported so far.
