Maxxzandra Ford gave birth to Avery, her third child, at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital in Tampa, Florida and was surprised to learn that her baby weighed 14.1 pounds. This makes him the heaviest infant that has ever been born at the hospital and also one of the largest in the state.
At first, Ford didn't know that she was pregnant. When her husband noticed that she had gained a lot of weight, he convinced her to get a pregnancy test. That time, she was able to confirm that she is indeed pregnant and that she's on her 35th week of pregnancy.
"She knew she gained a lot of weight and thought she might be having twins because she was a twin," said Nancy Gay, spokeswoman from the St. Joseph's Hospital.
Based on her ultrasound result, the doctors had estimated that her baby would weigh 10 pounds. When she gave birth to a baby weighing 14.1 pounds, everyone was surprised.
According Dr. Vincent Iannelli who is a pediatrics expert, babies that are born in the U.S. have an average birth weight of 7 pounds, 7.5 oz. Those babies that are born heavier than 8 pounds and 8 ounces are already categorized as belonging to the High Birth Weight group.
Ford recalled that time when she was giving birth and saw the baby's head coming out. At that point, she realized that he weighed heavier than 10 pounds.
"Before I knew it, he was already coming out," said Ford. "It was too late to turn back. I was like "Oh my goodness," and they were like "Stop pushing. Stop pushing."
Official hospital records show that 14 pound Avery was born on Jan. 29. Gay said that both the mother and her baby are healthy and doing well.
Ford also has a 1-year-old son and a 5-year-old son . When they were born, one weighed nine pounds while the other weighed 10.
With baby Avery's weight of 14.1 pounds, it's no wonder why Ford went through a total of 18 hours in labor. She just couldn't stop herself from pushing that allowed her to deliver in the old fashioned natural way.
Avery's weight is not as heavy as the child who was born in Texas in 2011. Nicknamed "Moose," the child tipped the scale at 16 pounds.
The Guinness World Records say that the heaviest born baby so far is the one delivered by Ann Bates of Canada. The newborn baby weighed at a whopping 23 pounds and 12 oz.
