Courtesy Photo
Dilan Aram Hernandez was born weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces.
The border region has a new and unusually big claim to fame: the Norte de Juarez newspaper in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico is reporting the world’s biggest baby was born in a local hospital last week.
Weighing in at a hefty 6.6 kilograms, or 14 pounds, 8 ounces, Dilan Aram Hernandez is the fifth child of the Hernandez Flores family. The Mexico Social Security Institute Clinic 66 reported that the baby was born — not surprisingly by Ceasearean section — last Wednesday at 10:31 p.m.
The claim of biggest baby in the world may be in dispute, however. According to the Huffington Post, a 15 pound 7 ounce baby named George King was born in Britain last March.
More recently, close contenders include a 13 pound 5 ounce baby born to a British woman in Spain, and a 13 pound 5 ounce baby born in Liepzig, Germany in early August.
In fact, this worldwide big baby boom is causing concern among health practitioners and expectant mothers. The British medical journal The Lancet reported in February that in the past two to three decades, developed countries have seen a 15-25 percent increase in babies weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces. That is the weight at which a baby is officially considered “oversized.”
Rising rates of obesityaround the world may play a role in the increased baby weights. Moreover, as women delay childbearing, they face a higher risk of gestational diabetes during pregnancy, which can contribute to fetal weight gain.
Back in Juarez, Dilan Aram Hernandez’s size may be causing some difficulty for his parents. Maria del Carmen Flores, the baby’s mother, reportedly works for a maquiladora, but may be delayed in returning to work with this large addition to her family. The father, Cesar Hernandez, is quoted in Norte de Juarez saying he was surprised at the size of his fifth-born and that he at first thought the baby must be ill. He said the family is not economically prepared for a newborn the size of a six-month-old:
We need everything, the clothes we prepared, the diapers, won’t work. We have no job and with no money it is very hard to buy the diapers of that size. If people want to support us, we appreciate it.
Dilan was discharged with his mother last Friday afternoon. But the child's mother was readmitted to the clinic Tuesday morning with some complications from the birth.