More Women Are Giving Birth To Large Babies
Aug 17, 2013 21:30
Babies weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces or more are considered oversized. But according to data in the past two decades, it's becoming more common for newborns to by really big. Tiny giants if you may. It's happening everywhere.
Birth weights like 13 pounds, 14 pounds, 15 pounds and even 16 pounds have become more frequent. According to a study in the medical journal The Lancet, there has been a 15% - 25% increase in "oversized" births in developed countries. In developing countries, for example: in Algeria, 15% of babies born are "oversized," while 13.8% are too big in China.
Experts believe that maternal obesity is playing a large role to this. Or it could be genetics. Or it could be that women haven't really been smoking while pregnant in the past two decades. Either way, doctors aren't sure just yet.
All this weight sure makes your birth canal cringe.
[NBC News]