There were many surprises involving the birth of a baby boy in Tampa, Florida, on January 29th. First of all, his mother was not aware that she was pregnant until she was 35 weeks along. She realized her clothes were tighter than usual at the waist.
When she checked into St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital the doctors prepared her for the delivery of a ten pound baby. Maxxandra Ford works at St. Joseph’s main hospital as a patient support technician. She had complete faith in the hospital staff.
Ms. Ford was in labor for approximately 18 hours; it took 20 minutes to deliver the baby boy. He was delivered vaginally, and to everyone’s surprise, he weighed 14.1 pounds at birth; the largest baby ever delivered at St. Joseph’s. He was named Avery. Ms. Ford said she was ‘cussing up a storm.’ His height was normal at 22 inches.
Hospital staff was asked if they had known the baby would have been that large, it they would have proceeded with a normal delivery; the answer was an emphatic ‘no.’
Avery had to stay for several days in neonatal care. Very large babies often have problems after birth, and Avery showed some signs of problems with breathing.
Ms. Ford’s other two children weighed a more normal 10 pounds. She said that her husband was more surprised than she was about the pregnancy. She said that this time she gave birth to a linebacker instead of a fullback.
By James Turnage
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Photo Courtesy of sean dreilinger
Jeanette Smith