10 Incredibly Impressive Birth & Baby Records
In the United States, the average newborn weighs around 7 lb 8 oz after a typical gestation period of 268 days. Yet this is not always the case, as the following incredible birth, baby and mom records prove...
1. Lightest Newborn
Tiny Emilia Grabarczyk weighed just 8 oz when she was born on November 25 2015. She was delivered by C-section in the 26th week of pregnancy at Marien Hospital in Witten, Germany. She is considered to be the lightest premature baby in the world, though it was initially unclear whether she would survive the first few weeks. However, Emilia is a true fighter and leads a healthy life today.
2. Heaviest Newborn
Quite literally on the other end of the scale, the record-holder for giving birth to the heaviest baby in the world belongs to Italian woman Carmelina Fedele. Her son weighed a staggering 22 lb 8 oz when he was delivered in 1955 — almost three times heavier than an average newborn!
3. Oldest Mother
Though the average age of mothers giving birth to their first child is increasing, this case is particularly extreme. After 55 years of a marriage that produced no children, Indian Rajo Devi Lohan decided to undergo artificial insemination, giving birth to daughter Naveen in 2008. She was 70 at the time of birth and had gone through menopause 20 years previously!
4. Quickest Birth
A birth usually lasts between 8 to 14 hours. Already a mom of four kids, Australian Mary Gorgens was certainly well-versed in this field. All of her previous births had been lightning-fast, but her son Brody's scooped the world record. It took a mere two minutes Mary's waters broke for him to be born; she didn't even make it out of the bedroom!
Brody's sister Mia was also born in the bedroom, while two other children had to be delivered in the car. Only one of her kids managed to hold on in time for them to get to the hospital.
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5. Tallest Newborn
In August 2007, a Chinese woman gave birth to a boy who far exceeded the average newborn height of 19 inches. After delivery, he measured in at a remarkable 30 inches and weighed around 15 lb 6 oz!
6. Most Babies From One Birth
American Nadya Suleman is the record-holder for the most babies from one birth in January 2009. The previous year, Nadya had undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, which resulted in her giving birth to octuplets. Anticipating seven babies, the eighth came as a total surprise for the doctors. At the time, Nadya already had six children following IVF treatment, bringing the total up to 14!
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7. Most Births
Fourteen children is nothing though. From 1725 to 1765, Mrs. Vassilyev from Russia gave birth to 69 children from 29 pregnancies. This unimaginably high number was made possible by having 16 sets of twins, seven triplets and four quadruplets.
8. Earliest Surviving Baby
In November 2010, little Frieda was born in Fulda, Germany after only 21 weeks and five days — only half of the normal gestation period. At the time of birth, she weighed just 1 lb and measured 11 inches. An absolute record.
9. Longest Birth
The birth of twins Amy and Katie Jones-Elliot was anything but normal. In June 2012, mother Mary's waters broke and gave birth to Amy a full four months before the due date. However, Katie didn't follow her sister's lead and was delivered 87 days later in August. A truly extraordinary set twins!
10. Youngest Mother
In this particularly extreme case, Lina Medina from Peru gave birth to a healthy 6-lb son in 1939 when she was aged just five. Lina had precocious puberty, meaning puberty occurred in her at an unusually young age. The identity of the father remains unknown, though her own dad was at the center of investigations for a long period of time. Lina's son Gerardo died in 1979 at the age of 40; his death was unrelated to the incredible circumstances surrounding his birth.
A number of these records leave plenty of room for discussion, but one thing is for sure: no birth is alike!