14 Pound Baby: Woman Who Didn’t Realize She Was Pregnant Gives Birth

A woman set a new record at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, when her 14.1-pound baby was declared the hospital’s heaviest newborn. The most surprising part is the mother, Maxxzandra Ford, didn’t even realize she was with child until her third trimester into the pregnancy.

According to ABC News, it was Ford’s husband who was the first to recommend a pregnancy test. In the fall, Maxxzandra began to gain weight at a fast pace.

The test confirmed she was having a baby, but it didn’t prepare her for having a 14 pound baby.

“She knew she gained a lot of weight and thought she might be having twins because she was a twin,” St. Joseph spokeswoman Nancy Gay explained.

A doctor figured out that Ford was 35 weeks into her pregnancy and believed the baby would weigh about 10 pounds based on the ultrasound images.

Ford told local WFLA it became apparent during the birth that the doctor was wrong.

“I was cussing up a storm. When I felt his head come out, I knew he was bigger than 10 pounds.”

The birth took place on January 29. It was successful, and the new 14-pound infant — named Avery — is healthy, and so is the mother.

Maxxzandra already has two children, a six-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. Their birth weights were nine and ten pounds, a bit above the national average of 7.5 pounds.

Hospital officials did not want to give too many specifics on Avery’s delivery citing privacy issues. Still, according to the Tampa Tribune, they did go over some general information.

Anything over 8.8 pounds is considered a “high-birth weight.” Babies that exceed that upper limit risk injury on their way into the world, especially at 14 pounds, according to neonatologist at St. Joseph’s Hospital Dr. Jenelle Ferry.

“Some experience respiratory distress, where they have trouble breathing. Other babies have hypoglycemia, where they have low sugar levels, and some have trouble feeding.”

Luckily, Avery did not suffer from these conditions and Maxxzandra did not require a caesarean section.

The two are expected to be released from the hospital in a few days.

Despite the incredible size, the Ford family will not make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. A Canadian woman named Anna Haining Bates gave birth to 23-pound baby in 1879, giving her the record for largest birth weight in a pregnancy. Unfortunately, that baby died just 11 hours after the delivery.

Big baby Avery might be lucky to only weight 14 pounds.

[Image via St. Joseph’s Hospitals]