CHILE: A Chilean family welcomed a 7.105-kilogramme baby boy amid mixed emotions on Thursday (Dec 28) as the toddler remains in intensive care and the mother is also hospitalised.
According to obstetrician Marcia Venegas, this could be the biggest baby ever registered in Chile, surpassing another newborn who weighed more than six kilos.
"It is extremely rare that a birth occurs and the newborn weighs more than seven kilos. In fact, it has never happened in Chile. The heaviest newborn ever recorded weighed 6.7 kilos.
"Macrosomic newborns may be at increased risk of hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar; jaundice, which is increased bilirubin in their blood; and polycythemia (increased red blood cell count)," she said.
The baby was born Thursday morning at a hospital in Curanilahue and had to be transferred to a hospital in Concepcion due to health complications. The mother remains hospitalised in Curanilahue and is awaiting release to be reunited with her baby.
According to a hospital statement, although the baby's condition is serious, he is reported to be stable and under observation in the paediatric intensive care area.
Luis Contreras, the baby's father said: "I'm also sad, filled with emotions because I didn't think my baby would be in such a complex situation.
"They have him more or less regular, stable, with medication, with tubes that are going to feed him and all that." --REUTERS