The Doctor Weighs In

I am reading a great book:  The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. 

The heroine of the book, Truly, is a giant (she most likely has a pituitary tumor that is secreting growth hormone).  In one of the early chapters, the town's folk (the men) are betting on how big a baby her mother will deliver.  They all believe this big baby will be a boy... and will weigh 10 or 11 pounds.  But, Truly surprises them by being a 12 pound girl.

Now we see how puny the imaginations of the Aberdeen County men really were.  A woman named Ani in Jakarta, Indonesia recently delivered a 19.2-pound, 2-foot-long child via Caesarean section.

Oh me oh my.  19.2 pounds.  Glad it wasn't me carrying this "ginormous" infant to term.  How did the mom even get out of her chair to get to the hospital to deliver this big, big baby?

The "Little Giant" has been named Akbar ("the Great").  Believe it or not, Akbar doesn't hold the world record for biggest baby ever born.  That belongs to a baby born in 1879 who weighed in at 23 pounds (ouch).  

We can all enjoy this story, but what are the challenges this newborn is facing as he grows up enormous:

• Riducule from "normal" sized peers.  Sad, but a well documented truth
• Diabetes.  Large babies are often the "product" of diabetic moms and they are highly likely to become diabetic themselves
• Other endocrine disorders.  The Little Giant in the book I am reading suffers from gigantism (excess growth hormone in children/youth) associated in some cases with shortened lifespan and numerous uncomfortable complications.

Let's hope that little Akbar grows up with the ability to weather these challenges.