At midnight on May 11, Bethany Jane Turner came into the world at a staggering 12 pounds 6 ounces, making her Britain's third heaviest baby girl delivered via natural birth.
Mom Naomi Tuner was two weeks overdue when she went into labor on May 10, but she was determined to deliver her the baby in a birth pool set up at North Manchester General Hospital, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Despite the baby's size, the mother of three said Bethany's birth was no different from those of her previous two children.
"It wasn’t until she was born that we [realized] she was so big. They put her on the scales and everyone was shocked," Turner told the Evening News.
Although Bethany missed out on the title of Britain's heaviest baby girl by a just over a pound, she's a long way from being the world's heaviest baby.
The heaviest birth on record occurred in Seville, Ohio, in 1879. The baby boy, who weighed 23 pounds and 12 ounces, died 11 hours after being born, according to Guinness World Records. The runner-up title belongs to a baby boy born in Aversa, Italy, in 1955, who weighed 22 pounds, 8 ounces.
Earlier this year, Chun Chun, a 15.5 pound baby boy, made headlines after he snagged the title of China's heaviest baby. His mother, Wang Yujuan, said she didn't expect her son to be that big.
And in January, an Iowa woman delivered a 14-pound baby boy naturally, the Associated Press reported. Officials at the hospital explained that less than one percent of babies tip the scales at 11 pounds or more.
For more on baby Bethany Jane's story, visit the Manchester Evening News online.
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