The story of the ‘giant baby’ JaMichael Brown has been covered by every type of media over the last few days – unfortunately for the recovering mother.
The Texas baby weighed in at birth a massive 16 pounds, 1 ounce – double the weight of an average newborn – and has had millions of people amazed by what seems like a freak event.
During her pregnancy, JaMichael’s mother was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, a condition that causes macrosomia or above average birth weight of the newborn.
Between 3-8% of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes and this is usually discovered around 24 weeks when routine blood glucose testing is performed.
While JaMichael may not be born with diabetes, he does have an increased risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes later in life.
Certain women are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes. High risk groups include:
Maintaining healthy glucose metabolism in pregnancy is important in reducing your risk of gestational diabetes. These tips may help:
Have you or has anyone you know ever had gestational diabetes or a baby with an above average birth weight?