Charlie is a big bundle of joy (From Daily Echo)
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Is 12lb 10oz Charlie Kean Hampshire's biggest newborn baby?
6:24pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in Health
Baby Charlie Kean with mum Dawn, dad Kris and sister Mia
BABY Charlie made a big impression when he arrived into the world – he weighed a thumping 12lb 10oz.
His size was even more of a shock given that he arrived two weeks early.
Even so, he is thought to be Hampshire’s heaviest ever newborn.
Mum Dawn Kean, 30, whose five-year-old daughter Mia was born half the size of her big brother, at just 6lb 15.5oz, said: “I knew he was going to be big because of the previous scans and I was absolutely massive. Everywhere I went people were commenting. But 12lb 10oz? You don’t hear that often.”
Doctors at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester were forced to induce Dawn’s labour after she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure brought on by pregnancy which can be fatal in extreme cases. Nearly 24 hours later, she had Charlie by emergency Caesarean section.
She said: “Everyone in theatre were just amazed and shocked. It was really quite comical. They all said they’d never seen one that big before.”
Husband Kris, 30, an account manager, said: “The atmosphere was definitely different from usual. There were a lot of oohs and aahs.”
Dawn, a licensing specialist, discovered she was pregnant in May last year when she developed cravings for lasagne and croissants.
After 28 weeks she was so big it was impossible to do anything. The mum-to-be even heard people talk when she passed, saying she must be expecting twins or triplets because she was so big.
Near the end of her pregnancy she was confined to a wheelchair because of pelvic pains.
Proud Dawn and Kris met while working together at Ordnance Survey in Southampton and live in Chandler’s Ford.
A spokesman for the Royal Hampshire County Hospital said the average newborn baby weighs 7lb 7oz – more than 5lb less than Charlie.
British newborns are getting bigger generally, an increase seen by many health professionals as a positive sign, reflecting improvements in the health of the adult population.
