Is it me or are babies being born at heavier weights these days?

Question

OK, well recently, my cousin's wife gave birth to an 8 pound baby boy and then 2 weeks later (this past Friday) my 5th period teacher's wife gave birth to a 9 pound baby boy.

So, is this a coincidence or are babies are heavier at birth these days when they're born?

Answer 1

consider that nutrition is better than it used to be 100 years ago. and just because you weren't a whopping 10lb baby, doesn't mean there weren't any. my mother was 9lbs in 1953 and my friend was 12lbs in 1980. big babies happen - sometimes its due to gestational diabetes, which causes the baby to gain more than the necessary weight.

Answer 2

I don't think they are heavier. My sister had two girls and both were in between 6 1/2 -7 lb. My sister in law had a 6 1/2 pound girl. I ended up with a 9 pound 13 oz girl. 4 of my cousins have had babies less than 8 pound. Go figure as my mother had 5 of us and we were all inbetween 5 pound and 8 pound. My husband was 9 pound 12oz. His brother was smaller. It does vary from baby to baby although I suppose when you think about the abundance of food nowadays it is possible that babies are born a tad heavier.

Answer 3

Not really because I was 8 pounds 4 oz and that was in the 80's and my aunt gave birth to 9 pounds 5 oz twin boys and that was in the early 90's. I recently gave birth to a 8 pounds 6oz baby girl so I dont think so...It's a blessing though

Answer 4

I think babies are bigger now for a lot of reasons such as very few pregnant women smoke now (which causes low birth weight) they take prenatal vitamins, and are aware of nutrition, Dr's also allow more time before scheduled deliveries to insure that the babies lungs are developed, there is a higher rate of diabetes now than there was 100 yrs ago also (that causes higher birth weights)

I don't think that they are that much bigger though. I think we hear about it more often so it seems like it happens a lot more.

The average weight remains about the same as it has been 6-9 lbs because as some babies are getting bigger more are surviving prematurity and extremely low birth weights and that factors into the average.

Answer 5

You are right on; babies ARE being born at higher birth weights,and one reason is that doctors aren't hounding their pregnant patients about gaining too much weight in pregnancy. They may make a recommendation about healthy weight gain, but as a rule they are just letting their patients tip the scales too far. That increases Mom's chance for a heavier baby, a longer and more complicated labor, a higher risk for a c-section, and it also increases the baby's risk for developing type II diabetes as an adult. Scary, huh? Only in America.

Answer 6

When i was born I was the smallest @ 10lbs 2 1/2 oz. MY older brothe and sister were both a few ounces over 11lbs and that was in the 70's. My younger sister was bor n '85 and she was 10lbs 11 1/2 oz and was 24 in. long. My kids were about average my son born in '99 was 8lbs 3 1/4 oz and my daughter born in 2000 was 5lbs 8oz. I think that most that are born now are about average compared to some.

Answer 7

My first was 9 pounds 11 years ago.My second was 6'11 and she's 6. My third was 8'6 and he's 4 now.I think it's just how they are supposed to be.I was 8 pounds and I turned 30 today. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.

Answer 8

I think big babies were born years ago too. I had 3 children and they were all in the area of 9 pounds

Answer 9

I was reading an article recently that yes babies are at their biggest right now, back in the 1800's the measurments of babies heads and lengths were very small compared to the babies now and the birth weight was extremely different, Dr.s say that since the diameter of the heads of newborns are getting bigger every year that they predict by 20 years from now vaginal births will be a thing of the past that all babies will have to be c-section because of the head size compared to the vagina.

Answer 10

I think today more people are aware of the nutritional values in unborn babies through the mother's diet and therefore they are eating healthier. Also, smoking causes low birth weight, years ago mother's smoked as they were unaware of the health risks of the unborn child. Mother's today are just more informed of what should be done during pregnancy.