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There seems to be a growing number of bigger babies in Singapore |
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Bigger Babies
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The average newborn here in Singapore tends to weigh around 3.2kg. A normal weight range is anything from 2.5 kg to 4 kg. However, recently there has been a growing phenomenon of bigger babies in Singapore, reported the Straits Times on Friday April 17 2009. Bigger babies are categorized as those above 5 kg in weight.
In KKH, there are about five born each year out of about 13,000 deliveries. The heaviest baby recorded by the KKH since 1999 was 5.5kg, in 2002. Thomson Medical Centre had one weighing 5.7kg in 2001.
Bigger babies are mostly attributed to better maternal nutrition, genetics and improved delivery techniques. But bigger does not always mean better, warns Doctors. Bigger babies could also be attributed to mothers becoming overweight in pregnancy and gestational diabetes. Bigger babies may also face some health concerns of their own, including complications in delivery and higher risk of adult obesity or diabetes.