- An Arizona woman delivered a healthy baby 2 weeks early. He weighed 14 pounds, double the size of the average newborn.
- Babies over 8 pounds, 13 ounces are considered to have "fetal macrosomnia," which comes with risks.
- The mom had experienced 19 miscarriages, making the birth even rarer.
After suffering a staggering 19 miscarriages, an Arizona couple finally completed their family with a very big bundle of joy: Their newborn, Finley, weighed 14 pounds, 1 ounce, at birth. He measured 23.75 inches long, too – and he was 2 weeks early.
Had he arrived on his due date, doctors say would have weighed about 16.5 pounds, according to Today.
The average birth weight for full-term babies is about 7.5 pounds, and the average height is 20 inches, according to Michigan Medicine.
"They got him on the scale like, '14.1, I've never seen it that big,'" mom Cary Patonai, 36, told ABC 15 Arizona. "The doctor and one of the sweetest nurses there, they were all taking selfies with us. They asked permission of course, but they were just so pumped."
Babies over 8 pounds, 13 ounces have 'fetal macrosomnia'
An Italian baby born in 1955 at 22 pounds, 8 ounces holds the Guinness World record for heaviest baby to survive infancy. In 2019, a New York woman delivered a 15 pounds-5 ounce baby girl.
About 9% of babies worldwide have "fetal macrosomnia," meaning they're born at more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It's most often caused by maternal diabetes, obesity, or excessive weight gain during pregnancy, but can more rarely signal a fetal medical condition.
It can cause problems like tearing or and excess bleeding after delivery, particularly if delivered vaginally. (Finley was born via C-section.) The babies themselves may be more prone to obesity and metabolic disorder, the Mayo Clinic says.
The family is used to big babies
Finley is healthy, Patonai says, and his stature may be genetic.
His brothers were big babies too. Devlen, now 10 years old, was 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth, and Everett, now 2, was 11 pounds, 11 ounces. But Finley broke the family record - and their doctor's offices, according to Patonai.
"When [Everett] was born, he was in my doctor's top five of the biggest and I was like, 'Just you wait, I'm gonna get to the top of the list, totally joking two years ago. And then we accidentally did it," she told ABC 15.
Now less than two weeks old, Finley is already wearing onesies for 6- to 9-month olds, and diapers usually suited for 2- to 8-month-olds, the outlet reported. He's eating more than double a typical newborn's diet, Patonai told Today.
He's also "snuggly" and "a great sleeper," she said. "Our family is finally complete," she said. "He's absolutely perfect."
Most women get pregnant after one miscarriage, but the likelihood decreases with the number of losses
Up to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and most people who experience one go on to have healthy pregnancies, the Mayo Clinic says. After two consecutive miscarriages, the risk of future loss increases to about 28%, and after three or more consecutive miscarriages, the risk rises to about 43 percent.
Patonai and her husband, Tim, experienced 17 miscarriages between Everett and Devlen's birth, and 2 more this past year.
Experiencing that many is rare - only about 1% of people who experience one experience another -and delivering a healthy baby after that rarer still. In 2010, a woman also made news for delivering a healthy baby after 18 miscarriages thanks to treatment for a blood condition that prevented pregnancy.
It's unclear if the Patonais underwent fertility or other medical treatments to help them conceive.