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Woman gives birth to 13-pound baby

Posted at 8:26 AM, Jul 31, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-31 08:26:01-04

(CNN) — One of the heaviest babies ever born in Germany was born last week at the University Hospital Leipzig

The baby girl, Jasleen, weighed a whopping 13.47 pounds and measured nearly 23 inches long.

She was born vaginally, not via a C-section, according to a hospital statement.

“We anticipated that the child would be big,” said Holger Stepan, chief of obstetrics. “We prepared in advance by assembling a special team (of doctors and midwives) to be ready for any possible complications.”

He said he’d never before helped in the birth of such a heavy baby.

The girl’s mother suffered from gestational diabetes, which, when untreated or uncontrolled, can cause babies to be born larger than normal.

Her condition was not discovered until the mother checked herself into the hospital while in labor. She had not previously been a patient there.

The hospital said both mother and child are well.

According to the website for Guinness World Records, the heaviest baby — weighing in at more than 23 pounds — was born in Seville, Ohio, on January 19, 1879. He died 11 hours later.

By Dana Ford

CNN

CNN’s Stefan Simons contributed to this report.