A trace of incredulity crept into Katie-Sue Morway's voice Thursday as she gazed down at the 14-pound, 2-ounce, 23-inch baby to whom she had given birth less than 48 hours earlier.
"This was inside me?" asked Morway, 27. "I don't think so."If Morway was having a hard time believing she had delivered such a jumbo-size infant - and she was there, after all - that explains the gasps the birth of Holly-Beth Morway elicited from everyone else who heard about it, from veteran mothers to veteran obstetricians.
Though she admitted that she was "still shocked" Thursday and that her hips were sore, Morway fielded media questions with aplomb, her husband, Timothy, by her side, her baby lolling contentedly in her arms, attired in clothing made for a medium-size 9-month-old.
Yes, the vaginal birth was "painful, very painful," Morway said, and she has "many, many stitches." Yes, the baby - whom she is nursing - is "eating like crazy." Yes, the baby kicked plenty before she was born, and even delivered a kick to mom on her way out. And what does the mother plan to do to celebrate her entrance into the history books? "Sleep," answered Morway.
Holly-Beth is the largest baby ever delivered at Saint Vincent Hospital, and may be the largest ever born in Worcester, according to hospital officials. State officials said Thursday they don't keep records that would show where she ranks overall in Massachusetts, but it is safe to say Holly-Beth will be one of the largest of the 83,000 babies born in the state this year.
Though Holly-Beth is off the charts, birthweights have been steadily increasing in the United States over the past 20 years.
From an average of 7.5 pounds in the 1970s, birthweights have grown to an average of 7.7 pounds today, according to Joyce Martin, a statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics. Specialists chalk up the increased size to several factors: fewer pregnant women smoke nowadays; their nutrition is better; doctors no longer impose stringent limits on weight gains for expectant women - and second babies tend to be bigger.
Nonetheless, only 1 percent of babies weigh more than 10 pounds, according to Dr. Linda Heffner, director of the high-risk pregnancy program at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.
"That's a huge baby," Heffner said.