Midwives at Sunshine Hospital deliver thousands of babies each year, but one arrival this month is sure to live in their memories for a while.
Maoama Ala was born to parents Teuaililo and Maoama on Tuesday, February 13 at 4.14pm by emergency caesarean.
Maoama weighed 6.3 kilograms and was 60 centimetres long at birth, making him the heaviest baby ever delivered at Sunshine Hospital. The average weight for a newborn baby is typically between 3-3.5 kilograms.
Western Health maternity services operations manager Lisa Smith said the record shocked even staff.
“While the maternity team caring for Teuaililo were expecting a big baby and recommended a caesarean section, it was quite a surprise that baby Maoama was over 6 kilograms,” she said. “Baby Maoama … is quite a novelty as for most midwives and doctors this will be the largest size baby they will see in their careers.”
The previous record was a 6.23 kilogram baby boy born at the hospital in 2013.
While the enormity of the birth isn’t lost on Maoama’s mother, Teuaililo, she says her son’s health is all she is concerned about.
“People kept asking me if I was having twins and I’d say ‘I wish,’ ” she said.
“The main thing isn’t the size, it’s that he came out happy and healthy.”
Maoama makes baby number four for the family, who have nine-year-old twin siblings (boy and girl) and a six-year-old son.
While the birth may have been a record-breaking one, it hasn’t deterred Teuaililo from wanting more children and she’s hoping baby number five is a girl.
