An Iowa woman is recuperating after giving birth to a baby boy weighing nearly 14 pounds.
Kendall Stewardson of St. Charles endured about six hours of labor without medication before baby Asher was delivered last Thursday at Des Moines, Iowa’s Mercy Medical Center.
He was born healthy, nine days late, and weighed 13 pounds, 12 ounces. The baby was 23 and one-half inches long. He’s the biggest naturally born baby the hospital has ever recorded.
Stewardson had previously given birth to a son named Judah who weighed 12 pounds, one ounce when he was born.
There are risks to a baby born nine days past due, and at such a large size.
“So, everyone like double-takes when they see him, but for us it’s pretty standard and it wasn’t much worse than probably most people’s,” says Kendall.
“And just to have two that had absolutely no issues, we’re definitely very blessed that way,” adds father Joshua Stewardson.
Kendall says it was all worth it for their new little wonder.
According to the National Council of Health Statistics, only 1 in 1,000 newborns weighs more than 11 pounds.
