Tourists crowd to see giant Indonesian baby

26 Sep, 2009

An giant Indonesian new-born has become a tourist attraction, with dozens of people crowding a hospital to see the 8.7 kilogramme (19.2 pound) baby boy, his mother said Friday. Muhammad Akbar Risuddin, Indonesia's heaviest-ever baby, who is 62 centimetres (24.4 inches) long, was born by Caesarian section this week at a public hospital in North Sumatra.
"I feel very happy. This is God's blessing... My baby brought us fortune," his mother Ani, 41, told AFP. "My baby constantly wants to keep feeding. My milk isn't enough, so we're having to give him bottles too," she said. "I never imagined I'd deliver such a big baby. I thought I was going to have twins."
Doctors have said Muhammad's extraordinary size was likely due his mother's diabetes, which can cause children to receive too much glucose and grow too large during pregnancy. Ani said carrying the heavy baby, her third, caused her exhaustion and breathing trouble, but both she and child were now in good health. Indonesia's previous heaviest baby, weighing in at 6.9 kilogrammes, was born in 2007 on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta.

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