MATERNITY units are seeing a worrying surge in “sumo” babies — weighing more than a stone.
A total of 282 infants have been born in the past four years tipping the scales at 12lbs.
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Maternity units are seeing a worrying surge in 'sumo' babies — weighing more than a stone Credit: Getty - Contributor
But incredibly, the Office for National Statistics -figures for England and Wales also show 32 newborns weighing 14lbs or heavier.
Experts say the rise in “exceptional” birth weights — triggering a fourfold increase in caesarean births in the past 20 years — is partly down to the UK’s obesity crisis.
The size of babies has been growing since the 1950s due to better, more balanced diets.
But the National -Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry said: “The Government’s aim to give every child the best start is for the birds if it continues to ignore the health of mums.
“It’s a disgrace that over half of women enter pregnancy at an unhealthy weight, which risks condemning offspring to a life of obesity.
“UK pre-conceptual counselling services are still in the dark ages and leave hundreds of thousands of women ignorant that a healthy weight at booking-in is vital to -giving their child the best start.”
The average UK birth weight is 7lb 8oz for boys and 7lb 4oz for girls.
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