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A 40-year-old woman has given birth to an unusually over-weight (macrosomic) baby at the St. Gregory Catholic Hospital at Buduburam, near Kasoa. The woman, Efua Sam, who already has six children, was rushed to the hospital after attempts to deliver her of the baby at the Nyanyano Health Centre where she was first admitted to proved futile. The baby weighed 7.2 kilogrammes at birth. The normal weight of a newborn baby in Ghana is between 2.5 kilogrammes and four kilogrammes. The unusual size of the baby attracted many people to the hospital to catch a glimpse of it. Hospital�s perspective In an interview, the medical doctor in charge of the hospital, Dr Oheneba Anyani-Boadum, said the woman was not an attendant at the hospital but had been rushed to the facility at the second stage of labour and upon the intervention of the midwives, she was taken through a safe delivery. According to him, the mother did not lose much blood after the delivery, adding that the baby was in good condition, without any sign of ill-health. He indicated that the delivery of the baby was not an ordinary occurrence, since few countries globally could boast such macrosomic babies delivered through natural births. �The interesting thing about the baby�s weight is that it is extremely above the normal weight. It is 100 per cent more than the normal baby weight. The fascinating thing is that she delivered the baby herself vaginally and not through surgery or any other means,� he said. According to Dr Anyani-Boadum, his outfit conducted thorough investigations to ascertain the condition of the baby, since macrosomic babies usually died after delivery when they were not kept in good condition. Speaking on the risk factors pertaining to the delivery of the macrosomic baby, he said the woman, having given birth to six children already, could give birth to the overweight baby. �Giving birth to too many children and diabetes in a mother are the risk factors for having macrocosmic babies,� he added. He said officials of the hospital had already counselled the woman to adopt family planning methods, since further child-bearing could put her life in danger. Furthermore, he said the baby was in the right condition but it would be transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for further tests. Complications in mother and baby According to Dr Anyani Boadum, mothers who delivered macrocosmic babies usually lost much blood during delivery and in most cases died as a result. He said macrocosmic babies also faced future medical complications, such as diabetes. With a happy expression on her face, the mother said she was in good condition, as was her baby. She thanked health personnel at the hospital for helping her to deliver safely when she was rushed to the hospital in severe condition.