Fife mums more likely to have ‘super sized’ babies that weigh 8lb 13oz

The figure came in a national analysis of births across the UK.

It showed in the year to March 2021, there were 388 babies born weighting 8lb 13oz or more - or 4kg, the equivalent of four bags of sugar.

Babies this weight are considered unusually large, and it can can lead to complications during labour, and mothers are more likely to need a caesarean section

The medical term is foetal macrosomia.

Super-sized babies accounted for 13.8% of births in Fife during that period when a total of 2812 were delivered.

The Scottish average was 13.3%.

Around one in seven babies born in Scotland had macrosomia, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures.

A range of factors can influence the likelihood of having an unusually large baby, including a mother’s weight and age, genetics, gestational diabetes, and a baby being overdue.

Fife’s figure was lower than many regions.

Women living in the islands of Orkney and Shetland were almost twice as likely to have big babies – 24.4% and 26.2% respectively.

Babies from Dumfries and Galloway were the next heaviest, with 16.2% at least four kilograms, followed by Tayside (14.9%) and Western Isles (14.8%).

Shetland’s figure was the highest for any local area in the UK.

Across the UK nations shows between one in seven and one in 10 babies have macrosomia, with those in Northern Ireland most likely to be on the chunkier side.