Woman in Brazil gives birth to giant baby

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A 38-year-old woman in northeastern Brazil has given birth to what one doctor said was a "giant baby."

Francisca Ramos dos Santos gave birth to her 16.7 pound son, named Ademilton, on Tuesday at the Albert Sabin Maternity Hospital in Salvador, 1,450 kilometers 900 miles northeast of Sao Paulo, in the state of Bahia.

"Obviously the baby was born by Caesarean section," hospital director Rita Leal said by phone. "Both mother and baby are doing just fine."

"It is the biggest baby ever born in the hospital's 12-year history, and I think it could very well be one of the biggest ever born in this country," Leal said.

Pediatrician Luiz Sena Azul told the Correio da Bahia newspaper that Ademilton "could truly be considered a giant baby, for he was born weighing what a 6-month-old baby normally weighs."

Leal said Santos was a diabetic and that "it is common for women with diabetes to give birth to large babies."

Ademilton is Santos' fifth and heaviest baby, she said.

She has three sons - now aged 15,14 and 12 - who were born weighing between 7.7 and 8.8 pounds and a nine-year-old who was born weighing 11 pounds.

"She knew Ademilton would be a big baby, but not this big" Leal said. "She, her husband and the hospital staff were caught by surprise."