“Giant” Indonesian baby becomes a tourist attraction

The “giant” Indonesia baby that made his way into the world this week in Indonesia, is causing a tourism stir as crowds of people gather at Abdul Manan Hospital in North Sumatra to see the 19.2-pound infant. Even the mayor came by and had the honor of naming the infant after himself.

Binsar Sitanggang, the lead doctor who delivered Akbar — or “the Great” in Arabic — via cesarean section, said, “I was very surprised. I thought it was twins. It needed a longer time than normal to deliver this baby. He was hardly breathing when we took him out. But, thank God, he is healthy.”

His parents, Hananuddin and Ani, who like many Indonesians use only one name, have two other children. Both were big at birth but were not abnormally large. Their new addition is 24.4 inches (62 cm) long.

“We can compare this giant baby with a 9- to 10-month-old baby,” Sitanggang said. “Both his parents are tall and big, so there might be a genetic cause for this.”

Sitanggang said the baby has already developed a robust appetite, requiring instant milk as well as breast milk. It is thought that Muhammad is the heaviest baby born to date in Indonesia.

The world’s heaviest baby was born in 1879 in Ohio and weighed 23.8 pounds (10.8 kg), but the baby died 11 hours later, according to Guinness World Records. The heaviest baby to survive was a boy born in 1955 in Aversa, Italy. He weighed 22.6 pounds (10.2 kg).