NEWS: PE mom’s rather weighty surprise
Boy weighing 5.58kg the biggest born at PE hospital
LYING happily between twins born on the same day as him, Endinako Manana positively dwarfs the little tots – not surprising when he was born weighing a hefty 5.58kg. Making history when he was born at the weekend, Manana is the biggest baby born to date at Port Elizabeth’s Life Mercantile Hospital.
Yesterday, Mercantile midwife Lillian Human said as far as she could remember the little boy was the largest baby born at the hospital.
Human said the average weight for a newborn baby was about 3.5kg.
In 2005, a 6kg baby was born at Life St George’s Hospital, with the biggest baby yet born in South Africa, born at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town in 2007, weighing in at 7kg.
In Port Elizabeth, both mom and baby were doing fine and went home yesterday.
Endinako’s mom, Noxolo Manana, 30, said her obstetrician, Dr Abry Nhliziyo, had told her she was only carrying one baby but it was a big one.
“At least the scan showed that there was only one baby,” she said.
Endinako’s dad, Thandekile Khalipha, 39, was convinced, however, that he was about to become the dad of twins.
“I kept on saying, I am sure it is twins. It must be twins. There must be another one in there, one baby can’t be that big,” he said.
Manana, who works as a cashier at Nelson Mandela University, said she had a caesarean section on Sunday.
“I am very happy that it wasn’t a natural birth,” she laughed.
The mother of six said this one was her last baby.
“It was a surprise to me that he was that big because the others weren’t that big.
“I didn’t eat anything different. I am definitely done now.
“We named him Endinako, meaning ‘That is all I have’.
“I already have two girls and three other boys. They are very excited to meet their brother.
“The only problem we had so far was that the newborn clothes I brought for him did not fit,” she said.
She had to dispatch one of his aunts to bring her some bigger clothes.
While mothers who have diabetes or develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy often have big babies, Manana said she did not have any health problems and Endinako was just her big blessing.
Human said Endinako weighed more than the combined weight of twins Kylie and Kiana Smith, who were born on the same day, at 2.45kg and 2.6kg respectively.