Fun Facts About Birth

Fun Facts

• the first record of a water birth was in 1805

• only 5% of babies are born on their due date

• a baby has about 300 bones at birth, but an adult only has 206 bones

• the record (Guinness World Records) for the heaviest birth is 22lbs 8oz(10.2kg) in 1955

• the youngest mother on record was 5 years old in Peru in 1939

• the record for the most breastmilk donated is 200, 000 ounces

• the shortest lady (2' 4") with osteogenesis imperfecta carried 3 healthy babies to term

• In the late 18th century, a Russian farmers wife had 69 children (67 surviving). 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets

• the most surviving babies from one pregnancy is 8, delivered in 2009

• the first transgender female to male, post sexual reassignment surgery, delivered in 2002

• the oldest mother on record is 69 delivering in 2008 in India

• only 1 in 10 women experience their water breaking prior to labour

• postpartum bleeding can last up to 8 weeks

• it can take up to 3 weeks for a newborn to be able to produce tears

• it is estimated that 350,000 - 500,000 women die during childbirth each year around the world

• en caul births (born in amniotic sac) occur about 1 in 80,000 births and European mythology suggests that an en caul birth means the child will not drown

• 25% of babies are born with the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck (nuchal cord)

• babies can do the breast crawl in the initial skin-to-skin moments were baby slowly wiggles its way from being placed on the abdomen up to the breast and latch

• the first documented c-section where both mother and baby survived was in the 1500s

• it is possible to have an orgasm while giving birth

• the first recorded medicated pain relief was in 1853 when Queen Victoria was given chloroform to inhale, this pathed the way for normalising medicated pain relief for labour

• in the 19th century, women were administered heroin during labour for pain relief

• about 1/3 of babies are born with a birthmark of some kind

• it is normal for newborns to lose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first week

• baby girls can have mini "periods" in their first 1-2weeks due to the drop in hormones they were receiving from the mother's body during pregnancy

• babies are born without kneecaps

• majority of babies are born with blue eyes and can take up to 6 months to change to their permanent colour