A Siberian woman who gave birth to her 12th child was stunned to find that little Nadia weighed in at 17lb (7.75 kg).

The child, who was delivered by caesarean section earlier this month, joined eight sisters and three brothers. "We were all simply in shock," said Nadia's mother, Tatyana Barabanova, 43, from Russia's Altai region.

©Reuters
Nadia joined eight sisters and three brothers


"What did the father say? He couldn't say a thing - he just stood there blinking."

"I ate everything, we don't have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles and tomatoes," she said, adding that all her previous babies had weighed more than 11lb.

The Guinness World Records lists a 22lb 8oz baby boy born in Italy in 1955, and a 23lb 12oz baby boy who was born in the United States in 1879 but died 11 hours later.

The average weight for most healthy newborn babies is around 7lb, according to World Health Organisation figures.