Are baby weights genetic?

[shivawn]

Is there a hereditary link between babies weight and what the parents weighed at birth?

Google says that there is but I'd love to hear anecdotal evidence from people here who have already had babies!

I was 9lb11 and my husband was a whooping 13.5lb. My family keeps telling me I'm going to have a massive baby and not to buy too many 0-3 month clothes but who knows really.

I was only 7lb 5oz 11 days before my due date. Hubby, well no idea really as his mum changes it every time, he was prem and small.
Our kids have been 7lb 7oz @ 39+6, 10lb 12oz @ 40+5, 9lb 10oz @ 40+2, twins 8lb 5oz & 8lb 11oz @ 38. Current baby was measuring in 97th centile at 31+6 so going to be another big one.

I was 6lb 10oz, born 2 weeks early
Partner was 8lb 7oz, his mum didn't know she was pregnant
DD1 was 8lb 10.5oz 2 weeks early and DD2 was 8lb 2.5oz 1 week early

I was 5lbs 6oz born at 36 weeks. My little sister was 9lbs 8oz born at 40 weeks. DS was 10lbs 10oz born at 39 weeks so I win on that one.

However 10lbs 10oz DS was in 0-3 for 7 weeks so you'll probably still need them.

“ Babies born to smaller mums will on average be born a bit smaller” - not in my experience! I am 5’6” but have a small frame (26” waist and 34” hips before pregnancy), and my baby was 10lbs9oz! I think I was a big baby though, around 9lbs.

On the clothes front, our 10lb 12oz boy fit in the up to 1 month clothes the 1st couple of weeks. He did lose more than 10% of his bodyweight initially as breastfeeding didn't go well, once on formula he started gaining and was in to 0-3mth but was in 2-3 years stuff before he was a year old.

My dd1 was 6lb 9oz, 10 days late. Dd2 was 7lbs 12oz, 10 days late. I was 7lbs 12 oz also 10 days late.

I was 8lb odd and my brother nearly 10lb
My dh about 8lb, my kids 1st was 7lb 14 ,
Second 6lb 8 both boys and both full term
Ds 1 3 days early , ds 2 1 day late

I was 8lb ish but had under 6lb babies.

If your family runs to long babies you may find it’s 0-3 months from the word go. DS2 was 8lb8 but all length and newborn stuff fitted for about a week!

I think so - I was 7lb4 at term and so were two of my children. My husband was a similar birth weight. My other child was born a week earlier in gestation than his siblings and was 6lb10. My brother was a 42 weeker and was 8lb. So yes, it does seem to follow a pattern.

I was 6lbs and my dc were 8lbs10oz and 8lbs 11oz.

I was 6lb 11oz and dh was 8lb exactly. Ds came at 37 weeks (we were both late) and was 5lb 10oz so maybe if he'd cooked full term he'd have been in between?

Both the obstetrician who delivered DD and later my GP said baby weight at birth was about “uterine environment” (DD was born slightly late but on 75th centile, then gradually dropped to her genetic predisposition which was around 9th centile!)

The reason the obstetrician was talking about it was that DD was in danger of hypoxia because of cord compression, but the clinical team who delivered her said that she survived okay mainly because she was a high birth weight (high birth weight meant that she could conserve her oxygen levels better during the birth emergency). They said this was not necessarily correlated with genetic predisposition as birth weight depends on exact gestational age, uterine factors like nutrition in pregnancy, presence or absence of gestational diabetes, optimum placental growth and so on). GP commented the same later on when DD plunged on the centile chart. She’s genetically small and looks set to be on the rather short side naturally.

I was 7lb 4oz...put on just 11lb with DD, asked midwife what she reckoned when I was a week overdue...'no more than 7.5lb'

DD eventually arrived 2 weekslate weighing 8lb 13oz!

I was 7lb 5
DC 1 7lb 5
DC 2 7lb 13
DC 3 7lb
DC 4 7lb 2

I was 8lb4, DH was 7lb-something.
DS1 10lb (42 weeks)
DS2 9lb 12 (39+2 - imagine how much bigger he'd have got if he'd stayed in as long as his brother!)

My sister was 8lb 14 and her DD was under 7. So no obvious hereditary links here.

DD (despite being 60cm and 10lb 13oz) was in 0-3 months for ages. She's 3 and a bit now and still 98th centile for height but has dropped to 50th for weight. It all balances out in the end.

I was 7lbs 2oz, DH was 8lbs 5oz. DD was 7lbs 1oz and DS 7lbs 11oz. So I suppose we were all sort of similar. I know that my mum and dad weighed a lot less than me though.

It's hard to predict and a lot probably depends on gestation. I've also heard that adult height and build is significant.
I was 5lb9 (2 weeks early). Don't think I'd have been more than 6-7lbs at full term. I am tallish and small build as an adult.
DH was 3lb8oz (8 weeks premature!). This wasn't a bad weight for his gestation so maybe he would have been quite heavy at full term. He is quite short and medium build.

Both DDs, full-term were 9lb8oz and 9lb2oz so on the large side. It was a surprise to us all.

Both the obstetrician who delivered DD and later my GP said baby weight at birth was about “uterine environment”

I was told similar - that I made very healthy placentas. No idea how or why.

I was 7 pounds 14 born at 40 weeks
Partner 7 pounds 14 born at 41 weeks

DD 1 born at 35+3 weighing 5 pounds 1oz

DD 2 born at 40+3 weighing 7 pounds 2oz

I was 3.5lb when born at 36 weeks (I’m a twin and my mum had pre-eclampsia). I’m now 5’4 and a size 6. My husband was 10.5lb at full term, and is now 6 foot. I have no idea what size of baby to expect!! However, she’s currently tracking at the 50th percentile at 27 weeks, so I’m hoping she stays around there…

I was 5lbs, DS2 was 9lbs 12oz! He was born at 41+6 though!

I was 5lb 12, my sister was 5lb. My husband was 2 Lb 5 but was prem and is over 6ft now while I'm 5 ft 1My DS was 5lb 5oz and my DD 6lb 3. I think there may be some truth in it but that's just my experience. My DS has always been small and still is aged 6.

I weighted 3lb, was a prem. DH weighted 7.5lb born at 37 weeks, but his full-term siblings were 10.5lb and 11lb!
My mum made small babies, biggest was 7lb at 42 weeks, others were between 5 and 6 lbs.

My DC weighed 6lb 2, 7lb2 and 7lb 4 so for me there's no real correlation.