DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Doctors at an Iowa hospital said a baby born weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces is believed to be the hospital's largest-ever infant without a surgical delivery.

Doctors at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines said Kendall Stewardson gave birth to baby Asher, who measured 23 1/2 inches, Jan. 26 and the infant is believed to be the largest ever born at the hospital without a Caesarean section, The Des Moines Register reported Monday.


"We wanted to avoid a C-section because that would have not been good for me or the baby," Stewardson said. "We didn't want to forfeit the best possible outcome."

The hospital said the largest baby on record in Iowa weighed 14 pounds, 13 ounces, and only 0.1 percent of all newborns weigh more than 11 pounds.