Woman who weighed 37 pounds before getting pregnant gives birth to healthy son

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) _ A woman who is 3 feet tall and weighed 37 pounds before she got pregnant has given birth to her first child _ a healthy boy. <br/><br/>Eloysa Vasquez, who uses a wheelchair and

Friday, February 10th 2006, 10:49 am

By: News On 6

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) _ A woman who is 3 feet tall and weighed 37 pounds before she got pregnant has given birth to her first child _ a healthy boy.

Eloysa Vasquez, who uses a wheelchair and had two miscarriages, suffers from Type 3 osteogenesis imperfecta, a disorder that makes bones soft and brittle.

Vasquez gained 20 pounds during pregnancy and delivered the 3 pound, 7 ounce baby on Jan. 24 at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

``We just took one day at a time. We had a lot of people praying for us. We just believed ... and here we have our son,'' Vasquez, 38, of Tulare, told The Fresno Bee for a story Thursday.

Doctors said they delivered Baby Timothy by Cesarean section eight weeks before due date in order to protect the mother's fragile health _ her tiny, distorted body left little room for a fetus to grow.

They said Timothy did not inherit his mother's genetic condition.

Judging from her son's long fingers and toes, Vasquez said, ``I think he's going to be a tall boy.''

Her husband, Roy, said his wife's small stature can be deceiving: ``She's a strong lady.''

According to the university, one in only 25,000 to 50,000 births are to a mother with osteogenesis imperfecta, and even fewer involve moms with the severe Type 3 form.