A baby girl born in a hospital in Brazil has stunned staff after she appeared to try to walk just minutes after she was born.
Newborn Attempting To Walk
The video of the newborn, which has now gone viral on the internet, shows the child trying to pump her legs in a walking motion as a midwife held her in her arms.
The nurses were reportedly surprised by the baby's sudden urge to walk. The midwife seen in the video said that she was trying to give the tiny tot a bath but the baby just wanted to get up and walk.
The midwife attempted to put the child down but the young one pushed off again and continued with her attempt to "walk."
It was not clear who the parents of the baby were and where the incident happened albeit the insignia on the robes of the medical staff in the video suggests the video was taken at a Santa Cruz Hospital in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul.
More Than 72 Million Views
The video, which was uploaded and publicly shared on Facebook by Arlete Arantes, now has more than 72 million views and over 1.6 million shares.
The footage shows the baby seemingly lifting one foot in front of another, which mimics the movement of walking. The unusual behavior has piqued people's interest. Some were awed by the child's seemingly precocious behavior while others simply dismissed the movement as a natural stepping reflex.
Newborn Reflex
The University of Rochester Medical Center said that one of the reflexes of normal babies when they are born is the walk or dance reflex. Babies appear to take steps or dance when they are held upright while their feet touch a solid surface.
This reflex is believed to last for about two months after the baby is born and, like other baby reflexes, are often gone by the child's fourth month.
Dr. Kenneth Wible, from Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, explained that while newborn babies cannot yet support their own weight, they will place one foot in front of the other in what appears to be a walking motion if they are held upright and have the soles of their feet placed on a sturdy surface.
Wible explained that the stepping reflex can be attributed to human's primitive instinct to move. The purpose of this reflex, he said, is to prepare a child to walk albeit this recurs after about 12 months.
Some Animals Start To Walk Soon After Birth
Babies typically start to walk alone between 10 and 18 months of age. Some animals though are known to walk almost as soon as after birth. A horse can walk within an hour after it was born. Giraffes, on the other hand, take about 30 minutes to an hour after birth to start standing and running. A 2009 study suggests that humans cannot immediately walk after birth because their brains are largely immature which leaves babies with little control over their movements.
