Why can many animals walk as soon as they are born, but humans can't?

Audit expert: Mao Xinmei

Chief Physician of Pediatrics, Ningxia Women and Children's Hospital, Peking University First Hospital In many animal documentaries, newborn antelopes and wildebeests can stand up within a few minutes, newborn elephants can learn to walk staggeringly, and even newborn monkeys, who are also primates, can already hold on to their mother's hair tightly and jump up and down with their mother without being thrown off. But why are human babies wrinkled and wrapped in quilts when they are born, and they can't even open their eyes?

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This can't help but make people puzzled, why many newborn animal cubs look so strong and can stand up and walk quickly, but human babies can't? This starts with the birth of human mothers.

Are all human babies "premature"?

During childbirth, the fetal head can only pass through the pelvis smoothly and be delivered smoothly when the diameter of the female pelvic opening is larger than the fetal biparietal diameter. However, the normal diameter of the female pelvic opening is about 10 to 13 cm. If the fetal head circumference is too large, it may lead to dystocia and even affect the life and health of the mother and fetus.

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However, the width of a mature human head is about 17 cm, which is far beyond the maximum opening of the female pelvis, which means that a fully mature head cannot pass through the female pelvis naturally during normal delivery. Studies have shown that if the biparietal diameter of a human fetus is about 8.5 cm at the time of delivery, normal delivery is possible. Although this reduces the risk of dystocia, it also means that the fetal skull is not fully developed at this time.

In addition, humans have gradually acquired a high degree of wisdom and powerful strength in the long process of evolution, and the living environment for babies has become better. Human babies can obtain a safe and stable growth environment and sufficient food. They do not need to adapt to the environment quickly and learn to avoid natural enemies in order to grow smoothly like animal cubs. In addition, the current average human life expectancy is over 70 years old, far exceeding the average age of ordinary animals. Human babies have enough time to grow and develop and do not need to rush. But correspondingly, compared with the early mature brains and lifespans of animal cubs, human babies are naturally like "premature babies."

What makes animals different from humans?

In addition to the immature development of infants, the harsh environment of nature is also an important reason for the gap between the two.

First, animal cubs live in a more dangerous natural environment, and the food chain is more complex. Animals at the bottom of the food chain need to have a certain self-protection ability at birth, at least to be able to run fast to escape; and animals at the top of the food chain also need the ability to move quickly to hunt in order to ensure survival.

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Secondly, many animals do not take good care of all their young during reproduction. When food is limited, the weaker young that cannot compete for enough food will not survive to leave the nest independently, but will die of starvation and cold early and be eliminated by nature.

Finally, the average life span of most animals is much shorter than that of humans, and their growth rate is several times faster than that of humans. Therefore, there is a big difference between whether animal babies and human babies can stand up at birth.

Best time for baby to walk

Normally, it is more appropriate for human babies to practice standing and walking after 10 months and 1 year old respectively . Standing and walking too early or too late will have certain negative effects on the child's physical development.

Studies have shown that if children start walking too early, it will affect their physical development in many aspects.

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Impact on vision: Eyes that have not yet fully developed cannot resist children's curiosity to explore the distance, which may cause excessive eye use and make children suffer from severe myopia at an early age.

Impact on the spine: For infants under one year old, since the spine is not fully developed, walking too early will increase the burden on the spine, causing problems such as hunchback when they grow up.

Influence on leg shape: The lack of calcium in infant bones makes the bones of the limbs, especially the lower limbs, very fragile and easily deformed when subjected to force. If the infant learns to walk too early, the lower limb bones are easily deformed due to pressure, causing the infant to have "O" or "X" shaped legs when they grow up.

Therefore, there are reasons why human babies walk late and animal babies walk early. We must respect the laws of their own development and pay attention to our own physical development!