frostymama

My newest little guy (1 week old today) was born absolutely covered in black lanugo. To my famiy's dismay I have been jokingly comparing his appearance to a baby chimp. I know that it will go away before too long... so for now I am just enjoying remembering the look of abject horror on my mother's face when I refered to him as "my little monkey" (and a few other comments that made my YEC sister cringe ).

Since my first was not quite so furry, I am pretty clueless about the function of the hair. I've been trying to look for more information on-line without much luck. All that I can find is that lanugo is a pretty common trait amoung mamalian fetuses and is most common in pre-term births.

Can anyone tell me the function of this hair in human infants?

Godless Dave

I've never even heard of it. Shows you how much I know about babies.

Secular Pinoy

Just like fossils are used by god to test your belief in creation, so too is lanugo on babies. He's making sure if you have enough faith in his word in genesis, and if not, he'll make sure to set a special place in hell for you.

Well, according to this site, The reason for this hair is unknown. Also, if your child is born with lanugo hair, it might be a sign of premature delivery, well, that's according to this site. Sorry if I can't be of more help.

Ab_Normal

Shoot, at least your baby is from a related species. I swear I gave birth to a changeling elf - pointed ears and all.

Amen-Moses

This is pure conjecture but I would hypothesise that it doesn't currently have any function but maybe during a previous long ice age hairy babies were advantageously selected for.

Does anyone know if Inuit babies are extra hairy?

Once we get to an age where we can be clothed (and put down nice big fat layers for insulation) it is no longer an advantage but way back before we invented houses and fire for heating a hairy baby, even if it were only for the first couple of months, would have a survival advantage.

I would say it is a throw back to our pre bare skin relatives except that they (especially Chimps etc) do not have different hair as babies but pretty much keep the same follicle count throughout, human babies seem to grow this dense hair once whilst in the womb and then shed it and start again when they are born, the replacement is indeed similar to Chimps (at least in follicle densities if not in active growth of hair, although I have known a few people ...).

Amen-Moses

HaysooChreesto!

Isn't Lanugo a Mexican boy band? Da-da-da-ching...

I'm sorry.

Undercurrent

<speculation>maybe it's to help him slide through the birth canal better. Skin against hair gives liess friction than skin against skin, and it might help hold of bit of lubricating goo to the surface during the trip.</speculation>

Mad Kally

Lanugo is the fine downy hair found on a full-term newborn baby's shoulders, back, forehead, and temples. ( lanugo is more abundant in premature babies.)

frostymama

I actually looked on-line a bit more and the only explanation that I came across was that it helps the vernix stay on the baby (the vernix is the cream-cheese looking stuff that keeps the fetus from getting water logged in the womb).

I did find one site about sea mammals (I think it was sea lions or walruses) that said their young are covered in lanugo in order to stay warm while their blubber forms.

Very interesting stuff.

Wyz_sub10

....aaaaaand that kills my apetite for cream cheese.