Can Standing Too Early Cause It?
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Michael F. Wasserman, MD
Your question:
My baby is 11 weeks old and can easily bear her own weight on her legs if I hold her under her arms. Will this cause her to be bowlegged?
The doctor answers:
Generally speaking, bowleggedness is not caused by how a baby is held or by any exercise that your infant might perform. Many of the angular changes of the legs are due to the "folded-up position" inside the uterus in which the baby is confined during pregnancy.
Your question:
My baby is 11 weeks old and can easily bear her own weight on her legs if I hold her under her arms. Will this cause her to be bowlegged?
The doctor answers:
Generally speaking, bowleggedness is not caused by how a baby is held or by any exercise that your infant might perform. Many of the angular changes of the legs are due to the "folded-up position" inside the uterus in which the baby is confined during pregnancy.
Additionally it is common for "knock-knees" to be seen between ages two and four years. Fortunately both the common bowlegs and subsequent knock-knees resolve without special intervention. Orthopedists who specialize in children's bone disease know this, and the use of night-bars, braces, etc. has vastly diminished, except for very special circumstances.
Parents should know that the type of shoe is also unimportant for the normal growth and development of the legs. I recommend that parents provide footwear that is well fitted, with a flexible sole, allowing the child to learn to walk with the least hindrance.