Which major bone are babies born without?

Babies still have knees but they are born without kneecaps, well the bony kneecaps that we have as adults. Experts say it actually takes a while for kneecaps to develop and they don’t even begin until after a baby is born. This means that babies are born without kneecaps, or the patella bone.

The reason babies are born without kneecaps is actually about reproduction. Like most things, how babies are birthed evolved with survival in mind. Kneecaps are hard, bony and sharp. This makes them less than ideal for moving thru the birth canal seamlessly. Since babies need to be birthed, they develop in the uterus with cartilage where we have kneecaps. Cartilage is more pliable than bone. That makes birthing a baby an easier task and the reason babies are born without kneecaps a good one.

Surprisingly, the patella doesn’t begin to develop right after birth. Instead the cartilage starts to turn into bone when the baby becomes a toddler (or around 2 years old). Babies are born with a lot more cartilage than adults have. As they age the cartilage begins to ossify or turn into bone. This process is not fast and takes the better part of 4 years. This means that babies are born without kneecaps and most kids don’t have a kneecap until they are about 6 years old.