Human babies are incredible. Indeed, the more we learn about them, the more we realise just how incredible they are! Not only are they little bundles of joy that have evolved in less than a year, but they also conceal some amazing secrets. Did you know, for example, that babies have gills (kind of), fur and a tail during their development in the womb — and that they have three times more taste buds than adults when they’re first born? In today’s article, we explore some fascinating baby facts that surprised us — and may surprise you! Take a look.

We Remember Nothing Before the Age of 3

Scientists are not completely sure why, but none of us tend to have memories that go back beyond the age of three. Can you recall anything from when you were 2 or 3 years old? The vast majority of us can’t, and it is believed to be because of two possible reasons. One possibility is that we can’t remember our earliest years because the memory system in our brains was not developed enough at that time. The other possibility is that it’s because memory could be tied to language, and our language skills were not sufficient to store memories until the age of three. It could also be a mixture of the two, perhaps.

Newborn Babies have Heart Rates Twice as Fast as Adults

Newborn babies have a heart rate of somewhere between 120 and 160 beats per minute. That’s around double that of adults!

4.44 Babies Are Born Every Second!*

Every second, an average of 4.44 new babies are born around the world*. That’s about 266 babies per minute and almost 16,000 per hour. On a daily basis, it works out to over 383,600 new babies per day and about 140 million every year. The world population is currently growing at a rate of 0.9% annually.

The Birth Rate in England & Wales is Falling

In England and Wales, 591,072 babies were born in 2023 according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data^(¹). That is the lowest birth rate for the region since 1977, as well as being the first time the rate was below 600,000 since 2002. Indeed, women in England and Wales give birth to an average of just 1.44 children over their lifetimes in the latest data, which is the lowest on record.

September is the Most Popular Month for Baby Births

September remains the most popular month for births in England and Wales, according to the same ONS data. The most popular day for births was 28 September, a date that has been in the top ten days for births since 2021.

Boxing Day Has the Lowest Birth Rate

Boxing Day, 26 December, has the lowest birth rate for the whole year, according to the ONS. What’s more, this has been the case for 11 years in a row!

Parents Are Getting Older When Babies Are Born

Data analysed by the ONS over the last 50 years shows that, for babies born in England and Wales, parents are gradually getting older. In the last count (for 2023), a new baby’s father was, on average, 33.8 years of age, while mothers were 30.9.

Over Half the World’s Babies are Born in Asia*

Almost 53% of births happen across the continent of Asia, 30.7% across the African continent, 10.7% in the Americas and just 0.7% in Oceania. That compares to 5% of births that occur in Europe.

Babies Have Gills in the Womb (Kind of)

There has been much debate about whether foetuses — developing babies — have gills when they’re in the womb. The answer is ‘kind of’ according to many experts, including the late Dr Michael Mosley/BBC^(∞). While they do have tiny gill-like folds called pharyngeal arches, which may be evidence that humans evolved from fish, they are not gills in the true sense of the word. The so-called ‘gill slits’ can be found on the foetus’s neck in the very early stages of development, but are not for breathing. Instead, the structures migrate and evolve into the top lip, palate, and jaw of the baby.

Human Foetuses Have Tails

In the early stages of development in the womb, human foetuses have tails, which even have vertebrae. However, around the 7th and 8th week of gestation, those vertebrae fuse together, and the tail disappears, leaving only the ‘tailbone’ or coccyx that we’re all born with.

Babies Grow Fur in the Womb

Lanugo is a soft, fine, usually colourless body hair that’s grown by babies in the womb and that eventually covers the baby’s whole body. In tandem with the creamy covering of vernix caseosa that babies are born with, the Lanugo fur’s purpose is to help protect the developing child and help regulate its temperature. Developed from about the 14th week and visible on the foetus’s skin from the 21st week of pregnancy, it is usually shed by about week 35, before birth. It is replaced by vellus hair, which is commonly known as ‘peach fuzz’ on newborns. That said, up to 30% of babies are born with lanugo hair still evident somewhere on their bodies, and this is especially true for premature babies. (Source).

Babies Have 3 Times More Taste Buds Than Adults

Did you know that newborn babies have three times more taste buds than adults? It’s true! Newborn babies have around 30,000 taste buds, whereas adults have no more than 10,000. However, in a newborn, the taste buds are distributed not only over the tongue, but also the palate, throat lining, and tonsils. It is thought that this helps them better identify advantageous foods over potentially toxic ones. That said, the number of taste buds gradually reduces as the infant gets older, eventually being present only on the tongue, as with adults.

Babies Have Almost 50% More Bones Than Adults

Similarly, babies are born with many more bones than adults. It may surprise you to learn that a baby has 300 bones in their body when born, whereas an adult has only 206. As they mature and grow, however, some bones in children fuse together to form single bones. A great example of this can be found in the human skull, which, in babies, consists of several separate bones which, come adulthood, have fused together into a single bone. It is through this kind of process that humans reduce the number of bones in their bodies by almost one-third.

Babies Do Not Cry Tears When First Born

We all know that a baby’s first cry is an important milestone and one that signals that the child is breathing. However, not all of us may notice that most babies do not cry actual tears during the first part of their infancy. That’s because their tear ducts — or lacrimal glands — are not yet fully mature. As such, it may be several weeks or even as long as 2 or 3 months before normal tears are evident when a baby cries. Premature babies usually take the longest to exhibit full tears when crying.

Babies’ Brains Double in Size in the First Year

During the early years, a child’s brain grows rapidly. In the first year alone, babies’ brains double in size and, by the time they’re three, are already four-fifths the size of an adult’s. By the age of five, they’re usually nine-tenths the size of an adult’s brain. That said, traditional wisdom suggests that the human brain continues to develop right into a person’s mid-twenties. However, some experts now believe that some areas of the brain continue to mature right into the thirties.

We hope you found today’s list of fascinating baby facts interesting. We may follow up with another set of fascinating baby facts in a future post, so watch this space!

High-Quality Childcare in Clayton-le-Woods

Little Acorns Nursery: a first-class weekday childcare service for Under-5s near Chorley

Little Acorns Nursery provides families with a first-class childcare service in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley. We have a Good Ofsted rating and support free childcare funding schemes for eligible working families with children as young as just 9 months of age. Little Acorns represents a fabulous choice for weekday childcare, which we provide for babies and children under five. Contact us today to apply for a nursery place or to learn more — we’d love to hear from you.

Located in Clayton-le-Woods, Little Acorns Nursery will also be conveniently close for families in Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland, and Penwortham.

^{* (Correct at the time of writing — 12 December 2025 — according to the Live Birth Counter).}