Baby’s way out

He is not the only baby involved in such a “miracle”. In 2009,unnoticed by her mother,two-year-old Khushi Batawale wandered off to the balcony of her third-floor home and fell on to a concrete floor. She escaped with head injuries and was treated to recovery within a week.

The reason for children’s survival after falls and hits has always remained a subject of speculation. Such events have often been attributed to fate and divine intervention. Doctors do acknowledge the element of luck in surviving a 45-foot fall but also have strong medical theories on why it can happen.

“A baby’s bones are much more elastic than those of an adult,making it relatively easy for them to spring back to their original shape. The high level of cartilage acts as a cushion for the impact of the force. As against this,the mineralisation of bones in adults make them more susceptible to breakage,” says Dr Ashok Shyam of the Indian Orthopaedic Research Group. “When you break a young tree branch,it bends only on the side of the break,the other side remains intact. This phenomenon,called Greenstick Fracture,is seen only in children and does not take too long to heal.”

Research on the impact of free falls has linked the natural body mechanism of a baby to their survival. Dr Richard Snyder,a former director at NASA,found in a classic study,“Study of Human Impact Tolerance using Investigations and Simulations of Free Falls”,that children were generally injured less severely than adults under similar fall circumstances,despite their tendency to land on their heads a greater proportion of the time. Considering babies’ relatively flexible bones and the high percentage of fat acting as a cushion,Snyder said,it is a natural consequence.

Dr Vijay Shetty,pediatrician at Hiranandani Hospital who regularly treats such cases,says,“Children keep falling from beds,sofas and tables and rarely sustain severe injuries. The impact of the fall gets absorbed by the flexible skeletal framework,which in turn protects their internal organs. This protective shield usually stays till the onset of teenage,” says Shetty.

The very birth of a child requires its body to be lithe. “ The child has to squeeze out through the small opening of the mother’s body for which he must be flexible. The most important part,the skull,is structured for such a procedure. Unless the drop is hard and direct,the head is usually shielded,” says Dr Lalit Panchal of S L Raheja Hospital.

While adults keep looking for reasons,the growing child may take it as just another tumble. Paul Rosen,7,being taken to hospital after he fell from the seventh floor of his New York apartment,asked emergency workers for a band-aid. William Newsham,3,after falling 20 feet,told his terrified mother,“Didn’t I come down quick,Mamma?”