Viral Video Shows Baby Walking Right After Being Born As Midwife Tries to Clean Her

Illustration - Shutterstock

From the archives: This story was last updated in June 2019.

Thanks to the magic of the internet, the whole world has the opportunity to witness this bizarre and incredible event. It’s the moment that a newborn baby girl shocks the entire delivery room by doing something that most babies wait months to achieve.

The now-viral video clip, originally posted by Facebook user Arlete Arantes, depicts a midwife cradling the tiny tot by supporting her across the arms and chest. As she attempts to clean up the little girl so that she can be passed to her doting parents, the baby pulls a trump card.

She gathers her strength, pushes into the ground with all her might, puts one foot in front of the other, and attempts to walk away! The room is aghast, and hospital staff immediately pull out their cameras to record the “miraculous” phenomenon.

The clip is brief and there are no identifying details. However, according to The Sun, the insignia on the midwife’s scrubs suggest that she worked at a Santa Cruz Hospital in a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, south Brazil.

No time for cleaning; this baby had important places to be! Illustration - NataSnow/Shutterstock

The nurse, who has likely never seen this amazing feat from a newborn baby before, cries out in surprise. The Daily Mail translated her exclamations from Portuguese: “Oh my gosh,“ she shrieks, ”the girl is walking!” The person holding the camera, desperate not to miss a moment, reiterates: “Wait, let me film this.”

All eyes rest upon the infant with seeming super strength as she paddles her feet, looking for all intents and purposes like she’s trying to escape. “Merciful father,“ the midwife holding the baby says. ”I was trying to wash her here and she keeps getting up to walk!”

Testing the magic, the midwife then lifts the baby up before returning her to a squatting position on the table. But the baby pushes herself to a standing position once again and resumes her astonishing “walk” to the surprise and delight of the gathered crowd. You couldn’t make it up.

The midwife agrees. “If you told people what has just happened, no one would believe it,” she added, gobsmacked, “unless they saw it with their own eyes.” But see it they did; the original video clip quickly went viral and amassed over 50 million views on Facebook.

The world loves Brazil’s brilliant walking baby!

The clip was even picked up by ABC10 News in May of 2017, and while the footage is indeed compelling (and real!) the news team was quick to offer a reasonable explanation for the walking phenomenon. “What you’re seeing is actually a natural occurrence called the ‘walking reflex,’” ABC’s news reporters shared.

The shocked and delighted midwife was only trying to prepare the newborn to meet her parents Illustration - Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

“If you hold a baby under the arms and let their soles touch a flat surface, they will place one foot in front of the other and appear to walk,” they continued. “This reflex,” came the stunning conclusion, “disappears after a couple of months.” Perhaps it is a little magical, after all.

The newborn, dubbed a “future Olympian athlete” by one Daily Mail reader, was far too tenacious for the neonatal table. Minutes old and already a viral internet star? Now that’s impressive.