feet, point out

Usually this question arises in a couple of different contexts:

The infant, often at the four month checkup. "Doctor, there is something wrong with his foot - it points out." I look at the child, and solemnly delare, "He's going to be right handed," thoroughly confusing everybody. Then I explain: I make this prediction based on the fact that it is almost always the right foot that points out, and I theorize that this is because of the baby's tendency to fold the leg on the dominant side in first in utero. See handedness.

The other time it commonly arises is when the child first takes a few steps "cruising" on the furniture, and the leg points out from the hip, again for the same reason. The prenatal "set" has not yet totally gone away. Not to worry... everything will straighten up very soon with exercise.

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