Dear doctor,

Can a dark-skinned couple have a light-skinned baby?

Eric

Dear Eric,

The colour of the baby and all its physical features are due to the genes inherited. The genes inherited by the baby may not be necessarily of the parents. All people related by blood share a common genetic pool.

Some of these genes are passed on to the baby after he/she is conceived. The genes are pooled from both sides, i.e. of the father and mother. Which baby will acquire a particular set of genes and have particular features, nobody can predict.

Both parents may be dark but if there is a fair skinned blood relative even distant or even existing 2 or more generations before, the baby can be fair. Rarely will there be genetic mutation causing change in physical characteristics.

Irrespective of ethnicity, babies world over are born with a light colour due to multiple reasons. This is because the skin of a new born baby is very thin and soft showing the blood vessels beneath. Moreover melanin the pigment which is responsible for skin color is not developed enough in babies. A new born is also not exposed to sunlight hence the skin remains light coloured.

As the baby grows, the true colour gets manifested over 6 to 12 months of time.

Dr Rachna Pande  is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital