Babies are born with fine, downy, short, and slightly pigmented body hair called lanugo. The term comes from the Latin word "lana," meaning wool. In some babies, the hair is barely visible.

"Both the fluid and the vernix have a very particular 'inside the body' smell that midwives are very familiar with. "When babies are born, both they and their mums are pumped full of adrenaline ...

The effect of the birth smells of amniotic fluid and vernix lasts for around six weeks but the genetic chemical odour signals ...