Is a baby a "it"?

[blacknomi]

From AHD
Used to refer to that one previously mentioned. Used of a nonhuman entity; an animate being whose sex is unspecified, unknown, or irrelevant; a group of objects or individuals; an action; or an abstraction:

I just read such a horrible sentence from a book.

Have you decided to breast-feed your baby or feed it infant formula?

[blacknomi]

Maybe it is just a 1-month-old baby. Sex remains mysterious.

:)

[Francois]

I suppose the author wanted to avoid using him or her. I don't find it that shocking, since it's not his or her baby

FRC

[MikeNewYork]

From AHD
Used to refer to that one previously mentioned. Used of a nonhuman entity; an animate being whose sex is unspecified, unknown, or irrelevant; a group of objects or individuals; an action; or an abstraction:

I just read such a horrible sentence from a book.

Have you decided to breast-feed your baby or feed it infant formula?

A baby of undetermined gender is often called "it", but not usually around its mother.

[blacknomi]

Thanks, Mike.