Newborn babies often have very keen senses. Even before birth babies will respond to sounds. Newborns can tell the difference between their mother's face and someone else, and can even distinguish the smell of their mother from other women.
Eyesight
Newborn babies seem to love human faces. Although their vision is quite blurry at first, they can see well enough to focus on their mother’s face when being held to the breast. Within the first few hours after birth, newborn babies can tell the difference between their mother’s face and the face of someone else.
Newborn babies are able to follow a light with their eyes and turn toward lights. However, their eye movements may not be well coordinated at first. Their eyes may move independently of each other. Newborn babies are very near-sighted at first, and they can focus best on things that are within 25 cm (10 inches) of their faces. Their vision improves over the first three months.
Here are a few interesting facts about what newborn babies like to look at:
- They love to gaze at people’s eyes, especially those of their mothers.
- They are attracted to bright colours and will reach for colourful objects.
- They enjoy light and dark contrasts and sharp outlines.
- They recognize and are interested in primary colours: red, blue, and yellow.
- They like patterns, such as stripes or circles, rather than plain surfaces.
- They prefer curved patterns rather than straight, and more complex patterns rather than simpler ones.
- They are especially attracted to movement, and they will focus on and follow a moving ball with their eyes.
In order for eyesight to develop properly, the newborn baby needs to be able to see with both eyes. If there is a problem with one of the eyes, a baby’s eyesight might not develop properly. It is very important to identify any concerns early, and have them corrected.
Hearing
While still in the womb, babies develop a very acute sense of hearing. In fact, ultrasound studies have shown that unborn babies as early as 25 weeks gestation can startle in response to a loud noise. Newborn babies can tell the difference between different voices and other sounds, and they can determine which direction a sound is coming from. For example, if a small bell is rung above a newborn baby’s head, they will turn their head in the direction of the sound and watch the object making the sound.
Newborn babies show a preference for the human voice, especially high-pitched, female voices. They usually recognize their own mother’s voice right away, since this is the voice they have heard, albeit a bit muffled, throughout the previous nine months of pregnancy. Newborn babies become quiet when they hear their mother’s voice, and they turn their heads toward their mother when she speaks. After about a week or so, most newborn babies will prefer their father’s voice over that of other men. Newborn babies enjoy being spoken to in a soothing manner, with emotion and feeling. They can tell the difference between soft, melodic speech and an angry voice.
Touch
Newborn babies are very tuned into their sense of touch. They love to be held close, comforted, cuddled, stroked, and rocked. Touch is important not only to newborn babies but also to their parents. Newborn babies and young infants who are fed but not touched or held have problems with their physical and mental development. Touch appears not just to soothe and relax newborn babies but also to enhance their growth and comfort level.
Newborn babies enjoy gentle stroking of their skin. Gentle stroking helps newborn babies to sleep, and it helps to encourage closeness between a baby and their parent. Gentle stroking is especially beneficial for premature babies, and leads to increased weight gain, more alertness and activity, and an earlier discharge from hospital.
Taste
Newborn babies also have a highly developed sense of taste. Newborn babies enjoy sweetness and dislike sour liquids. Their sense of taste improves as they get older. They are able to detect differences in the taste of their mother’s milk, which can change depending on what the mother eats.
Smell
Newborn babies are quite attuned to the smell of their mother, and they can distinguish it from that of other women. They are attracted not just to the smell of milk, but also to their mother’s own unique scent. Breastfed babies are more keenly aware of their mother’s smell compared to babies who are bottle fed. This could be because a breastfed baby spends more time in skin-to-skin contact with their mother compared with a baby who is bottle fed.
