How is the sight of newborn babies

Newborn babies seem to direct their gaze to focus on certain objects and people. The impression is that they see them, however their sense of sight is still very basic. Let’s know what the eyes and vision of a baby who has just arrived in the world are like.

A LEADING ORGAN: THE EYE

The sight of newborn babies is not developed at birth. There is still a long way to go. The eyes develop shortly after the egg is fertilized. After delivery, babies do not see clearly, they see blurred . They do not reach even 1 point out of 10 in their visual spectrum. Their brain is still not able to process everything that happens around them, so they are guided more by what they hear and intuit than by what they see. In the first year of babies their visual abilities develop, however it will not be until 6-7 years when this sense is covered.

When newborn babies arrive in the world, their eyes are fully formed and they show them wide open and fixed on something, seeming that their attention is maximum. Even so, these organs will continue to change. Babies see with difficulty, they can distinguish certain flashes or if it is day or night . Newborn babies can distinguish more easily than other people, and if you stay close to them, their mother’s face . To this are added other elements with which they relate it, such as its smell, its touch, its voice …, which help them in the process.

THE SENSE OF SIGHT

Babies can focus their attention on something bright and can see objects or people about 20 centimeters from them. Within a few weeks of his birth, his interest is focused on the faces of the people close to him. It is common for brief moments to squint as they still cannot focus their gaze , both eyes, at the same point. When they reach three months of age, babies manage to direct their eyes to small, bright, colorful objects … even their hands arouse tremendous curiosity and they observe them with enthusiasm.

Approximately 20% of newborn babies may have vision problems such as astigmatism or myopia, however it is not permanent. Color differentiation occurs most clearly around 5 months of age . At this stage they are attracted to objects of all kinds and their colors. Shortly after, at the moment when they begin to crawl, it has been shown that before the intuition that there is no continuation on their way, they stop. This shows that they are afraid of falling and that they intuit that a void may exist by not seeing anything more clearly.

THE IMPROVEMENT IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE VISUAL FIELD

From the first moment, the eyes have served newborns to help them assimilate data. Over time the sense of sight will go hand in hand with motor, emotional and cognitive development . At each medical check-up the pediatrician should check his vision, but it will not be until about 3 years when the examination is somewhat more exhaustive . If there is a family history of ophthalmological problems, it is advisable to communicate it as soon as possible. Early detection can help to implement more effective treatments.

At 9-10 months, babies’ visual coordination improves and they appreciate objects and people at about 6 meters. The baby manages to follow moving objects or when they disappear from his field of vision he looks for them . He likes to see images, distinguishes colors, and understands that an object can be hidden or stored, such as in a drawer or box. It is important to motivate the baby and follow routines in which there is correlation and associates colors, images and letters from the first moment. With the game may be much encouraged their participation and progressive learning.