Can a Newborn See?

Infants can see even at birth. Babies are attracted to "sharp outlines as well as light and dark contrast." Their attention to the pattern is apparent when the baby lifts the upper eyelid. Colors are also recognizable for babies.

According to research, especially the work of Robert Fantz , infants demonstrate a wide variety of visul preferences.

• Infants look longer or prefer patterned (circles and strips) over plain surfaces.
• They prefer complex patterns with more elements and curved patterns.
• Infants are attracted to the human face.
• They are especially attracted to moving objects.

Newborns can only accomodate an object 8-10 inches from their eyes, but visual acuity develops rapidly. Infants can also focus their attention on a moving object and follow it with their eyes. This is called tracking, and typically occurs during the "quite alert" state. .

Newborns can also process what they see and use that as a future reference to recognize objects. Infants can recognize their mothers and remember their faces.

What Do Infants Hear?

Babies can hear even before birth. They can recognize types of sound, loudness and pitch, different voices, familiarity, and the direction from which sound is coming from. Babies prefer high pitched voices, or as it is sometimes called "baby talk."

They can also orient to sound very soon after birth. Babies also prefer to listen to stories they have heard when they were fetuses.

Babies will sleep through a loud sound if they were introduced to it before 6 months.

How is a Baby's Sense of Touch?

Babies liked to be comforted with warmth, closeness, and tactile comforting. Both babies and parents seem to enjoy cuddling and holding each other. Newborns like sucking their fingers because lips and hands have the largest touch receptors. Unborn babies suck fingers as early as twenty-four weeks old.

Can Babies Taste What They Eat?

At birth, infants have a highly developed sense of taste. They can discriminate between the flavors of whatever they suck on. Sweet flavors are more appealing to them than salty, acidic, or bitter taste.

Can They Discriminate Between Smells?

Smells are also recognizable by babies. At age of two days, babies do prefer smell but not with familiarity. It is at age six months, when babies turn more often to familiarity. They can smell their mothers. Moreover, this sense becomes more preferably as the baby grows.

References

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