Most parents, expecting the birth of their child, try to imagine what he will be like, who he will look like, what color his hair and eyes will be. Close relatives and friends do not lag behind the parents, trying to predict the baby’s traits.
Small disputes may even break out on the basis of these questions, because now there is a lot of information about how a baby develops in utero, how he adopts certain traits of his parents, and everyone, getting acquainted with this information, begins to analyze all the nuances “scientifically” .
This is where a whole bunch of assumptions are born about the shape of the face, nose, eye shape, hair color, etc. But most of all, for some reason, everyone is worried about the question - what color will the baby’s eyes be?
And now the happy moment has come - the baby is born! And both dark-eyed parents, who, according to all the sources read, should have a dark-eyed heir, it turns out that the child has absolutely blue eyes! Why did this happen?
Everything is quite simple here.
Most newborn children have blue eyes, which over time can change to absolutely any other color.
When do children's eye color change?
As vision develops, eye color may change due to the pigment melanin, which also affects skin and hair color. From birth, dark (brown or dark green) eyes indicate a high melanin content, and their color may not change (although this is possible). If the eyes are light (blue or light gray), it means there is less melanin and the color may change with the production of more melanin. The color of a child's eyes can vary at different periods of his life: in the first few months, in a year or even in two. It's difficult to predict exactly when this will happen, but that's what makes watching the first signs of change even more exciting!
Change in eye color in a child
It is very difficult to know in advance what color a child’s eyes will be. Most often, all newborn babies have blue eyes. But there are rare cases when a baby is born with dark eyes.
Parents can often observe how the color of their newborn baby's eyes changes. By the color of the baby's eyes you can determine:
- The eyes have a dark shade (gray) - when the child wants to eat.
- A child's eyes are cloudy when he wants to sleep.
- If the baby is upset and cries, the eyes take on a green tint.
- When in a good mood, the child has light blue eyes.
Why do newborns' eyes change color?
Academics have been trying to find an answer to this question for a very long time. Various studies have not yet helped to find out on what basis eye color is inherited in a child. Perhaps over time, scientists will be able to unravel this mystery and tell the whole world about it.
A newborn baby has an eye structure that is absolutely similar to the structure of an adult's eye. This is a system, or it can be called a kind of camera, which contains optic nerves that perform the function of transmitting information directly to the brain. To be more specific, it is precisely in those parts of the brain that receive and analyze what is “photographed.” The eye contains a “lens” - the cornea, “photo film” and the lens - a fairly sensitive shell of the retina.
The eyes of a newborn child are exactly the same as those of an adult, but they function much worse and will only reach ideality over time. The eyes of newborn children are not able to clearly see objects and distinguish between them; they see everything in a blurred state. Only by the age of one year, the baby’s vision more or less begins to improve and becomes 50% clearer than an adult’s normal.
Immediately after birth, doctors check the child’s vision - they look at the reaction of the pupils. After a few weeks, usually two, you will notice that the baby can briefly focus his gaze on various bright objects, peering into the faces of mom, dad and other relatives. At six months, a child can distinguish various figures, and after a year, various pictures and drawings. Every year, the baby's eyes improve and become more and more similar to the eyes of adults.
Therefore, you should not immediately after birth look at the color of the eyes of a newborn child; most likely it will be gray-blue, light blue or gray, and only over time the eyes will acquire their own individual shade.
Your baby's vision: range of perception and distance
When do babies begin to see? And at what distance can babies see? A newborn's vision is very limited. It can only focus on things that are 20-30cm away, such as your face while holding your baby or the side of the crib. Beyond 30 cm, the baby cannot clearly distinguish objects. But what falls within his range of vision, he will study quite closely. At first, when your baby looks at your face, his gaze will focus on one detail (for example, your eyes), but soon he will be able to take in your entire face.
The range of vision will gradually expand and by around three months your baby will be able to see you when you are in the middle of the room and maybe even smile at you! He may also try to pay attention to objects that are very close, such as a toy. Gradually, the baby’s range of vision increases, and by four months he will be interested in the view from the window, paintings or decorative decorations on the wall, and by seven months, distance vision is almost completely formed.
What affects eye color
First of all, heredity influences eye color. Because brown eyes are the most resistant to sunlight, they have become the most common eye color on Earth. The green and gray irises perform their function a little worse (the green one has little melanin, and the gray one has it too deep); these eye colors are approximately equally distributed.
Blue eyes do not protect well from the sun, so they are often found among representatives of the peoples of Northern Europe. The rarest color is blue, it is associated with a small amount of melanin, located deep, and at the same time with a low density of iris fibers. Owners of such eyes are advised to wear sunglasses.
Diseases affecting eye color
In addition to normal factors, pathological factors can also affect the color of the iris. The most famous among them is albinism. This is a hereditary disease in which the production of melanin is disrupted - it stops partially or completely. With partial albinism, the eyes may have a blue or green color, but usually a rather subtle color. With complete albinism, the eye color becomes red - this is due to the blood vessels being visible.
With glaucoma, the color of the eyes becomes lighter due to increased intraocular pressure, and some drugs for it, on the contrary, cause darkening of the eyes. Bright blue eye color in a newly born baby may be a sign of congenital glaucoma.
Inflammatory processes in the iris can lead to a decrease in the amount of pigment or its complete disappearance in the affected sector.
Your baby's vision: tracking objects
Another stage in the development of vision in newborns is the ability to follow a moving object. This is a key skill for getting to know the world and moving through space safely. So, when the baby grows up, it is this skill that will help him determine where the traffic is moving and cross the road.
You will notice that at birth the baby will not be able to see the rattle, even if it is right in front of his face, but after two months he will be able to do this and even follow the movement of the toy with his eyes. At about five months of age, after the baby has had enough practice and is able to follow approaching and receding objects with his eyes, he develops the perception of depth in space.
When your baby is about three months old, he will probably try to reach for objects in front of his eyes - often missing, however. The first attempts to coordinate gaze with hand movements entertain both baby and mother. Over time, his fine motor skills will improve, as will his ability to track and grasp objects. At the age of three or four years, the baby will already be able to catch the ball that you throw to him.
The influence of heredity on eye color
There is a genetic predisposition to inheriting the color of the iris. The amount of melanin produced depends on hereditary factors. Therefore, the final color depends on the genetic information that the baby inherited from both parents.
On the Internet you can find graphical data that clearly demonstrates the influence of hereditary factors. The possible eye color of newborns is given in the table. You need to understand that these data are very relative, but they can be taken into account. With a certain degree of probability it can be argued that:
- Parents with brown eyes usually give birth to brown-eyed babies.
- Parents with light irises tend to have children with the same light eye color.
- Parents with different eye colors may have children with an intermediate shade - green or gray.
But this hypothesis is not entirely viable, since brown-eyed children can also be born in a Slavic family of blue-eyed parents. This is due to the mixed marriages characteristic of our country, which have long existed in Rus'. For example, during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Russian princes often married the daughters of Polovtsian khans.
Russia is a multinational country. Probably every resident can be proud of the rich history of their ancestors. Multinational genes may later appear in the baby. A child can inherit a lot from great-grandparents on both sides.
Newborn eye color scheme
Your baby's vision: color perception
As it turns out, newborns see the world primarily in black and white. The fact is that when a small person is born, the cells in his retina that are responsible for color have not yet fully developed. When do newborns begin to see colors? At about a month, babies can respond to the brightness and intensity of colors, and by three months, the baby begins to see several primary colors, including red. Color perception is finally formed by four months - then the baby distinguishes many colors and even their shades.
So what can newborns see? Observe how your baby reacts to colors and patterns—for example, when he looks at the mobile above the crib. You may notice that in the first month your baby will notice simple black and white patterns, wide stripes, or patterns with contrasting colors. By the time he's three months old, he'll probably be interested in patterns with flowing lines, like spirals or radiating circles.
Month after month, the baby learns new things, and together with him, his parents rejoice at his new skills and achievements. If you're interested in learning about what happens as your baby gets older, read about the developmental stages of babies from four to nine months. If you have questions or concerns about your child's vision, be sure to contact your doctor.
Approximate dates
Since heredity is a mysterious matter, it is almost impossible to determine the timing for each specific child.
There are data based on long-term observations of infants that are roughly worth focusing on.
So, in the first three months of a baby's life, the color of his eyes may remain uncertain, that is, you will not even understand what to expect in the future. However, soon it will definitely begin to change. When this happens is determined individually, so you shouldn’t look at your neighbor’s kids and compare.
The child's first year will be full of surprises for parents when it comes to eye color. They will either darken or lighten, depending on the amount of melanin. For some children, this process ends quite quickly, while for others it can take several years.
How much exactly? Again, this is a matter of heredity, so it is impossible to set exact dates. There are cases where the final eye color was established only by the age of 4.
It is noteworthy that in fair-haired babies, the eyes change color especially intensively, and they can easily turn from light blue to quite dark, brown, green, gray.
Usually by six months it becomes approximately clear what the main color will be. With dark-skinned children the situation is simpler. In most cases, the eyes turn out to be brown when the shade stops changing.
How does eye color affect vision?
Eye color does not affect vision at all - the iris is not involved in the optical system of the eye. But the amount of melanin affects the patient's ability to tolerate exposure to bright sunlight without harming the retina. Blue-eyed people are more likely to experience eye irritation, photophobia, and fatigue after intense visual stress.
The first, but far from the only, surprise greets moms and dads when a newborn baby opens its eyes for the first time. And instead of daddy’s amber shine, everyone sees gray-blue eyes. Has it really been changed?
