Newborns have a limited range of vision and hearing at birth, but they are equipped with strong innate preferences and abilities that draw their attention to certain sights, sounds, smells and movements. Understanding what captures a newborn’s interest can help parents and caregivers bond with and care for babies during the first fragile weeks of life.
Sights
A newborn’s vision is their least developed sense, but their eyes and brain are still drawn to certain visual stimuli. Here are some of the things newborns are visually attracted to:
- Faces – Especially a parent’s face. Newborns have a strong preference for looking at faces from birth.
- High contrast patterns – Newborns see high contrast images, like black and white patterns, best. Mobiles and toys with strong contrast hold their gaze.
- Curves and circles – Their limited vision allows them to track circular shapes and curved lines more easily than sharp angles or straight lines.
- Movement – Newborns instinctively follow moving objects with their eyes, particularly when the movement is slow and smooth.
- Bright colors – While newborns can’t distinguish colors clearly, bright primary colors, like red, catch their attention.
Newborns have a very limited field of vision, so any stimulating sights need to be about 8-12 inches from their face for their eyes to focus. Tracking faces and high contrast patterns helps strengthen their visual development.
Sounds
A newborn’s sense of hearing is much more developed at birth than their vision. They recognize and respond to a variety of sounds right away:
- Voices – Newborns show a strong preference for the human voice, especially their mother’s voice, which they heard in utero.
- White noise – The soothing, steady sounds of white noise that mimic noises from the womb are calming and familiar to newborns.
- Music – Newborns recognize simple melodies and their mother’s singing voice and find them comforting.
- Rhythmic, repetitive sounds – Things like a ticking clock, fan noise or heartbeat sound capture their interest.
- Sudden, loud noises – While jarring sounds can startle or upset a newborn, environmental noises also interest them.
Newborn hearing is very sensitive, so any auditory stimulation should be soft and gentle. Familiar voices and rhythms soothe infants and stimulate their rapidly developing auditory systems.
Smells
A newborn relies heavily on their sense of smell from the moment they are born. Here are some key smells that interest and comfort new babies:
- Mom’s scent – A newborn shows an innate attraction to the familiar smell of their mother. They will turn their head towards the scent of their mother’s breast milk or chest.
- Breast milk – The distinctive smell of a new mother’s breast milk is irresistible to most newborns from birth.
- Vanilla – While newborns respond to a variety of smells from their environment, the sweet scent of vanilla is a proven favorite.
- Lavender – The relaxing aroma of lavender has been shown to have a calming effect on fussy babies.
- Food smells – Newborns have a strong sense of smell, so the smells of familiar foods interest them and stimulates their appetite.
Scent is very connected to a newborn’s comfort and bonding. Exposure to mom’s smells helps baby recognize and connect with her. Soothing aromas like vanilla and lavender also provide neurological stimulation.
Movements
While newborns have very little control over their body movements, they respond instinctively to motion in their environment. Here are some movements that attract a newborn’s interest:
- Rocking – Gentle, rhythmic rocking motions are both soothing and stimulating for most newborns.
- Touching – Stroking, patting and light touching draw their interest and provide needed sensory stimulation.
- Cradling – Being held close in a cradled position provides comfort, warmth and security.
- Motion – Newborns are fascinated by slow, gentle movements like mobiles turning or a fan rotating.
- Bouncing – Very slight jiggling or bouncing motions are comforting and keep their interest.
Newborns are innately soothed by rhythmic motions that mimic the sensations of the womb. Touch also provides critical stimulation for their developing brains and bodies. Responding to infant cues about preferred motions promotes bonding.
Tastes
Though taste buds don’t fully develop until around 4 months old, newborns do have some very basic taste preferences right from birth. Here are the tastes that attract newborns:
- Sweet – Newborns prefer sweeter flavors, like breastmilk or formula, from day one.
- Salty – While not overwhelming, newborns show an early preference for a slight salty taste.
- Savory – The rich, savory flavor of broths stimulate a newborn’s developing sense of taste.
- Vanilla – The sweet vanilla scent also seems to translate to a preference for a subtle vanilla flavor.
- Breast milk – The unique sweet, creamy flavor of a mother’s milk provides comfort and nutrition.
Though their taste perception is limited, newborns do detect and respond to basic tastes. Their early preferences aid in accepting and responding to feeding during their first few days of life.
Conclusion
While newborn senses are not fully developed at birth, babies are equipped with strong inborn instincts that tune them into certain sights, sounds, smells, motions and tastes. Understanding what captures a newborn’s interest allows caregivers to better nurture and bond with them in their first few weeks of rapid growth and development. From high contrast patterns to mom’s voice to gentle rocking motions, new parents can create an optimal sensory environment for their new addition.