Babies are amazing – our favourite facts about newborns

As your due date approaches the idea of welcoming your baby to the world might be starting to feel less of a distant event and more of a rapidly approaching reality. You might be hearing more about how your new arrival will change your life and wondering about what kind of parent you want to be.  

We know that understanding your baby’s development can help you to feel calm and confident as you navigate your parenting journey, and our app will support you as your baby grows. We will give you information about your baby’s development as well as tips and ideas that will support you during your baby’s first five years. 

We are fascinated by child development, and this week we thought we would share just a few of our favourite facts about newborns.  

Dependent, but ready to learn 

When babies are born, they are dependent on those around them for everything, and this can make it seem that they really don’t know or understand very much. While there’s lots your baby will learn, especially during the first years after birth, newborn babies have skills you might not expect. 

Your baby will recognise your voice as soon as they are born 

Newborn babies are primed for interaction, they will recognise your voice and the voices of other people they have heard before they were born. They will recognise the music that helped you relax during pregnancy and can even recognise a story that was read to them before birth.  

Babies love looking at people’s faces 

Your baby will be more interested in looking at faces than at other things. Although they will not fully understand social interactions, they will notice how those around them smile, chat and use gestures.  

Watching these interactions again and again will help them to understand relationships and as they develop help them to predict what might happen, which in turn will influence their feelings of safety and trust. 

Babies can count (sort of!) 

When scientists played a specific number of sounds to newborn babies, they found the babies looked at the group with that number of objects – so your baby might be born able to recognise quantity.  

Reflexes help your baby during birth and to be ready for the world (and who doesn’t love a tiny hand holding your finger!)  

You might notice a midwife or health visitor check your baby’s reflexes – and we think reflexes are fascinating.  

Reflexes are simply movements your baby makes in response to something that happens – they will grip a finger placed in their palm, curl their toes when their foot is touch and turn their head to one side when they lie on their back.  

Reflexes all have a different role to play. Some help with birth, others with feeding and it’s thought some are reminders of our evolutionary past – so gripping with hands when startled (Moro’s reflex) is thought to be linked to our tree dwelling ancestors.  

Your baby’s early reflexes will gradually become integrated. This simply means that they will have more control of their movements – so you won’t see their reflexes anymore.  

These facts might just add another level of wow when you're admiring your amazing newborn. They are born with so many talents, and by using our app you'll be supported to remember that you don’t need to feel constant pressure to be doing complicated things to support your baby’s learning. 

Find out more: 

Streri A, de Hevia M, Izard V, Coubart A. 2013. What do we Know about Neonatal Cognition? Behavioral Sciences. 2013; 3: 154–169. 

Conkbayir, M. (2017) Early Childhood and Neuroscience. Theory, Research and Implications for Practice. London: Bloomsbury.