Further Reading

The sense of touch was the first sense to develop before your baby was born, and your baby will use touch to seek food through their sucking and rooting reflexes, to explore and make sense of the world and for comfort.^[1] 

The Moro reflex (so called because it was first described by physician Ernst Moro in 1918)

is one of our primitive reflexes – these are responses to stimuli that we develop before we are born. The reflexes are controlled by the primitive part of our brain and, as your baby develops and more connections are made in their brain, these reflexes become integrated, and you will see their judgement of danger manifest itself in different reactions.^[1]   

Your baby’s visual system began to develop before birth and they will have been able to respond to light when in the womb. However, there is little visual stimulation before birth, so your baby’s vision when they are born is quite poor. They will be drawn to colours and patterns with high contrast and be interested in faces.^[1] Your baby will blink when there is a bright light and will turn their head and eyes towards a diffused light source, such as light coming through a curtain.^[2] 

When you stroke your baby’s cheek near to their mouth they will turn their head towards the side that you have stroked and open their mouth searching for a breast or bottle – this is the rooting reflex. It's is a primitive reflex, and one that begins before your baby is born and continues for months after birth. It emerges around 24 to 28 weeks after conception.^[1]  

When your baby is born, their vision is not yet fully developed; they don't see things in the same way that adults do, and what they see is blurred. Your baby focuses at around 20 to 30cm and will have a preference for looking at faces and high contrast images.  

Your baby has been listening to the sounds and voices around them since before they were born – their ears were fully developed at around 30 weeks' gestation and before this time they heard some sounds from vibrations of their skull.^[1] Your baby will recognise the voices that they have heard frequently before birth and researchers have found that newborn babies show a preference for their mother’s voice.

Before they were born, your baby could hear the voices of the people around them and they will already recognise your voice. While in the womb they started to develop the muscles needed to make sounds – the sucking reflex began to develop at around 6 months' gestation, so your baby will have been practising sucking and swallowing for a little while before their arrival.^[1]

Hearing and making sounds  

Although your baby’s vision isn't fully developed at birth – what they see is blurry – they are likely to prefer looking at faces.^[1] Your baby’s interest in people is the starting point for interaction and, as they develop, they will not only watch you but also respond when you look at them, smile or speak. 

During pregnancy, your baby has had their needs met immediately; being in the womb provides a steady temperature, being gently rocked and having nutrients provided through the umbilical cord. After birth, they are completely dependent on others and much of the first few weeks of life for your new baby is about sleeping, feeding and growing. 

Now that their needs are not immediately met they will experience a wider range of feelings and emotions, including hunger, being tired and discomfort, and will be dependent on those caring for them to help them with these feelings, especially in the fourth trimester.^[1]