A newborn baby has a brain that is primed to learn. But not all aspects of the brain develop at the same rate, and cognitive development during the first few weeks and months of life mostly focuses around setting up the neural pathways that will lead to future learning. The good news for parents is that parental affection and good nutrition are easy ways to influence newborn cognitive development.
The Newborn Brain
At birth, your baby's brain has 100 billion neurons. Each of these neurons has about 2,500 synapses, the connections between neurons, and will continue developing over the next few years until there are about 15,000 synapses per neuron by age 2 or 3. Synapses that are not used die off, so the neuronal connections your baby has as she gets older might not be the same ones she was born with. The areas of the brain involved in vision and movement grow the most over the first few months of your baby's life.
Visual and Social Brain Development
At birth, your baby can only see about eight to 12 inches in front of him. He will exhibit a preference for strong contrast, such as the hairline on a face, and this preference will become more refined as the days go on. Within the first few weeks of life, he will begin to develop the ability to focus on objects and start to practice hand and eye coordination. By about six to eight weeks of age, your baby might start to make eye contact, a sign of both improving eyesight and a mental understanding of the importance of faces in social interaction.
Setting Up for Language
Talking, singing and reading to your newborn baby can help her establish the connections she will need to understand and create speech later on. Even before birth, a baby can recognize the unique melody of her mother's voice, and shows recognition when she hears sounds she heard while in the womb.
Parental Impact
The more affection and stimulation a newborn baby receives, the more synaptic connections he builds and maintains. Building strong, positive bonds with your baby in the early weeks can set him up for better brain development over the following weeks, months and years. Proper nutrition during the first months of life also impact brain development. Breast milk is best for brain development, and all babies should get the majority of their nutrition from either breast milk or formula during the first year of life.
References
- The University of Maine; Children and Brain Development: What We Know About How Children Learn; Judith Graham; 2011
- "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"; Eye Contact Detection in Humans From Birth; T. Farroni, et al.; July 2002
- March of Dimes; Developmental Milestones for Baby
- Science Daily; Newborn Brains Grow Vision And Movement Regions First; February 2007
