Blue eye color in newborns. When do newborns' eyes change color? How does heredity affect

You remember from school that brown is the dominant color. Knowing this, many parents do not think about it when their newborn’s eye color changes. That is, if a child has both mom and dad with dark eyes, he will be brown-eyed. Just like a newborn whose one parent is brown-eyed and the other green-eyed.

That’s why mothers, looking at their baby’s face in the maternity hospital, are surprised: where does he get a blue or purple iris? The thing is that eye colors can change. Why is this happening? When can we expect changes?

Eye color changes depending on... light

The pigment melanin is responsible for the variety of colors in human eyes. And it begins to be produced only under the influence of sunlight. Therefore, the baby in the mother’s womb cannot “program” himself this or that iris color.

But when a newborn sees the sun, changes begin. The child simply looks at the cheerful rays or a bright light bulb - and in the meantime, the process of producing melanocytes starts in the body. The expected amount of these substances already depends on the parents, because it is fixed at the genetic level.

Eye color and heredity

Whatever color the eyes of newborn children are, they change over time. Blues can turn blue or gray, and browns can turn dark brown, reddish or yellowish. The newborn receives the program of changes from the parents along with the genetic material. You can find out more accurately and in detail how eye color changes in newborns using a special table.

Interesting! Most people on the planet have dark brown eyes. There are slightly fewer blue-eyed and gray-eyed people; they take second place in the ranking. The fewest people have green irises. Why? Because this color is latent, that is, it is very rarely transmitted to a newborn from its parents.

“What will a newborn’s eyes be like?” - mothers think. Genetic scientists will help answer this question. The forecast is as follows:

  • Parents with brown and green irises are most likely to have a brown-eyed child;
  • when one parent is brown-eyed and the other has gray or blue irises, the newborn has a 50/50 chance of inheriting one of the two colors;
  • a blue-eyed couple will have an heir with eyes of the same color;
  • Paradoxically, a dark-eyed mother and father can give birth to a baby with light eyes.

Science is science, but do not forget that life is an unpredictable thing. Therefore, the above prediction may not work. But this is not a reason to panic.

When do kids begin to “see the world with different eyes”?

Nobody knows the exact timing. Because children do not develop according to one single program; each newborn has its own program. Some rush babies acquire a permanent color within the first few months after birth. Most often, these newborns are dark-skinned and brown-eyed. The color of the iris may change to brown with a different shade or green.

On a note! For most babies, the shade begins to change by six to nine months. Sometimes this process drags on for up to three to five years. But even this is not the limit. The iris can also change color in older children.

That is why, dear mothers, there is no need to panic if the baby is already two, and the shade of his brown eyes has not yet changed! This is not an indicator of developmental deviations, and does not mean at all that changes will not occur at all.

Perhaps you just didn’t notice them, these changes? The iris color of a dark-eyed newborn may change so slowly that the most vigilant mother will not notice. The blue color of your child's irises may gradually turn gray-green and then acquire a brown tint. Or, as an option, the eyes will lighten and remain blue.

In some cases, a newborn's eyes change color due to some illness or even nervous strain. And, believe it or not, the process can be triggered by such “little things” as lighting, weather and mood.

  1. Only 2% of the inhabitants of the Earth have “witch’s” green eyes;
  2. Nationality and habitat also affect the color of the iris. Russians, for example, more often have gray or blue eyes, and brown eyes are no more than 30%. Among the representatives of Ukraine and Belarus there are already more dark-eyed people - about half. But in Spain there is an overwhelming majority of them - about 80%;
  3. Heterochromia is a rare genetic disorder. The irises of such people are of different colors;
  4. If a newborn has no melanin in his body, he will grow up to be an albino. These babies are distinguished by the red color of their iris;
  5. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to accurately determine the future eye color of a newborn baby;
  6. A common childhood disease, jaundice, can change the color of a newborn's irises. The thing is that the sick person’s whites turn yellow, and this makes it difficult to determine the color of the iris.

So what's the result?

But in the end, everything is simple: the color of the irises of a little bundle of happiness does not determine whether mom and dad will love him. For parents, the baby always remains the most beautiful and perfect.

Those who like to guess who a recently born baby looks like should not worry about whether the eye color of newborns changes. Whatever they may be, a child who is properly raised and surrounded by love from the first days of life will give many reasons for pride and joy.

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Many future parents, while still happily awaiting their baby, think about who he will be like. Will he be fair-haired and gray-eyed, like mom, or will he have brown hair and dark brown eyes, like dad? Or maybe they will turn out to be green, like grandma’s. And how much new parents are surprised when in the maternity hospital they are shown a newborn with bright blue or sky blue eyes, which none of their immediate relatives have.

When it changes

As a rule, the eyes of newly born people have a different shade from the one they will acquire later. It is useless to try to guess what they will be like by peering into the face of a newly born baby, because his eyes will most likely turn out to be cloudy blue. This is due to the fact that the iris of newborns does not contain melanin at all, the amount of which determines the shade.

It is impossible to say exactly when a newborn's eyes will acquire a permanent color. All children develop individually and the color of their iris also changes at different times. For some, it becomes permanent already in the first months of life. For others, this happens around the age of one year, or even later. And it happens that the process of changing shade drags on for years. However, on average, eye color changes between 9 and 12 months.

Newborn baby eye color

Most children come into this world with dark blue or grayish eyes. Exceptions are possible only if the baby is very dark-skinned or belongs to a dark-skinned race: then they will immediately turn out to be brown.

The color of a newborn's eyes depends on nationality. So, most little Europeans are born with an iris of a light blue, blue or even purple hue. Children belonging to the Mongoloid race will have greenish-brown hair immediately after birth. And for dark-skinned children of the Negroid race, they will turn out to be dark brown.

Factors affecting iris color

The color of a newborn's eyes is determined not only by the shade of his mother's and father's irises. It is also influenced by factors such as:

  • Genes of relatives, and not necessarily close ones. Sometimes the eye color of grandparents, both relatives and cousins, is passed on to the baby. And sometimes children inherit it from their ancient ancestors.
  • Skin color, race and nationality of parents.
  • Amount of pigment. It can be different already at the birth of a newborn, and their eye color depends on how much melanin is in the iris.

Melanin- a pigment that performs an important function - it colors the iris a certain color. Melanin accumulates in chromatophores located on the outer layer of the iris. The most common color is dark brownish. The less melanin in the chromatophores, the lighter the shade. This is what causes blue, cyan or gray shades. With a large amount of melanin, the iris will be brownish.

Sometimes, under the influence of pathological changes in the liver, the iris becomes yellow. And if the process of melanin production in the body is disrupted, the iris becomes pink or reddish.

If your baby's eyes have acquired a distinct yellow tint, this is a reason to consult a doctor. Yellowness of the iris most often appears with jaundice and liver diseases.

Blue

They are observed in most babies in the first months of their life, but do not always remain so. By the age of one year, such eyes may become brown or grayish.

This is the most changeable color of the iris - as a rule, its shade changes several times until it becomes permanent. If the child’s eyes remain blue, then their final color is established by 2-4 years.

As a rule, the milky blue shade of a newborn's eyes changes to darker or lighter, it may even become greenish or grayish. Most often, blue-eyed people are fair-skinned people with golden or ash-colored hair.

Blue eyes appear in humans due to a mutation in which very little melanin is produced in the iris.

The blue tint is due to the fact that there are collagen fibers in the outer layer of the iris, although there are no blue or cyan pigments there at all. This shade itself is due to optical scattering of light.

Gray

Gray is a common iris color. If the density of collagen in the stroma is high, then the child’s eyes will be light gray; if the density is lower, they will become gray-bluish.

The presence of melanin gives a yellowish or brownish tint. Gray color, like blue, depends not on the presence of pigment, but on the scattering of light.

If a baby is gray-eyed from birth, then most likely the color will not change significantly with age. They may only lighten or darken slightly, or acquire a bluish or greenish tint.

Blue

Blue is also associated not with the amount of melanin in the iris, but with the scattering and refraction of light rays. It occurs when the collagen fibers on the outer layer of the iris are less dense and have very little melanin. The lower the collagen density, the brighter or darker the blue shade you will get. Sometimes it can be very deep and dark - indigo shade.

Brown

As already noted, almost all babies are born with blue or sky blue eyes. As melanin accumulates in the iris, its color in many of them acquires a brownish tint, which will become more saturated over time.

The brown color is due to the large amount of melanin in the iris, which absorbs most light rays. And reflected light gives a brownish tint.

Greens

It is determined by a small amount of melanin and the presence of a yellowish or light brownish pigment called lipofuscin in the outer layers of the iris. Due to the fact that the blue or blue scattered in the stroma is superimposed on it, this color is formed.

Bright and rich green is a rarity, since most often green eyes have grayish or light brownish inclusions. More often found in Northern or Central Europe. Sometimes found in natives of southern Europe.

Green eyes of various shades are found in only 2% of the world's population.

If a newborn’s eyes are grassy or emerald green, they will remain that way for life. Over time, they may only lighten or darken slightly.

Table of what color it can be

It is impossible to determine exactly what color a newborn's eyes will be. One can only guess with what probability he will inherit it from his parents or another relative from previous generations. A table has been developed for this purpose.

Parents eye color Probability percentage
Brown Blue Greens
Brown Brown 75% 6% 19%
Brown Greens 50% 12% 38%
Brown Blue 50% 50% 0%
Greens Greens 0% 25% 75%
Greens Blue 0% 50% 50%
Blue Blue 0% 99% 1%

How it changes

In children in the first year of life, especially if they are blue-eyed from birth, the shade can change repeatedly. There is nothing wrong with this, provided that the iris does not turn yellowish.

Light eyes in babies tend to temporarily change color under a variety of circumstances, such as stress, weather conditions, lighting.

Brown eyes can also change under the influence of circumstances. For example, if the baby is hungry, they may turn greenish, and if they are upset or stressed, they may turn grayish. The shade changes greatly during illness.

If there is a disruption in the formation of melanin in the iris, the child experiences heterochromia - a difference in the color of the right eye from the left or uneven coloring of areas of the iris.

A few color suggestions

  • A dark-eyed child primarily pays attention to the color of an object, while a light-eyed child pays attention to its shape.
  • Dark-eyed children love everything bright and warm tones, while light-eyed children prefer muted cool shades.
  • Brown-eyed children are prone to spontaneous actions and are more emotional. Gray-eyed, blue-eyed and green-eyed children are restrained, have better control over their feelings and emotions, and are better oriented in space.
  • Brown-eyed people are more sociable than light-eyed people.
  • Light-eyed people, as a rule, have their own opinions, while dark-eyed people often use generally accepted categories.
  • Blue-eyed people have a scientific mindset, while brown-eyed people have creative personalities.

The eyes of most children at birth have a completely different shade than the one that is genetically determined. Many of those who develop shades of amber, cinnamon or silver are born with bright blue eyes, which then either darken or become lighter. The table will tell parents what shade of iris the baby will have. But sometimes it turns out that the shade is inherited from a great-grandfather or great-grandmother. In any case, it is not so important whether the baby is blue-eyed, green-eyed or brown-eyed, because the main thing is that he is healthy and happy.

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Already during pregnancy, a woman begins to imagine what her unborn child will look like. Both spouses are trying to predict who the baby will look like. When a baby is born, parents are especially interested in the color of its eyes. But this indicator is not static, but changes with age. That is why it is important to know at what time eye color changes in newborns.

Eye color in newborns: features

Eye color in newborns can change throughout the 1st year of life. Sometimes this period is extended to 5 years. Until 3 months, as a rule, it is impossible to accurately determine what eye color your baby has.

Eye color in newborns directly depends on the amount of melanin, which determines the color of the iris. A large amount of this substance makes the baby's eyes brown, a minimal amount makes them gray, blue or green.

At birth, all babies have almost the same eye color. They can be either dull blue or dull grey. This is due to the complete absence of pigment in the iris. Changes in eye color occur with the production of melanin, which depends on the individual characteristics of the child, as well as heredity.

As for the latter, the baby receives genes not only from its parents, but also from distant ancestors. Sometimes a child is born with a phenomenon called heterochromia. In this case, his eyes will be different colors. In some children, the eye color may change several times, since melanin is produced gradually as the baby grows.

At what age do newborns' eye color change?

Sometimes a problem such as jaundice affects the eye color of young children. With this disease, the sclera turns yellow, making it almost impossible to determine eye color. Jaundice in newborns is quite common, but, as a rule, the disease goes away on its own within a few days after birth. A good prevention against the disease is sunlight.

It is worth noting that in newborns, visual acuity is very low, at the level of light perception. It gradually increases with age. By about a year, it reaches half the visual acuity of an adult.

In the first days of life, a child’s vision is checked by the reaction of the pupil to light. With further development, already in the 2nd week the eyes fixate on a certain object for several seconds. It becomes stable in the 2nd month of life. By six months, the child already begins to distinguish simple figures, toys, relatives, and at one year old, drawings.


  1. Albinos have reddish eye color due to the fact that there is no melanin in the iris; the color is determined by the blood in the vessels of the iris.
  2. Interestingly, in people with light eyes, their color may change during stress or illness.
  3. The most common eye color in the world is brown. The rarest is green. In some countries of South America and Asia, green eye color is not found at all.
  4. Less than 1% of newborns are born with heterochromia.
  5. Geneticists believe that eye color in newborns is transmitted according to Mendel's law. It says that parents with dark eyes are more likely to have a child with dark eyes. Parents with light eyes are more likely to have a child with light eyes. If the spouses have different eye colors, the baby will end up with something in between.

Eye color and character: is there a connection?

Eye color can tell a lot about a person. If you want to know what character traits your baby will have, you can try to determine it using this indicator.

  • Blue eyes speak of a romantic character, emotionality and sensuality. Such people are able to completely dissolve in their feelings. They have an innate sense of justice and truthfulness.
  • Blue eyes are often fraught with deception. Such people are often sentimental and pragmatic. Along with this, they have determination, good imagination, perseverance and calmness.
  • Gray-blue eyes indicate a decisive character. Such people always achieve what they want, are honest and loyal. They are not sentimental, so they often hear reproaches about their lack of warmth.
  • Gray eyes symbolize balance, hard work, sober eyes and intelligence. Such people have underdeveloped intuition, but they are always loyal to their friends.
  • Gray-green eyes speak of a person’s hard work and some pragmatism. Such people are always demanding, caring and gentle towards dear people. They are ruthless towards their enemies.
  • Green eyes promise a wonderful character to their owner, provided that he lives in harmony with himself. Green-eyed people are prone to self-criticism, they are very demanding, mysterious and purposeful.

  • Brown eyes speak of excitement, sexuality, activity, temper and dependence. Such people easily fall in love, plunging headlong into their lover. They are distinguished by shyness, modesty, hard work and diligence.
  • Black eyes indicate a restless character and great love. People with black eyes have a passionate nature, tenacity and stubbornness.

The birth of a child is a real holiday. Every parent dreams that their baby will be just like them. The color of a newborn's eyes is fully determined by the age of 3 - 5, so you should not worry that it has not yet formed in the first years of life. Some people believe that you can tell a person’s character by the color of their iris. To apply this to your baby, you need to wait until his eye color becomes stable.

We know from our school biology course that the dominant eye color is brown. That is, if one parent has dark brown eyes and the other has green eyes, then their baby will most likely be brown-eyed. This is why many parents are surprised when they discover that their newborn’s eyes have a blue or purple tint. But there is no need to panic - the eye color of newborns will not always be the same.

It has long been known that all children are born with the same eye color, which changes over time. When? Let's try to figure it out.

Why are all children born light-eyed?

It's all about melanin, which is responsible for the formation of color pigment in the iris of the eye. Melanin begins to be released when exposed to light. This is why a newborn's eye color changes only after birth. In the mother's belly, in the absence of light sources, melanin is not released in the child's body, so the baby's eyes have an indeterminate blue-gray-violet color.

When a newborn is born, he opens his eyes, looks at the sun, at a burning light bulb, or just out the window, and this seems to trigger the production of melanocytes. Their number depends on genetic predisposition.



Regardless of what eye color the baby had at birth, it will certainly change over time. Blue color can turn into bright blue or gray, and brown color can darken, acquire a reddish or yellowish tint. It all depends on the heredity that the baby was given by his parents.

As stated earlier, the predominant and dominant color is dark brown. There are more people in the world with this iris color. In second place are blue-eyed (gray-eyed) people. There are fewer people with green eyes; their genes are less involved in the formation of eye color in newborns.

Thus, we can make the following forecast:

  • parents with brown and green eyes have a greater chance of giving birth to a brown-eyed child;
  • if one parent has blue (gray) irises and the other has brown ones, then the chances are divided in half;
  • the combination of “green” and “blue” genes excludes the possibility of having a brown-eyed child, but the likelihood that the baby will be blue-eyed is greater;
  • if both parents have blue eyes, then the baby’s eyes will be 100% the same color;
  • but brown-eyed parents have a chance to give birth to a child with light eyes.

However, it is important to remember that all calculations are conditional, and anything can happen in life. Even the genetic system sometimes fails.



When do babies' eyes change color?

It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, since all children are different and the development of each newborn occurs according to an individual program.

In some newborns, the color changes to a permanent color in the first months of life. This usually applies to dark-skinned and brown-eyed babies. After just a couple of months, the color of their eyes changes to green or brown.

But usually the eye color of newborns begins to change at 6-9 months, and this process can drag on for up to 3-5 years. There is also a later change in the color of the iris.

That’s why you shouldn’t panic if your two-year-old baby’s eye color hasn’t changed yet. This does not mean at all that he will remain this way forever, just as it does not indicate the presence of deviations in the child’s development. Often the shade changes very slowly, and this process is not always noticeable to parents. Blue irises may gradually turn gray-green and then turn brown-green. Or, on the contrary, they may lighten and become blue.

But sometimes a baby's eyes can change color as a result of some illness or even stress. Such seemingly insignificant factors as weather, lighting, and mood can also influence.

Do not be surprised or panic if during the first year of a newborn’s life the color of his eye changes several times. This is especially true for fair-haired children. Their eyes can take on a variety of shades - from light blue to bright blue.



  1. Only 2% of the population of our planet has green eyes.
  2. Eye color depends on nationality and place of residence. Among Russians, gray and blue colors are more common, and brown color is only 30%; among Ukrainians and Belarusians, brown-eyed people are 50%, and among Spaniards, Latin Americans and Brazilians - 80% or more.
  3. A rare genetic disorder in newborns is heterochromia. The color of the eyes of these babies varies.
  4. The absence of melanin pigment in a newborn is called albinism. The eye color of such a baby is red.
  5. It is impossible to determine with one hundred percent accuracy what your baby’s eyes will be like.
  6. Eye color can be affected by jaundice. With this disease, the whites turn yellow, and it is not possible to say exactly what color the baby’s eyes are.

Conclusion

No matter what the baby is, for his parents he still is and will be the most beautiful and beloved child in the world.

Remember that you can find your reflection not only in the color of the child’s eyes and facial features. It is much more important to raise the baby correctly and raise him to be a real person. Then, looking at your son or daughter, every time you will feel a feeling of satisfaction and pride, regardless of what color your child’s eyes are.

What happiness for parents is the appearance of a long-awaited baby in their family. The first photos after birth, sent to relatives and friends, in addition to touching, also cause heated debate. What does the baby look like? Whose nose, mouth, and chin have the same shape? Or does anyone close to you have the same dimples on their cheeks? And the eyes? Many parents have a question: when does the eye color of newborns change?

Almost all babies immediately after their birth look at their mother with cloudy blue or gray eyes, then they clear themselves. A purple tint of the iris is less common. Parents with black skin or dark skin with brown eyes give birth to dark-eyed children.

During the day, interesting changes occur, for example, when a child starts to cry, the iris turns green, and a sleepy little person's eyes become cloudy. But when a newborn wants to eat, he looks at the world with serious gray eyes. When in a good mood, they turn bright blue.

The process of forming the color of the iris

The structure of the eye of a baby and an adult is completely the same. Its components are the iris, lens, muscles, retina and optic nerves, which transmit information to certain parts of the brain to analyze and process what the baby sees. The development of the eye organ consists of several stages.

Interestingly, the intrauterine formation of the iris, which determines the future shade, begins already in the eleventh week after conception. When a child is born, he sees poorly and reacts only to light; closer to a year, visual acuity increases to 50% of the adult norm.

At one year old, the baby recognizes simple drawings. It is important to observe whether the child began to squint his eyes in the first year of life; if slanting appears, timely treatment is necessary, which will relieve the pathology at the initial stage. Here are several factors that determine what kind of eyes children are born with:

  1. Nationality

Belonging to a certain nation can be manifested by the shade of the skin, hair and eyes of an infant. For example, the Turks most often have green, green - brown, and the Slavs have a blue or gray iris.

  1. Pigment size.

The color pigment, melanin, begins to accumulate only after birth. There is no light in the womb and therefore no light is released. An infant walks in the sun, looks out of a window or at a light bulb, thanks to this the process of melanocyte production starts. The more melanin, the darker the skin and eyes.

  1. Genetics

The amount of melanin depends on genetic predisposition. But geneticists cannot determine eye color 100%. It happens that with dark shades of the iris of the parents, the baby surprises with his light eyes. It turns out that the genes of a grandmother or grandfather, or other close relatives, influenced.

How does heredity affect

Conditional calculations help determine how the parents' genetics influence the baby's iris. The data is generated in the table:

Parents' shadeChild's shade in %
1st parent2nd parentBrownGreensBlue
BrownBrown75 18,75 6,25
GreensBrown50 37,5 12,5
BlueBrown50 0 50
GreensGreens<1 75 25
GreensBlue0 50 50
BlueBlue0 1 99

Blue and light blue

A small amount of melanin and its low density in the outer layer of the iris produce a blue color. And the fewer of them there are in the outer layer, the brighter and more saturated the shade. If there are slightly more cells, the baby will have a blue color. It is believed that blue-eyed children grow up to be powerful people who know how to count money. Blue-eyed people are touchy and emotional. More often these colors are found in people of the Caucasian race.

Gray and dark gray

The number of melanin cells and their density in the iris is greater, but not much, than in blue eyes. Grays are characterized by changes in shade throughout the day. Gray-eyed people are firm and decisive, although they are not alien to such feelings as romance and generosity. Friendship is very important to them, so they are ready to support loved ones at the right time.

Black and brown

Brown color is dominant. The largest number of people in the world are brown-eyed. Babies with brown and black hair have the highest amount of melanin. Due to the increased content of pigment in the body, the skin and hair on the head are dark. Blacks, whose pupil is difficult to see, are found in only 1% of the world's population.

It is believed that children with brown eyes are very changeable and impatient. Some of them are hot-tempered, others, on the contrary, are shy. To make friends with them, you need to be able to look at the situation through their eyes.

Yellow and green

Only a few babies can be born with “tiger eyes” - yellow, and most often their parents are both brown-eyed. Yellow eyes are not an anomaly.

The green tint of the iris is also rare. This color can be formed in the presence of the additional pigment lipofuscin. During the Middle Ages, green-eyed women were considered witches and were burned. Today, green-eyed people are considered very vulnerable. For them, the most important feeling is love. Green color can be found more often in girls than in boys.

Reds

It is not difficult to determine the genetic disease albinism in a child. He has red eyes, white skin, hair, eyelashes, eyebrows. The main cause of this disease is the complete absence of melanin pigment. Without melanin staining the iris, blood vessels are visible through it.

Albino children lack sun protection. Therefore, parents need to pay a lot of attention to additional measures: the use of special sunglasses and protective creams. Regular checks by the doctor of the health status of such a child are necessary.

The manifestation of this genetic disease is possible only when two affected genes meet. Cleft lip, blindness, deafness, nystagmus are just some of the pathologies that are often combined with albinism.

Multicolored eyes

The genetic mutation heterochromia is a rare phenomenon in which a child has different eye colors. Due to a genetic malfunction, the iris of one eye receives more melanin than the other eye. This harmless phenomenon is very noticeable, but does not require treatment. Experts identify three types of this mutation:

  1. circular heterochromia. Several rings of different colors in the iris;
  2. sector heterochromia. In one eye, inclusions in the iris of a different shade may form
  3. total heterochromia. Uniform coloring in different colors.

It is important for children with heterochromia to understand that this is their highlight, and they have nothing to be ashamed of.

How is a baby's eye color determined?

A child's eye color changes very often. Parents can admire different shades several times a day. This is influenced by many factors: stress, illness, weather, time of day, mood, etc. The shade can change:

  • cry;
  • nutrition;
  • nap;
  • weather;
  • type of lighting;
  • infectious disease;
  • cloth;
  • injury to the eyeball can permanently change the shade of the iris.


To finally determine what color a baby is, you need to choose a time when the baby is full, cheerful and in a good mood. It is advisable to determine in natural light and wearing clothes of a neutral color; you can bring the baby to the window and carefully look at the iris.

If you really want to know your appearance before birth, then you need to consult a geneticist. Photos of parents, grandparents and other close relatives are required for the appointment. However, it is worth remembering that no specialist will give a 100% guarantee of exactly what a child will look like, or what eye color he will have, before he is born.

How does eye color change in newborns?

There is no clear age limit for the change. The development of each child is individual. For some babies, the final change is visible for the first time in months, while for others, repeated changes in shades occur in the first year of life. But most often the onset occurs at 6-9 months and lasts up to 4 years. Although in medical practice there are cases described when permanent color was acquired in adolescence.

Table: changes in eye color of a newborn child depending on his age.

Does color affect visual acuity?

Why do some parents begin to worry when their baby's color changes? There is an opinion that visual acuity depends on the iris. After numerous studies, no facts have been found to confirm this. An adult sees much better than a newborn, but this is due to the fact that children's visual organs are just beginning to develop.

Do diseases affect color changes?

Yes, some diseases can not only cause color changes, but also greatly harm vision. Here are some diseases and their symptoms:

  • uveitis Inflammatory vascular disease. Main symptoms: blurred vision, redness of the eyeball, film before the eyes, the shape of the pupil changes, eye pressure rises, blindness. Without treatment, complete blindness, glaucoma, and cataracts are possible;
  • Wilson-Konovalov disease. An inherited genetic disorder that results in excess copper in organs such as the cornea. The main symptom is a yellow-brown ring around the iris;
  • melanoma (eye cancer). Symptoms: pigment formation occurs, vision deteriorates, peripheral vision is lost. It is dangerous to leave symptoms unattended; cancer can be fatal if surgical and drug treatment is not selected;
  • anemia. Low hemoglobin levels and changes in the number of red blood cells. Lack of iron leads to deterioration of vision and lightening of the iris by several tones;
  • diabetes. Cataracts may develop and the iris becomes red-pink.

For any changes in vision, an ophthalmologist will help identify symptoms of eye disease and prescribe timely treatment.

When the color of the whites of the eyes indicates pathology

An indicator of the condition of internal organs is the sclera. Any changes in the shade of the protein require consultation with a doctor.

Redness of the white. This signals the onset of inflammation, the causes may be:

  • ARVI;
  • injury;
  • conjunctivitis, in which the eye begins to water;
  • pollution,
  • barley.

In case of redness, the use of eye drops and special ointments is necessary; in case of complications, an antibiotic is prescribed. Dr. Komarovsky notes that if the redness does not go away within two days, suppuration is observed, constant tears occur, the child complains of soreness of the eyeball, then a diagnosis is necessary.

Yellow color of the sclera. This is one of the symptoms of jaundice, a disease caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the body of a newborn. According to many parents, treatment most often takes place without drug intervention; it is enough for the child to be in the sun as often as possible.

Lobstein van der Heeve syndrome is expressed by bluish tints of proteins. A genetic pathology that cannot be completely cured.

Brown-eyed people are the most common people in the world. Then there are the blue-eyed ones. But green-eyed people are extremely rare. Among the total population of the earth they make up only 2%.

It is believed that blue eye color appeared through the process of mutation. There is a theory that blue-eyed people are distant relatives of each other. People with blue irises cry less when chopping and peeling onions. Most often, green eyes are combined with red hair. Often people who are dissatisfied with the dark shade undergo laser surgery to lighten the iris by several tones.