Eye opening of the newborn at and up to 20 minutes after birth.
Early eye contact between mother and baby is considered important in the attachment process between mother and baby. How soon after birth is it possible for eye contact to occur? How soon after birth will a baby open his eyes spontaneously?- Where is the baby physically at that time? Is hospital labour ward routine conducive to early eye-to-eye contact between mother and baby? Discussing these questions with midwifery colleagues, it became apparent that we were unable to answer with any degree of certainty, the question "How soon after birth will a baby open his eyes spontaneously?' It was felt that "most babies open their eyes at or very soon after birth'. How soon was "very soon'? and did all babies open their eyes soon after birth? Were there any observable influencing factors? Is so, what were they? In this study of 104 babies, 30 babies opened their eyes at birth, and the remainder, except three, opened their eyes ranging from within 1 minute of birth to within 20 minutes of birth (20 minutes being the time limit set for the study). Some babies were observed to open their eyes momentarily only the very first time, keeping their eyes open longer subsequently.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000773:Anesthesia, Obstetrical; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013997:Time Factors
D000700:Analgesics