Hearing
- Your baby’s hearing is fairly well developed by 20 weeks gestation. This means that they can hear you when they are in the womb.
- After your baby is born, they will continue to recognize and prefer the soft, calming voice of their parents.
- Since their hearing is developed, loud voices and alarms can be stressful to the baby. They can even startle and disturb their sleep. That’s why it is important to try to keep the NICU as quiet as we can.
Smell
- Your baby’s smell develops at an early age. This means it is important to not wear perfumes or scented lotions.
- If you smoke, you should keep an extra set of fresh clothes to wear around your baby.
Taste
- Taste also develops at an early age.
- If your baby is interested, and it is permissible by staff, you may try using breast milk (formula) on the pacifier when your baby is being fed through a tube- it will help your baby associate sucking and taste with feeding.
Sight
- Sight is the last sense to fully develop
- In the beginning, your baby will not spend much time with their eyes open and cannot focus well on anything.
- Bright light is exhausting to them so it is important to protect their eyes from it.
- As they mature and begin to reach full term, they will have very slight ability to focus on your face or on black and white pictures.
- As your baby continues to grow and develop, they will have an easier time focusing on you for longer periods.
- Keeping your face or objects 8-12 inches away will allow your baby to see more clearly without being over-stimulated.
Reference:
AbbVie Corporation (Ed.). (2015). Preemie Parent Handbook (4th ed.). Canada: AbbVie Corportation.