What a baby sees

Ever wondered what it would be like to see the world for the first time again?

A new animated image, or gif, developed by medical comparison company, Clinic Compare, offers a glimpse into what babies see during their first year.

Clinic Compare PR manager, Grace Garland, told OT that the changing image shows how much a baby’s world opens up in the first months of their life.

The gif reveals how a baby’s sight develops, from blurred and grey vision as a newborn, to being able to recognise close-up faces at three-months, and finally gaining depth perception and seeing the world in technicolour at 10-months.

“It is fascinating to see how quickly they develop and see the progression step by step,” Ms Garland highlighted.

“It allows parents to get an understanding of what their little one can see, an insight into an otherwise mystery world,” she added.

Ms Garland said project was part of a series of gifs developed by Clinic Compare. Other gifs within the series included images illustrating colour blindness, glaucoma and how intoxication affects vision.

The gif was developed by Clinic Compare’s in-house video team with the help of consultant ophthalmologist, Dr Romesh Angunawela, who made sure the series of images was an accurate representation of what was happening at each milestone.

Dr Angunawela emphasised that gifs were excellent educational tools.

“Similar gifs would be very useful to demonstrate typical changes in cataract, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration,” he added.

Image credit: Clinic Compare

How does a baby’s eyesight develop?