Parents often ask questions about their baby’s chasing vision, and use whether their baby can chase vision as a criterion to determine whether their baby is healthy or not. So, what is the process of visual development in babies?
A baby’s vision develops rapidly in the first year of life
1.0~1 month
The baby’s visual acuity is about 0.05 and the objects are blurred. They can see colors but have difficulty distinguishing shades. Prefer black and white or high contrast colors.
2.2 months
At this age, your baby’s eyes can follow objects close by and he prefers bright colors.
3.3 Months
Your baby’s gaze can follow smoothly moving objects and can also fix its gaze on an object. Some babies begin to try to reach out and grasp objects, but are unable to do so. The ability of hand-eye coordination is beginning to emerge.
4.4 months
At this age, babies become good at finding very small objects and following moving objects.
5.5 months
At this stage, the baby begins to establish three-dimensional vision, the world in his eyes is not a vague plane but a three-dimensional three-dimensional space, the baby’s hand-eye coordination will be further developed.
6.6 months
Baby’s vision is close to 1.0, can better perceive color.
After six months, the baby’s vision is gradually developed and perfected. By 11 months, the baby’s vision is basically the same as that of an adult, but color recognition and hand-eye coordination still need to be further developed.
How can I stimulate my baby’s visual development?
Newborns spend most of the day sleeping and on average have very little waking time each day. According to the pattern of his rest, when he wakes up, the baby will be able to see and hear, and loves to see faces, but at a relatively short distance, most clearly at 20 cm. He can recognize the color red and likes to look at moving things.
What if the baby can’t gaze and follow the eyes?
1.The rapid development of infant vision is concentrated in the first few months of life, therefore, special attention should be paid to the visual function of infants at this stage, and early intervention should be made if abnormalities in visual function are found.
2. When a baby is found to be unable to gaze at or track faces, or to respond only to bright light stimuli, a comprehensive eye examination and visual testing should be performed. If it is determined that there are no abnormalities in the fundus opticus and that the problem may be a disorder in the higher visual pathways, rehabilitation intervention should begin immediately. To enable maximum visual development, in our experience, the earlier the intervention, the better the results.
Visual intervention stimulation methods
1, black and white pictures, toys stimulation: in a well-lit room, baby lying on his back, with black and white pictures, red balls, toys, etc. placed 20 cm above the baby’s eyes, you can slightly adjust the picture distance, so that the baby look at the picture, and then move the picture horizontally, so that the baby chase. The size of the pictures and toys can be adjusted according to the baby’s gaze and chasing. (This method is used when the baby can find the light source and chase the red light but has poor gaze and chase on pictures and toys).
2.Bio-visual stimulation: look at the face of the speaker, the tester makes a soft and beautiful voice, exaggerated smile to attract the attention of the child. The child is encouraged to look at the face for a longer period of time through eye contact and voice communication.
Follow the face of the speaker and make a beautiful sound for the child to look at, while moving the face of the speaker to attract the child’s eyes to follow, to improve the child’s perception of visual multi-directional stimulation, repeat for 1 minute each time, 10-20 times/day.
3, to light reflex stimulation: in a dark room, baby lying on his back, using a flashlight to shine the child’s left eye, right eye, below the right eye, below the left eye (or right first, then left), shine the eye below is to have a gap time, each point of the irradiation time to maintain 1 second, 5 times in a row as a group, 20-30 groups / day (in the baby to find the light source, chasing red light does not respond and weak response, use this method).
4, red light stimulation: in a dark room, baby lying on his back, the flashlight wrapped in red cloth placed about 20 cm above the child’s eyes, that is, shine red light on the child’s eyes, attract the child to look at the red light, and then move the flashlight in the horizontal direction, so that the child chasing. Repeat for 1 minute each time, 10-20 times/day. (Use this method when the baby’s response to finding a light source is weak and when he/she does not respond to the red light chasing).
The specific operation should be carried out by a rehabilitation professional for the appropriate time of day for visual stimulation so that quality can be assured. Parents should be instructed to do this repeatedly during their baby’s waking hours. Active parental efforts in visual stimulation play a decisive role in restoring vision because parents have the longest contact time with their babies and can use any waking hours of their babies to do visual stimulation so as to maximize the effect of visual restoration.
What should I do if my baby does not want to pursue vision?
For babies over 1 month old, when you give your baby a chase, the distance should be about 20 cm, wait for him to look at you, then you move, the action should be slower, faster he can’t keep up, if the baby is not good at chasing, you have to practice more. Some babies do not look after the mother’s face, but usually look after the card, this time to stop using the card, let the baby and adults face to face, because look at people than look at the card is more important, the baby and the mother to have emotional communication, if the training for a week or two have not seen good, or not look after the doctor to see.
Which babies need fundus screening?
A recent survey report from the World Health Organization shows that nearly 4O% of children with congenital eye disease are not diagnosed in time, and many of them miss out on early and favorable treatment. Therefore, in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, newborns receive routine fundus examinations within 6 weeks of birth. So which newborns should undergo fundus screening early?
1, premature low weight infants: the shorter the gestational age of premature infants, the higher the incidence of retinopathy. In particular, preterm infants with a history of hyperoxia, multiple gestation, acidosis, anemia, blood transfusion, hyperbilirubinemia, IVF, and vitamin E deficiency should undergo standard fundus screening to rule out the occurrence of retinopathy of prematurity, a blinding eye disease.
2. High-risk infants with neonatal asphyxia, whistling distress syndrome, etc.: Fundus screening is performed to rule out ischemic-hypoxic optic nerve retinopathy.
3.Children with jaundice who have undergone blue light irradiation: perform fundus examination to rule out ocular lens and retinal damage.
4, congenital syphilis and cytomegalovirus infection: exclude optic nerve retinopathy and can help in disease diagnosis and prognosis determination.
5, 2 months after birth still can not chase light: exclude congenital cataract, glaucoma and other tissue developmental abnormalities and functional abnormalities.
6.Children with cerebral palsy: babies with cerebral palsy, mostly with brain tissue damage or intracranial hemorrhage, perform fundus examination to exclude optic nerve atrophy and fundus hemorrhage.
In addition, premature newborns must routinely go to the hospital for fundus examination for the following reasons: premature babies are born early, the blood vessels of the retina are not yet mature and are prone to retinopathy, after this lesion occurs, the child is unlikely to show abnormal eye appearance because of the lesions of the fundus, which are not visible in appearance, so parents are also prone to negligence. In 2004, the Ministry of Health issued a guideline for the use of oxygen in preterm infants and a guideline for the screening of retinopathy. According to this Guideline, all of our premature infants, as long as they weigh less than 2 kg and are born before 37 weeks, should go to the ophthalmology department for fundus examination. The reason is that there is a time window for the development and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity, and if it is not detected in time and treated late, it can cause permanent damage or even blindness. Premature babies should have their fundus checked 4 weeks after birth. Depending on the situation, the ophthalmologist will make an appointment for the next visit, usually once every 1 to 2 weeks, until the retina is mature. If laser treatment is needed, the ophthalmologist will inform. Parents should never be careless and say that our child is growing quite well, too young, don’t hold it to the hospital, go back in three months, so that the best time for treatment is often missed.