If you are going out in a hurry and leaning over your new-born just to say a few quick sweet words, make sure that lean sufficiently so that your baby can see your face and perceive your emotion. And when we say “sufficiently”, we are asking you to maintain a maximum distance of 12 inches. Otherwise, your baby will not be able to understand you or your emotions.

This has been confirmed by latest scientific research.

Researchers at the University of Oslo took the help of technology, probability and previous studies to conclude that newborns can be visually aware and can distinguish emotions. Even a baby of two / three days old can distinguish faces and emotional facial expression from a distance of 12 inches. This distance is the ideal distance between a mother and her nursing baby.

Beyond 12 inches, the visual image gets blurred for the baby to comprehend facial expressions.

This is how babies perceive our faces, depending on the distance.

To arrive at the conclusion, scientists blended modern simulation techniques and probabilistic analysis with previous knowledge-base. Video has been captured to record various facial expressions and exceptions have been recorded where infants couldn’t process the expressions. It is only at this point adults were allowed to view the footage.

By this process, they wanted to ensure that adults themselves can identify the emotions. Otherwise, it was obvious that infants will not be able to do that.

Interestingly, adult participants could identify the facial expressions in three fourth of the cases while seeing the footage from a distance of 12 inches.

This is actually why babies meet you with blank stares when you try to capture their attention from a distance beyond 12 inches.

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Author: Technology and Beyond