At birth, the lower portions of your baby’s nervous system are well developed, which is in control of behaviour like kicking, grasping, crying, sleeping and feeding¹. As the brain and eye functions mature, your baby will begin to respond to sound, follow objects with their eyes,
recognise your face and scent, and more².
Your child’s brain grows rapidly from mid-gestation until around 18 months after birth. What is the best way to support the first 3 months of brain development?
At this stage, brain development is sensitive to the quality of a baby’s nutrition. The World Health
Organization recommends feeding your baby exclusively with breast milk for 6 months³.
*Please note that this is a simplified visual demo only intended to aid in the understanding of the
subject matter.
Breast milk is your baby’s best source of nutrients like DHA, which is highly concentrated in brain and retinal (eye) tissues and accumulates during late fetal and early neonatal life4. Experts believe that adequate DHA intake supports brain and retinal development5.
Early brain development is also very dependent on human stimulus. Read aloud to your baby, sing songs, speak in ‘baby talk’, respond to gestures, hold and rock your baby often, encourage movement, gently expose your baby to new experiences and more.
Developmental aspects in the assessment of visual function in young children.
LB Nelson and colleagues reviewed the developmental aspects in the assessment of visual acuity in the preverbal child. Several investigative
techniques indicate that visual acuity of infants increases significantly between birth and 6 months old.
"World Health Organization (WHO) International Child Growth Standards, 2006." Australian Breastfeeding Association. Updated October 16, 2006.
4.
Nettleton JA. Are n-3 fatty acids essential nutrients for fetal and infant development? Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 93:1 (Jan 1993); 58-66.
5.
Innis S. Dietary n3 fatty acids and brain development. J of Nutr 2007; 137: 855-859
