Newborns can see best at a distance of about 8 to 12 inches from their eyes, which is roughly the distance between a baby's face and a parent's face when being held. Beyond this range, their vision is mostly blurry because they are nearsighted at birth
. At birth, a newborn's visual acuity is very poor, estimated between 20/200 and 20/400, meaning they see objects much less clearly than adults do. Some sources note an average acuity around 20/640, indicating that what an adult can see clearly at 640 feet, a newborn would need to be just 20 feet away to see similarly
. Newborns are particularly drawn to human faces and high-contrast patterns, and they prefer looking at eyes and faces within that 8 to 12-inch range. Their color vision is limited at birth but begins developing within the first weeks to months
. Depth perception and more refined visual abilities develop over the first few months of life. In summary, newborns see best at about 8 to 12 inches away, with vision beyond that distance appearing blurry and unclear to them
