Your baby's five senses

Your baby's five senses - eyesight, hearing, smell, taste and touch - continue to develop after birth.Hearing

• Your baby has been able to hear since he was in the womb - so he's already familiar with your voice and household noises at birth.
• He will startle at a loud noise.
• He will calm at the sound of a soft, soothing noise.
• Your baby will respond best to high-pitched voices and highly animated faces - hence the 'baby talk'.
• Your baby can hear you speak but cannot understand what you are saying.

Smell and taste

• At birth, your baby has well developed sense of smell and taste.
• He recognises the smell and taste of his milk, and may reject it if the taste or the smell changes.
• Your baby's taste buds that differentiate between salty, sweet, sour and bitter are developed at birth.

Touch

• Your baby is born being sensitive to touch.
• He can feel pain.
• Your baby will feel loved and secure, through your gentle, caring touch.
• You can learn to connect and bond with your baby through baby massage.

Sources include SA Government's Parenting and Child Health and Raising Children Network.