Is it true that all children are born with eyes? blue color? What color the eyes of newborns actually are, read the material.

If you are a first-time mother, then, of course, you have much less experience than mothers with several children. And this is absolutely natural. And it is also natural that you have encountered stories that may or may not be true.

For example, you've probably heard that all children are born blue-eyed. And in fact? Unless you are a medical professional in maternity ward, in front of which hundreds of kids pass every day, it is quite difficult to find out the truth, even if you read regularly. Well, let's figure it out.

What is the truth? First of all, not all babies are born with blue eyes. African-Americans, Spaniards, and Asians have dark eyes, which remain so throughout life. This is because these ethnic groups naturally have pigment in their skin, eyes and hair. The pigment is called melanin, and it predominates in darker-skinned representatives of the human race.

White-skinned people have less melanin, which is why the color of their hair, skin and eyes may change. People with blue eyes have the least amount of melanin in the iris, while the average amount of pigment results in green or brown eyes. Those people who have the most melanin have dark brown eyes, and the shade can vary.

Yes, it is true that white-skinned children are most often born with blue or gray eyes, which change color over time. This happens because the pigment level increases compared to the original level. Thus, the eye color of newborns does not always remain the same as the child grows. So, if your baby has light eyes now, this does not mean at all that they will remain so when he grows up a little - even in infancy, they can turn green, brown or dark brown.

The eye color of your partner and other family members will help predict what eye color your child will have in the future. To make it easier for you, look at the table, which shows the percentage probability of a baby's eye color depending on the parent's eye color.

So now you know everything you need to know what color your baby's eyes will be when he grows up.

The birth of a child is a small miracle. Even when the baby is growing in the womb, future parents, their closest relatives and friends are actively trying to predict what eye color the baby will have. Sometimes it happens that a child is born with light gray or blue eyes, although his mother and father are brown-eyed. But as the baby approaches one year of age, the baby’s eyes become dark. What is the reason for this phenomenon and how can we explain the presence of different eye colors in newborn babies?

What color are the eyes of newborns?

Eyes are the mirror of the soul. Any eye color is beautiful and has its own characteristics. In young children, the formation of the final eye color may occur during the first three years life. But if you look at the parents and closest relatives of the baby, you can guess what color the eyes of the already grown-up child will be.

How the color of the iris is formed

During the intrauterine development of the fetus, as early as the eleventh week, the iris of the eye begins to form. It is she who determines what eye color the baby will have. The process of inheritance of iris color is very complex: several genes are responsible for it. Previously, it was believed that a mother and father with dark eyes had absolutely no chance of giving birth to a light-eyed baby, but recent studies have proven that this is not so.

Using this table you can guess the eye color of the unborn child.

The color and shade of the iris depends on two factors:

• density of iris cells;
• the amount of melanin in the child’s body.

Melanin is a special pigment produced by skin cells. It is responsible for the richness and intensity of the color of our skin, hair and eyes.

Accumulating in large quantities in the iris of the eye, melanin causes the formation of black, dark brown or brown flowers. If there is not enough of it, children are born with blue, gray and green eyes. People with complete absence melanin in the body are called albinos.

Exists erroneous opinion that all small children are born blue-eyed. In fact, this is not always the case. A baby is born with a certain density of cells in the iris and the amount of melanin in it set by nature, so the eyes appear light. In the process of maturation, growth and development This pigment accumulates in the iris, due to which a different eye color is formed. Thus, the phenomenon of a baby’s blue eyes turning dark and even black is quite easy to explain. Do not forget that many children are immediately born with brown eyes.

Yellow and green eyes

Green and yellow eyes are a consequence of not large quantities melanin in the iris. The shade of the eyes is also determined by the presence of lipofuscin pigment in the first layer of the iris. The more it is, the brighter the eyes. Green eyes have minor inclusions of this substance, which causes variability in their shades.

The green color of a child's eyes develops closer to the second year of life.

Yellow eyes, contrary to popular rumors, are not an anomaly. Very often, yellow-eyed babies appear from brown-eyed parents. In most cases, this eye color darkens as they get older, but some children remain with yellow eyes for the rest of their lives.

Yellow eye color in an adult is very rare throughout the world

There are several interesting facts about green and yellow eyes. For example, women are more likely to have green irises than men. During the Middle Ages, green-eyed women were considered witches and burned at the stake according to ancient superstitions - perhaps this explains such a small number of people with green eyes at the present time. Yellow eyes are extremely rare, occurring in less than two percent of the world's population. They are also called “eyes of the tiger”.

Red eyes

Red eye color in a child is a sign of severe genetic disease, which is called albinism. Albinos have practically no melanin pigment: this is the reason for their snow-white skin, hair and red or colorless eyes.

Albinos have red eyes

The reddish tint of the iris is due to the fact that blood vessels are visible through it in the light. Albinism is a rather serious pathology, and it takes a lot of effort to raise such a child.

You will need to use special glasses and protective creams, and also regularly show your growing baby to a pediatrician. Melanin, which albinos lack so much, provides protection against sun rays . That is why White skin These people instantly burn in the sun. Development risk malignant neoplasms

It is noteworthy that this pathology is not a mutation, but a consequence of a genetic lottery: the distant ancestors of both parents of a person born with red eyes once suffered from a lack of melanin. Albinism is a recessive trait and can appear only if two identical genes meet.

Albinism is often combined with other congenital defects development: cleft lip, bilateral deafness and blindness. Albinos often suffer from nystagmus - pathological movements eyeball that occur without their intention.

Blue and blue eyes

Blue eyes in newborns occur due to the low density of cells in the outer layer of the iris, as well as due to the low content of melanin in it. Low-frequency light rays completely disappear in the back layer of the iris, and high-frequency rays are reflected from the front, as if from a mirror. The fewer cells in the outer layer, the brighter and more saturated the baby’s eye color will be.

About ninety-five percent of the population of Estonia and Germany before World War II had blue eyes. Blue eyes are more sensitive to light. When a blue-eyed person is happy or scared, their eyes may change color.

Blue eyes can change their shade depending on the lighting

Eyes are blue if the cells in the outer layer of the iris are more dense than in blue and also have a grayish tint. Most often, blue and blue eyes can be found in people of the Caucasian race. But there are also exceptions.

People with blue eyes are less susceptible to the tearing effect of onions when peeling them. Most blue-eyed people live in the northern parts of the world. Blue eyes are a mutation that arose more than ten thousand years ago: all blue-eyed people are very distant relatives of each other.

Gray and dark gray eyes

The mechanism of formation of dark gray and gray the eye is no different from blue and blue. The amount of melanin and cell density of the iris is slightly greater than that of blue eyes. It is believed that a child who is born with gray eyes can subsequently acquire either a lighter or darker shade. It can be said that grey eyes are a transition point between these two shades.

Gray eyes can often be found in babies

Black and brown eyes

Owners of black and brown eyes can boast nai big amount melanin in their irises. This eye color is the most common in the world. Black or “agate” eyes are widespread among the peoples of Asia, the Caucasus and Latin America. It is believed that initially all people on earth had the same amount of melanin in the iris and were brown-eyed. Completely black eyes, in which it is impossible to distinguish the pupil, occur in less than one percent of the population.

There are more brown-eyed people in the world

Very often, children with brown eyes have dark hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as a dark skin tone. Dark-eyed blondes are a rarity these days.

Exists laser surgery, with which it is possible to remove part of the pigment and brighten the eyes: the Japanese widely use this method. In ancient times, it was believed that people with brown eyes could see well in the dark, which allowed them to hunt at night.

Multicolored eyes

Multicolored eyes - very a rare event, genetic mutation, which is called heterochromia. This is due to a change in the gene structure that encodes the pigment melanin: due to this, the iris of one eye receives a little more melanin, and the other - a little less. This mutation does not affect vision in any way, so heterochromia is an absolutely safe phenomenon.

There are several types of multi-colored eyes:

• total heterochromia: both eyes are evenly colored in different colors;

  Complete (total) heterochromia is very rare

• partial, or sector: in one of the eyes there is a bright inclusion of a different color;

  Many people have colorful spots in their eyes

• circular heterochromia: several rings of different colors around the pupil.

  Circular heterochromia occurs in five percent of the population

Multi-colored eyes are not a sign of any disease, but a rather interesting and unusual phenomenon that makes the child unique and inimitable in its own way. Many Hollywood stars also had a similar “defect”, which they turned into their highlight.

Famous people with heterochromia:

• David Bowie;
• Kate Bosworth;
• Mila Kunis;
• Jane Seymour;
• Alice Eve.

How is a baby's eye color determined?

As you know, the color of a baby's eyes can have different shades. Depending on conditions, mood, weather and even time of day, it may undergo some changes. Various diseases, stress and trauma can permanently change the color of a child’s iris, which is due to complex processes healing and restoration of the structure of the eyeball.

When blue-eyed babies cry, their eyes turn aqua

The following factors can cause changes in eye color:

• long crying;
• natural or artificial lighting;
• weather;
• the color of the clothes the baby wears;
• infectious diseases of the eyeball and eyelids;
• child nutrition;
• lack of sleep;
• eyeball injuries.

How can you correctly determine the color of a child’s eyes? Wait until your baby is in a good-natured mood: full, happy and cheerful. Bring the baby closer to the light source and look carefully at his eyes. Most often it is very difficult to distinguish between blue and green shades. The difference between them is most noticeable in natural daylight.

If you want to at least roughly determine the eye color of an unborn baby, you should contact a geneticist. He will draw up a pedigree for you, taking into account the color of the iris of your closest relatives. You must come to the appointment with your spouse and photographs of the baby’s grandparents.

Video: inheritance of a child’s eye color depending on the eye color of his relatives

When do newborns' eyes change color?

Typically, the final shade of the iris is formed by the third year of a child’s life. Sometimes exceptions may occur when eye color remains forever the same as at birth, or changes again at puberty. According to some studies, people who are born with dark eyes are much less likely to change iris color throughout their lives. In newborns with light and rare eye shades, the formation of the final color occurs much later.

Table: change in eye color of a newborn child depending on his age

When the color of the whites of the eyes indicates pathology

The white of the eye, otherwise called the sclera, is a unique indicator of the condition internal organs person. Normally, the sclera has absolutely White color, and resembles boiled chicken protein, which is where its second name comes from. And it also has on its surface tiny capillaries that carry arterial and venous blood. A change in the color of the eyeball directly indicates a pathology in the body.

Red whites of eyes

If your baby's eyes are red, this may indicate several types of pathological processes that flow through his body. However, do not be too frightened or panic: in most cases, the redness goes away within a few days with correct use eye drops.

Redness of the eyes indicates corneal irritation

Causes of redness of the white of the eye:

• ARVI and colds;
• conjunctivitis;
• pollution;
• barley formation;
• protein damage: scratch or blow;
• inflammation of the ciliary sacs.

If your baby is restless, constantly tries to touch his eye, or has a fever, you should immediately consult a doctor. If the treatment of this disease does not require special means, you will need to buy special children's drops and put them in the eyes of the crumbs three times a day. If more serious pathologies associated with protein infection are present, the child will be prescribed an antibiotic and eye ointments.

Yellow whites of eyes

When a newborn baby has yellow sclera, skin and mucous membranes, we should talk about jaundice. This type of pathology is very common in premature babies, as well as in babies whose mother had an Rh conflict.

The yellow color of the baby's skin and whites of the eyes is associated with excess bilirubin

Rh conflict is a situation that occurs when the Rhesus of a woman and a man are incompatible, as a result of which an Rh-negative mother carries an Rh-positive child.

The baby's jaundice is caused by the presence in his blood of a large amount of a special enzyme called bilirubin. The more of it in the body, the more intense the color. Bilirubin appears due to increased destruction of blood cells in the baby's liver. This is due to the fact that when the baby was in the mother’s body, it had a completely different hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen to the cells of the body). At birth, infant hemoglobin is replaced by adult hemoglobin, which is associated with disruption of adaptation mechanisms, destruction of blood cells and the formation of jaundice. This condition usually resolves within a few days without treatment.

If a woman with Rh-conflict had a rather difficult pregnancy and had significant complications and pathologies, there is a risk of developing more severe form jaundice.

Usually, after birth, such children are taken to intensive care, where all the necessary measures are taken to restore balance in the body. The duration of treatment for neonatal jaundice ranges from two to six months.

Children who are born with blue or bluish whites of their eyes are carriers of a serious genetic disorder called Lobstein van der Heeve syndrome. This is a rather complex and multifactorial disease that affects connective tissue , visual apparatus, hearing organs and skeletal system . There will be such a baby for a long time

to be treated in the hospital, but will not be able to completely get rid of the pathology.

Blue sclera syndrome is a severe genetic pathology

This genetic anomaly is dominant: a person with this disease will give birth to a sick child. Fortunately, the syndrome is quite rare: one case in sixty to eighty thousand babies per year. Basic clinical manifestations

• syndrome:
• bilateral hearing impairment associated with underdevelopment of the internal auditory canal and auditory ossicles;
• frequent bone fractures and ligament ruptures: the connective tissue membrane is not able to withstand pressure, and even a minor blow can lead to serious injury;
• the blue color of the eyeballs is due to the fact that the thin sclera, transmitting rays of light through itself, reflects the pigment of the iris;

significant visual impairment directly depends on scleral pathologies. Unfortunately, since the disease is a violation of the genetic structure, it is not possible to completely cure it. Doctors usually prescribe symptomatic treatment

, which is aimed at reducing the intensity of the main manifestations. And also, once the child reaches a certain age, it is possible to carry out operations that will help restore vision and hearing. Parents of such a baby should be extremely careful not to accidentally cause fractures or other injuries. Thanks to the achievements modern medicine

and genetics, it is possible to determine the color of your baby’s eyes even before birth. Of course, these results will only be approximate. The inheritance and formation of the color of the iris is a rather complex and interesting process. However, for most parents it doesn’t matter at all what color their newborn’s eyes will be, as long as the child grows and develops without any diseases or pathologies. If you notice that the color of your baby’s eyeballs is different from the norm, you should immediately contact your pediatrician and endocrinologist. Almost all mothers are surprised that their was born with one eye color, and after some time it darkened, lightened or completely changed shade. Is this the norm? Doctors say yes!

There are several features of eye formation in newborns:

1. After birth, the baby begins the process of producing melanin.. Initially it is at a minimum level. By six months it reaches the desired value;
2. In almost 90 percent of cases, the eyes become lighter to the shade determined at the genetic level. In dark-eyed children, it is rare that any changes occur;
3. Many babies experience jaundice in the first month of life.. The eye color may take on a shade characteristic of this disease. Positive result It will be if the yellowness disappears in two weeks. In the absence of such a symptom, you should immediately consult a specialist;
4. Initially, all children good vision, they do not have nearsightedness or farsightedness. But their focus is scattered. They can focus on one subject no earlier than one month after birth;
5. Childbirth is a big stress for the baby. Against this background, red streaks may appear in the area of ​​the eyeball. Do not be afraid of this phenomenon; the symptom will go away on its own in two to three days.

Every third child has a narrow tear duct. A small accumulation of pus on the eyelashes will indicate this.

What determines eye color?

Often, pregnant women imagine how they carry their future son or daughter in their arms, tenderly hugging and kissing their beloved heirs. Many people have wondered what eye color the baby will have.

This feature depends on three factors:

In any medical practice there is room for exceptions. For example, a newborn baby may inherit this genetic feature not from its parents, but from its grandparents. This phenomenon is extremely rare, but still, experts do not deny this feature.

Why do we need melanin?

All living organisms on the planet actively produce melanin. This concept refers to a pigment that can develop under the influence of ultraviolet rays.

When a child is in the womb, its contents are insignificant. When a baby is born, this value begins to actively progress. In total, several purposes of the pigment can be distinguished.

Protection of tissues from radiation damage

It is used in medicine to treat oncological diseases, restoring liver function and eliminating fatigue syndrome.

Premature value protection

Melanin is unique substance. It can be independently synthesized in the human body in the form of a pigment, and it can also be obtained artificially for various medical purposes. It is produced in every person various quantities, regardless of his race, age and gender.

Peculiarities of eye color and vision in newborns

For about 9 months, the baby is actively developing in the womb. The conditions in this area are as comfortable as possible for him. full development: no noise or light exposure.

Birth - important period adaptation. In the first stages of life, the baby experiences cloudy eyes. The baby reacts to bright light, but does not linger on individual objects. Such postpartum symptom It occurs in all newborns and goes away only by the first month of life.

Later, the visual organs progress in the following sequence:

1. The baby focuses his vision on objects and monitors their movement;
2. The synchronization process begins. The brain accumulates incoming information. The child begins to recognize objects that he has seen before;
3. The child learns to match objects with sound, movement pattern and smell.

It is impossible to determine the period during which eye color is completely established. This process occurs individually for each child. Melanin levels can increase at different rates.

What eye color will the child have?

What eye color will the child have? Even highly qualified scientists cannot give an exact answer to such a question.

Methods that make it more likely to calculate this feature:

• People with brown eyes have higher levels of melanin. They are dominant. If one parent has dark eyes and the other has light eyes, then there is a high probability that the child will be dark-eyed;
• Almost all children inherit genetics from their parents. In isolated cases from previous generations;
• Scientists have identified a pattern that is difficult to attach to official information at this stage.. The warmer the climate in the region where the baby lives, the darker his eyes will be. This is due to the fact that to protect connective tissues it is required high content melanin, and eye color depends on this pigment.

There have been cases of children being born who did not resemble their parents or grandparents. It was possible to find certain similarities with relatives located two to three stages higher on the family tree.

Scientists claim that there is no way to accurately determine the expected eye color of an unborn baby. There is a chance of calculating the expected shade.

Inheritance table for eye color in newborns

When will the eye color change?

The process of changing eye color is divided into several main stages:

1. In the first days of life, postpartum cloudy eye syndrome is observed.. The pupils are covered with a protective film. After 2-3 weeks, this symptom disappears. The parent already sees distinct pupils;
2. The next three months of life, the baby’s eye color develops.. During this time, a certain iris appears;
3. Further, melanin will continue to accumulate under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. Because of this, from 8 to 12 months of life, eye color may change dramatically;
4. By one year, the baby acquires its final shade, which will remain throughout his entire life. You should look carefully into the eyes of the baby. Perhaps there will be small specks in them. They are a sign that the color will continue to change.

All these figures are conditional. There are children in whom all of the above processes occur at a slow or accelerated pace.

Heterochromia

Unfortunately, heterochromia is not uncommon. IN medical institution Several thousand people a year deal with this problem. Many children have different eye colors.

There are two stages of development:

• Primary. IN eyeball different levels of melanin are concentrated. This is congenital pathology. Maybe there's a place here hereditary factor. If someone in the family suffered from heterochromia, then the risk of acquiring her baby is high;
• Acquired. The child developed fully. After a serious illness, injury or use of drops, the color of one eye changes. This is due to a disruption in the production of this pigment.

The most common defect is complex heterochromia. With it, the color of the eye completely changes. In rare cases, they recognize partial symptom– coloring changes in individual sectors. One eye can also have several shades at the same time in the form of small circles.

If such a sign is detected, it is recommended to consult an ophthalmologist. Such a violation is quite difficult to eliminate, but it appears big chance do this when timely treatment. It is worth noting that this disease refers only to a visual defect. It does not affect the functioning of the eyes.

Video: Why do people have different colored eyes?

An American scientist spent several years studying the psychology of people with a certain eye color.

He created his own statistics, based on which several interesting facts are highlighted:

• Almost all blue-eyed people connect their lives with the study of exact science. They have an excellent analytical mind. Brown-eyed people have little patience. Many of them connect life with creative activity;
• If you show a person with dark eyes an object, he will begin to actively study its color.. A light-eyed society will first of all pay attention to its shape;
• People with blue eyes are difficult to convince. They have their own opinion on everything. Most individuals with dark eyes adhere to generally accepted standards;
• Different taste in choosing clothes. Brown-eyed people have a wardrobe full of bright things. Blue-eyed people prefer cool shades;
• Individuals with bright eyes carefully plan their every step. They don't trust anyone. Dark-eyed societies welcome frivolous behavior. It is easy for them to let a person into their personal space.

Several centuries ago, people with different eye colors were burned at the stake. It was believed that they were carriers of negative energy. Now, on the contrary, they are considered unique individuals who can be proud that nature has endowed them with such a feature.

Let's take stock

Worth doing a few brief conclusions about the structural features of the eyes:

Eyes are the mirror of a person's soul. People determine a lot from them: whether his words are sincere, whether he likes his interlocutor, whether his mood is good or bad. Is their color important? Psychologists say yes. This feature directly affects the life of its owners. For the people themselves, this factor does not matter.

How does eye color change? Are there methods for determining the color of the iris? At what age can you find out for sure about it? These questions concern many parents. It becomes especially curious when mom and dad have different iris colors.

Why does eye color change?

The shade directly depends on a special pigment - melanin. When babies are born, it is practically absent. However, after a few days, melanocytes begin to become active due to the body’s adaptation to the conditions environment, and the pigment accumulates in the iris. If there is little melanin in the body, the eye color of newborns will be light, and if there is a lot - dark.

What influences this?

The color of the iris depends on heredity: the genetic makeup of parents and close relatives determines the intensity of melanin accumulation. Scientists can predict the color of a baby's iris thanks to Mendel's law. Its essence is that dark pigments are dominant genes.

Exist certain rules inheritance:

• If father and mother have dark color eye, with a large share Chances are the child will be born brown-eyed or black-eyed.
• Bright-eyed parents give their baby the same eyes.
• If the mother or father has dark eyes, and the other parent has light eyes, then the child can take on either a dark or an intermediate color of the iris.

The nationality of the parents and skin color are also important. If the father and mother are, for example, Asian in appearance, their child will inherit dark color eye. And among native Europeans, most often a baby is born with light eyes. Nationality and heredity determine the amount of pigment in the iris, which is why the baby acquires a certain amount of melanin.

Peculiarities of eye color in newborns

What color are the eyes of newborns? When a baby is born, the color of his eyes is dull blue-violet or blue-gray, and in very rare cases dark. During this period, it is difficult to say what shade the iris will acquire.

The cloudiness can be explained by the fact that the baby did not need vision in the womb. After birth, the baby begins to adapt to changes in the environment, and over time the eyes gradually clear up, adjusting to daylight. At the same time, there is an increase in visual acuity and synchronization of the work of the eyes with the brain.

You should not wait for a quick establishment of eye color, since melanin accumulates slowly. At first, the shade of the iris will constantly change, and this is not a cause for concern. Complete accumulation of pigment lasts up to several months or years.

How to determine color?

When a baby is born, many parents begin to wonder what shade their baby's eyes will have. The amount of melanin is determined before birth and is deposited at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy.

There are patterns that will help parents predict the eye color of their infants:

• If both parents have blue irises, 99% of the time a child will be born with blue eyes.
• If the father and mother have brown irises, in 75% of cases the baby will be brown-eyed, in 18% - green-eyed, and in 7% - blue-eyed.
• If both parents have a green iris, in 75% of cases the newborn will have the same shade, in 24% - blue, and in 1% - brown.
• If one parent Blue eyes, and the other is green, then the baby will inherit either a blue or green iris.
• If one parent has green eyes and the other has brown eyes, the child should be brown-eyed in 50% of cases, green-eyed in 37%, and blue-eyed in 13% of cases.
• If the father or mother has a dark iris, and the other parent has a blue one, the baby will be born with either brown eyes or blue eyes.

Of course, such patterns are speculative, and in some cases the child inherits eye color despite them.

Gradually, when the pigment finishes accumulating in the iris, you can determine exactly what color the baby will have. If after 6 months the shade of the iris does not change from blue-gray, it is highly likely that the child will become light-eyed. If after six months the eye color begins to darken, most likely the baby will be brown-eyed.

There are cases when a baby has a congenital absence of pigment in the iris, why child has reddish eye color. There is no need to be afraid of this; this phenomenon is called albinism and does not pose a threat to the baby’s vision. The red iris is due to the transillumination of the blood vessels. In an albino adult, the eye color changes to a light blue tint.

When does eye color start to change?

This process occurs differently for each child. Most often, the shade of the iris changes during the first year of life. However, for some babies it may take longer. It happens that the eye color of newborns changes several times, which is explained by the slow production of melanin. Often, the iris takes on its final shade only when the child reaches 3-4 years of age, when the production of pigment in the organ of vision is completed.

The change in iris color is clearly visible in fair-haired children: six months after birth, light eyes may remain the same or change quite seriously, while in dark babies they become either brown or black. At approximately this age, further shade can be judged.

Heterochromia in newborns

There are cases when the body begins to produce melanin incorrectly: either it is produced in excess, or insufficient quantities. The baby's eyes take on different shades. Therefore, one eye can be blue, and the other can be brown. This phenomenon is heterochromia, or uneven coloration of the iris. This condition is quite rare: approximately 1% of people globe have it. As a rule, uneven coloring is inherited.

Many parents begin to seriously worry about the health of their baby, but this feature in no way impairs visual acuity, and the baby perceives all colors well. This only tells us how melanin was produced. Over time, the color of the iris may even out, but sometimes the eyes do not change, and the different color remains until the end of life.

There is a so-called partial heterochromia, characterized by an uneven distribution of pigment in the iris, which looks like areas of alternating pigmented and non-pigmented areas.

For heterochromia, it is recommended to be observed by an ophthalmologist, since in very rare cases this condition can lead to the development. During 1 year of life, you need to be examined by an ophthalmologist several times, and subsequently come for routine examinations.

Eye color cannot be accurately predicted, despite the presence of certain patterns. The amount of pigment the organ of vision always inherits individually. There are cases when a child is born with a disorder of pigment production: albinism or heterochromia. There is no need to be afraid of these features, since they do not affect visual acuity.

If parents want to find out what color of the iris their baby inherited, they will have to wait at least six months. During this time, eye color changes more than once until melanin is completely produced.

Useful video about eye color

Eye color changes in many children, parents wonder when this happens in children and what it depends on. After all, most babies are born with indigo eyes.

Subsequently, bright blue eyes will change their color to one that will remain with the person for the rest of his life, changing only from the emotions or light experienced.

Features of vision in children

The structure of the visual organs in children has the same structure as in adults. The only difference is visual acuity, the final formation of which occurs by 12 months. Month old baby can only distinguish bright light by turning its head towards its source.

A one-month-old baby is unable to focus his gaze on one object, and the pupil reacts only to a source of bright light. In the first and second months of life, the ability to focus on one point is formed, and by six months the child can clearly identify figures.

By the first year, the visual organs work only at 50% of their total potential visual function like an adult. The color has not been determined at this stage. The exception is children who have genetically determined Brown eyes.

All babies have dark blue, smoky eyes from birth. This phenomenon occurs due to the extremely low concentration of melanin in the body - the pigment substance that gives color to the eyes and hair.

The absence of pigment is due to the fact that its formation does not occur immediately, but appears only after accumulation. A change in color can only occur in the direction of darkening, and depends on genetic predisposition.

Why can the color of the iris change?

The color of the iris in babies can change, and this depends on the emotional mood. When crying, the eyes may turn green, when the child feels hungry, the iris darkens, calm state it stays blue.

Does eye color change in newborns?

In some fairly rare cases, a newborn baby's eye color will be brown and will remain that way. Eyes that are blue at birth will change color over the course of several years until they are fully formed. This usually takes three years.

Sometimes the color formation process can last up to 4 years. In some cases, the shell may change its color more than once. The reason lies in the gradual production of the pigment substance – melanin.

Its concentration changes as the child grows and develops. Changes in eye color, which occur several times during infancy, most often occur in children with blond hair.

You can track the process of changing the eye color of a baby who was born with blue eyes in the interval between 2 and 4 months. If the eyes change to dark, the child will have dark spots on the iris. This is how the process of filling the iris fibers with pigment occurs.

When the final color of the eyes is formed

What a person's eyes will be like is determined by nature. initial stage fetal development, approximately 10 weeks.

The first change in iris color occurs at 6-9 months in newborns, when enough melanin has accumulated.

The iris will never brighten if it was initially filled with melanin. The final formation of the iris occurs at 3, less often at 4 years.

In some extremely rare cases, children have different colored eyes, for example, the left eye may be brown and the right eye blue.

Pathological eye color is called heterochromia, it occurs in 1% of people. If a person is genetically programmed to have brown eyes, the final formation of the color of the iris occurs, in most cases, by 3-5 months.

The special role of melanin in infants

The pigment produced in the body plays important role, protecting the body from exposure to aggressive ultraviolet rays. The concentration of pigment in the human body depends on individual characteristics and genetic predisposition.

Most of the planet's inhabitants have dark eyes. Brown color can have different shades - light brown (tea), brown, dark brown and black.


Blue eyes are a mutation of the HERC2 gene. The blue color is formed due to insufficient concentration of melanin in the body. Light eyes are characteristic of representatives of the peoples of the European part of the continent.

In extremely rare cases, melanin is completely absent in the human body. This phenomenon is called albinism. In albino people, the eye color appears red due to small blood vessels– capillaries.

The amount of melanin depends on heredity. Even if both parents have blue eyes, but in the family of close relatives there are carriers of brown eyes, there is high probability that the child will inherit dark eye color.

Newborns have virtually no melanin, which is why most babies are born with blue eyes. Over time, the body begins to produce a pigment substance, which, accumulating, gives the eyes specific color. The process of pigment production, its quantity and the time required for accumulation in the body are individual for each person.

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What time does the eye color change?

The level of melanin in the blood and heredity are two factors that affect the color of a child’s eyes. There is no connection between blood groups, the state of the body and the presence of diseases.

The influence of heredity can be traced through several generations. The gene for dark eyes always turns out to be much stronger, but this does not mean that if, for example, the father has dark eyes and the mother is blue-eyed, the child will have a dark iris color.


There is a so-called blue-eyed gene, which is carried by people with brown eyes. Mom has blue eyes, dad has brown eyes, but dad had one of his parents. light color eye, he is a carrier of the gene, which means that such a couple will have a blue-eyed child.

At what age can children change eye color?

In small children under 3 years of age who were born with blue eyes and have not yet passed the period of final formation of iris color, the shade may vary depending on emotional state child:

• if a child is hungry, the eyes darken;
• when crying, eyes turn green;
• nothing bothers the baby, he is in good mood– the color of the iris is bright blue.

The shade of the eyes depends on how tightly the fibers of the iris are woven. In people with blue eyes, the fibers of the iris have extremely low density and are filled with a minimal amount of melanin.

Light passing through low frequencies through the back layer of the iris, is absorbed in it, and high-frequency waves of light are reflected from the iris, as a result of these processes the eyes become blue. The lower the fiber density, the brighter the color.

In blue eyes, the iris fibers have increased density. The color of the iris is grayish, with a dark tint. Gray and green eyes are characterized by a dense plexus of iris fibers, which are filled with yellow and brownish pigment.

Pure green eye color is an extremely rare phenomenon, which is mainly found among residents of northern Europe. Brown eyes are obtained due to the presence of dense fiber, which is filled with a large amount of melanin. Light passing through the iris is absorbed, reflecting a brown tint.

Predicting eye color in children

Almost all parents try to guess whose eyes their offspring will inherit, especially if the parents themselves have different eyes:

1. Both mom and dad have dark eyes - the color of the child’s iris is more likely to be brown. The probability of green eyes is 16%, blue eyes are 6%.
2. Mom has green eyes, dad has brown eyes - the child can have brown eyes (50%), green eyes (38%), blue eyes (12%).
3. Father's blue iris + mother's brown eyes - the child can inherit brown eyes (50%) or blue eyes (50%). There is no chance of green eyes.
4. Green eyes + green eyes – the probability of a child having brown eyes is no more than 1%, green eyes (75%), blue eyes (25%).
5. Green eyes + blue eyes – the probability of a child having green eyes is 50%, blue eyes – 50%. There is no chance of inheriting brown eyes.
6. Both parents have blue eyes - the child has a 99% chance of having blue eyes, and a 1% chance of having green eyes. There is no chance of inheriting brown eyes.

This data is generalized. It is not possible to say in advance with one hundred percent certainty what kind of eyes a person will have. Eye color is always influenced by the genotype of immediate relatives.

Despite the fact that the color of brown eyes is always stronger than the gene for blue eyes, a mother with brown eyes and a father with blue eyes can have a blue-eyed child if the mother’s immediate family had blue eyes.

Genes can be passed on through several generations.

Or maybe it's a hereditary factor? For color human eyes

three genes are responsible, which are transmitted by heredity from parents to child. One of these genes carries information about how tightly the fibers in the iris will be woven together and the amount of melanin in the human body will be produced.


The remaining two types of genes carry information about what color is assigned to the child at the genetic level - whether the eyes will be dark or bright blue, black or tea-colored. It depends on the way the genes of both parents are intertwined. If the father has brown eyes (genotype AA) and the mother has blue eyes (aa), the child's genotype will be Aa.

By interacting with each other, the genes of the parents form 4 genotypes in the child. Each “A” of the father’s genotype is associated with an “a” of the mother’s genotype. The genotype of brown eyes “A” is stronger than the blue-eyed genotype “a”, which means that the child will have brown eyes, since in his genotype “Aa”, “A” of the father is stronger. When the mother with brown eyes has the genotype “Aa”, and the father with blue eyes “aa”, when they interact, they can form 4 types of genotype in the child - “Aa”, “aa”, “Aa”, “aa”. This means that the child can to the same degree

inherit either the “Aa” or “aa” genotype - that is, the probability of getting blue or brown eyes is the same, and is equal to 50%. An important role in the inheritance of eye color is played not only by the genotypes of parents, but also by immediate relatives.

Why does it depend on blood type Rh negative In blood, blue eyes are more common, and people with the first blood group have a dark iris.

This theory is based on the fact that previously only the first blood group existed on earth with Rh positive, which subsequently divided into 4 groups.

Considering the fact that blue eyes arose as a result of a gene mutation, and in ancient times all people had brown irises, a version is being built about brown eyes and the first blood group, but in practice it has not been proven.

The only connection between blood and eye color can be traced if a person has serious illnesses, which can affect the color of the iris, making it darker or leading to discoloration, which occurs, in most cases, in older people. This phenomenon is associated with a gradual decrease in the concentration of melanin and the cessation of its production.

There is a theory of a connection between eye color and nationality. The majority of indigenous people in European countries are blessed with light eyes - blue or gray. Children belonging to the Mongoloid race. They are born mainly with green eyes, with brownish inclusions.

Representatives of the Negroid race always have brown eyes at birth, which is associated with high concentration melanin. Green color iris is very rare, mainly among the indigenous population of Turkey.

There are always exceptions, e.g. Due to gene mutation and mixing of nationalities several generations ago, a representative of the Negroid race may have light eyes.

Beautiful mutation heterochromia in a child

IN in the rarest cases in one eye the iris is filled with dark pigment, in the other it remains blue. This rare pathology is associated with a disruption in the distribution of melanin across both irises.

Heterochromia does not pose a risk to human visual function. The pathology can be congenital or acquired. Congenital heterochromia can be inherited.

Acquired heterochromia occurs due to the development various diseases. Regardless of the causes of the pathology, the child must be regularly shown to an ophthalmologist.

The main causes of heterochromia:

1. The congenital form is caused by weakening sympathetic division cervical nerve. Does not pose a threat to human health.
2. Occurs as a result of the development of Fuchs' disease. May lead to eye diseases.
3. Develops as a result mechanical injuries, tumors, inflammatory processes before our eyes.

The difference in color appears in the iris of one eye, which will be partially brown and blue. This type changes is called sector heterochromia.

Another type of uneven color of the iris is central heterochromia, which is characterized by the presence of several rings around the iris that have a distinctive color from the main one.

The pathology must be corrected, as it can lead to serious illnesses organs of vision, in particular, provoke darkening of the lens, cataracts, and the development of precipitation (white spots).

Heterochromia is a very unusual manifestation of improper filling of the iris with pigment, and always makes a person stand out from the crowd. Only acquired heterochromia can be dangerous to vision, which indicates pathological changes in the human body and the presence of diseases.

If a child was born with different colors eye, the phenomenon is physiological in nature and is caused by a hereditary factor.