When we talk about a newborn’s eye color, we are really talking about the appearance of the iris . The iris is a  muscular ring around the pupil that  control how much light enters the eye. The pupil will always be black except in flash photos  and the sclera should pretty much be white  although jaundice may turn it yellow and inflammation may make it red or pink.

Newborn’s eye color at birth

The color of the iris depends on a protein known as melanin. Specialized cells in the body known as melanocytes secrete melanin where it’s needed including the iris. At birth, a newborn’s eye color will be gray or blue as a result of melanocytes responding to light , as the baby has been in the dark the whole time.

Newborn’s eye color changes over time

Overtime the color of a baby’s eye will depend on the amount of melanin being secreted by the melanocytes.

• your baby’s eye will be blue if the melanocytes secrete a little melanin
• eye color will be green or hazel if the melanocytes secrete a bit more melanin
• if the melanocytes secretes a lot of melanin, eye color will be brown. This is the most common eye color. In some cases it may appear very dark.

It may take a year for the melanocytes to finish working so you may not be able to tell the baby’s real eye color before the first birthday.  Changes in eye color slows down after 6 months of life even though there may be plenty of changes  left after this time.

Eye color is a genetic property

• two  blue-eyed parents are most likely to have a blue-eyed baby even though it wont happen all the time
• two brown-eyed parents are more likely to have a baby with brown eyes  even  though it is not guaranteed
• if one grandparent has blue eyes, the chances of having a blue-eyed baby goes up
• if your child has one blue eye and one brown eye, let you doctor know. He may have  rare genetic condition known as Waardenburg syndrome.