Was your baby born with blue or gray eyes? Will they keep that color as they grow? Do your friends tell you that if you have light eyes and your partner does too, your baby will also have them? Eye color is quite a mystery and sparks all kinds of theories. This topic often draws a lot of attention from parents because, over time—often a few months after birth—not all children keep the eye color they were born with. Curious, right? In the following article, we explain everything you need to know about your baby's eye color. Let's go!

What colors can eyes be?

Surely during pregnancy, you've thought at some point about what your baby will be like, who they will resemble, and whether they will be born with hair… It's likely you've also wondered about your baby's eye color. Brown, blue, green, honey, or hazel are the most common eye colors, with brown being the most predominant worldwide , followed by blue and green. Different colors can also be combined: an iris may contain more than one shade, or one eye may be a different color from the other. The range of eye color combinations is fascinating! Gray, reddish, and even violet eyes can also occur. This happens when melanin levels are very low, as in albinism. Lastly, black eyes can also be found, but this is very rare, as it is caused by a condition called aniridia, which is the absence of part or all of the iris due to a genetic defect or an accident.

What determines eye color?

As you know, the iris—the circle inside which the pupil is located—determines the color of the eye. The function of the iris is to regulate the entry of light into the retina (located at the back of the eye) by increasing or decreasing the size of the pupil. What does the color of the iris depend on? On the amount and distribution of a pigment called melanin , which is located in one of the front layers of the iris, the stroma—which is the thickest part of the cornea. In summary, we could say that the darker the eye, the more melanin the iris contains.

There are many myths surrounding eye color. For example, it is often said that babies have blue eyes until they stop breastfeeding. That's not true! As we have explained, your baby's eye color depends on the amount of melanin in the iris, and breast milk has nothing to do with it. What happens is that since weaning usually occurs around one or two years of age (although it can happen earlier or later), and it is around that time that eye color becomes more clearly defined, this idea has become ingrained in the collective imagination.

Can you predict your baby's eye color?

The topic of eye color is more complex than it may seem. It is a matter of genetics, melanin, and also chance . Although genetics can be complicated, the following predictions can be made based on the parents' eye color:

• You and your partner have brown eyes: In 75% of cases, your baby will have brown eyes. Their eyes can also turn green and, in rare cases, remain blue. Responsible? Genetics inherited from grandparents with blue eyes.

• One of you has green eyes, the other has brown ones: In this case, it is more difficult to predict the baby's eye color. Although brown has a clear advantage, anything is possible.

• One of you has blue eyes, the other has brown eyes: It's very evenly matched! In this case, your little adventurer has a 50% chance of having blue or brown eyes.

• You and your partner have green eyes: In the vast majority of cases, your little one will inherit your green eyes. However, it is also possible that they will be blue or, more rarely, brown.

• One of you has blue eyes, the other has green ones: In this case, it's also a 50/50 situation. The baby is just as likely to have blue eyes as green.

• You and your partner have blue eyes: You can be quite sure that your baby will also have blue eyes.

Regarding probability, what does that mean? Discover our summary table:

When is your baby's eye color determined?

Even during pregnancy, around week 16, iris pigmentation begins. This process does not end with birth; it continues for months afterward because the cells that produce melanin are still immature at birth and keep producing pigment for an average of six months to a year. That is why your baby may be born with gray or blue eyes but have them turn brown by the age of one year.

Okay, imagine your little adventurer has blue eyes at one year old. Will your baby's eye color stay the same? You'll have to wait at least until 18 months to know , since the effects of pigmentation can take much longer to become visible. And in adults, eye color can also change: diseases and medications can affect the tone of the iris. Additionally, eye color, like skin or hair color, depends on melanin. If your body produces less melanin, this can influence the shade of your eyes.

If you have any questions about your little explorer's eye color, or any aspect of their eye health, we recommend asking your pediatrician . They are the professional best equipped to guide you in caring for your son or daughter.