It is a close-up world for a newborn. Babies are born extremely nearsighted and can see things clearly only when they're about 8-12 inches away which is all the more reason for infants to focus on the faces of their mothers as their mothers hold them close. The newborn might not at least initially look directly into the mother's eyes however. Because the visual processing abilities of newborns are very immature infants tend to focus first on the curves and contrasts of eyebrows hairlines and moving mouths.