Four Curious Facts About Babies’ Breathing – Parenthood

One of the most common concerns for parents who have a newborn baby is the way they breathe. In fact, it is quite common for parents, upon seeing the movement of the baby’s chest, to think that he is restless or that something is not working properly with his lungs.

However, there are some features that distinguish the respiratory system of newborns. He is still very small and his respiratory system is still immature until he is 2 months old.

Taking this into account, and so that you know everything about the subject and can therefore spot a real problem of a normal condition at that age, do not miss this article on curious facts about baby’s breathing in the continuation of This article.

Curious facts about baby’s breathing

Babies breathe an average of 40 to 60 times per minute. This will directly affect the movement of his chest. The latter has little fatty tissue and the accelerated movement of her breathing is much easier to see.

So that you can get an idea: a newborn baby takes an average of 60 breaths per minute, an adult reaches about 20 breaths. But that is not all.

The breathing of babies is also characterized by the change of rhythm, it is irregular, nasal and they can even snore, sigh and make peculiar noises.

For all these reasons, you should pay attention to the following signals:

1.Baby’s breathing is irregular

Newborns breathe with a rhythmic dynamic that is not stable. They can breathe in air in a deep and accelerated manner and, within a few minutes, take a slow, short breath.

Since newborn babies cry often, this will affect their breathing. It quickly returns to a slow pace when they stop crying.

It is important to note that premature babies are the most prone to irregular breathing, due to the immaturity of their lungs.

2. Babies breathe only through the nose

Another curious fact about babies’ breathing is that they only breathe in through the nose. This is because of a still soft palate which is very close to the epiglottis and which does not yet allow the passage of oxygen through the mouth. This phenomenon lasts until the age of about 6 months.

3. Snoring

Another common phenomenon related to babies’ breathing is their frequent snoring. On this subject, we must specify that the main culprits are the nasal secretions so frequent in babies, whether because of the frequent crying or colds to which they are exposed.

Yes, special attention should be paid to snoring. If the child does not have a cold or has not caught a cold, but snores a lot, you need to consult a pediatrician. It could be sleep apnea.

To identify if a child has this ailment, you need to examine whether he sweats a lot when he sleeps at night. If you observe that he is uncomfortable or takes strange postures to sleep. If he holds his breath for several seconds.

Remember that your baby’s life may be in danger if he holds his breath for more than 20 seconds. This can cause sudden infant death syndrome, which is the death of the child when they stop breathing. This usually happens when he sleeps on his stomach at night.

4. Periodic or cyclic breathing

Although this may seem normal, pauses in the breathing of newborns are common. As we explained to you before, if the break lasts longer than 20 seconds, your child may be at risk.

However, during the first month of life, babies breathe between 5 and 10 times per second and automatically resume a respiratory cycle without affecting their cardiovascular system.

Warning signs

Finally, we want you to know what are the signals that are not part of a normal situation when it comes to a baby’s breathing:

• If you see that the pace is very fast and exceeds 60 breaths per minute.
• In the event that he is breathing with great difficulty and you observe that his chest and sides are sagging too much.
• If their face, mouth, tongue, or any of their extremities turn blue.

As a last resort, if it’s within your abilities, it’s a good idea to learn a little more about first aid and  cardiopulmonary resuscitation . In case your baby stops breathing for more than 30 seconds and you feel that he is not responding to your requests, this will be a good tool to get you out of an emergency situation.