A newborn breathes frequently - how a baby should breathe in his sleep

Features of the infant respiratory system

A recently born baby is still adapting to life in the outside world. His body doesn't yet work as well as an adult's. The respiratory system is also imperfect and has its own characteristics. On the one hand, this imperfection adjusts the gas exchange process to the needs of such a baby. On the other hand, it is also a prerequisite for the occurrence of problems that are not typical for older people.

Features of the baby's respiratory system are:

1. Accelerated blood flow in the upper respiratory tract.
2. Anatomically narrow nasal passage (first months of life).
3. Anatomically narrow trachea and bronchi.
4. Short and wide Eustachian tube.
5. There are no paranasal sinuses.
6. Underdeveloped lungs.

The consequence of these features is difficulty breathing during illnesses and inflammations.

Interesting. Children under about 3 years of age are more likely to develop otitis media than older ones. This is due to the infantile structure of the eustachian tube. But at this age, sinusitis and sinusitis do not exist, since there are no sinuses in which bacterial infection occurs.

Parents are often interested in why their child eats without stopping for a breath of air. This is because until about 9 months old, babies can swallow and breathe at the same time. At the same time, they breathe only through their nose.

Baby with a bottle

Breathing type

All people are born with abdominal breathing. This is when the stomach actively moves when inhaling. This way the baby will breathe until about a year old.

Since the age of two, my breathing has been mixed. Then it divides: in boys it remains mixed or returns to the abdominal one. Girls have predominantly chest breathing.

Pace

It happens that a newborn has rapid breathing, and then a pause that lasts up to 10 minutes. Then the normal measured pace stabilizes. This is absolutely normal, there is no reason for parental concern here. This phenomenon even has a special name - periodic breathing.

Also, the rhythm can be disturbed by a runny nose, which, due to physiology, happens often in young children. Then it alternates with sneezing. This reflex action is aimed at clearing the nasal passages.

Frequency

There is no need to compare the breathing of an adult and a child. A newborn breathes quickly, even compared to younger schoolchildren:

• During periods of quiet wakefulness, the norm is 40-60 breaths per minute;
• In an excited state – more than 60 breaths/minute;
• During sleep, the frequency decreases to 30-40 breaths.

Toddler during sleep

This is due to underdevelopment of the lungs. They are not yet operating at full capacity. At the same time, the child’s need for oxygen is high, since his metabolism is very fast. It turns out that in order to fill the need for air, the baby can only breathe more often. For comparison, a teenager or adult inhales approximately 16-20 times per minute.

Respiratory organs of a newborn

These organs are usually considered to be among the most important ones that ensure the vital activity of the human, in our case, the child’s body. His work is divided into two stages:

• In the first, oxygen is carried from the upper respiratory tract to the lungs. This ensures the supply of oxygen from the air to the blood;
• At the second stage, tissues are saturated with arterial blood, which is already enriched with fresh oxygen. Moving back into the blood, it turns into venous, it is saturated with carbon dioxide. And when exhaled, it is released into the atmosphere.

Although the respiratory organs of a child have a similar structure to similar organs in adults, they also have some features that disappear in adulthood. These differences, on the one hand, are very important, since they provide the necessary mode of operation of the child’s respiratory system, and on the other hand, they are also the cause of minor complications characteristic of infancy.

The underdevelopment of the infant's respiratory system is the reason that his breathing itself is jerky, with a frequently changing pace. Usually this looks like short breaths followed by one deep breath of long duration. This baby breathing has its own name - “Cheyne-Stokes breathing” and is absolutely normal for a newborn, especially if he was born prematurely. The leveling off of such breathing usually occurs by the end of the first month of life, and by the age of one, the breathing rate becomes similar to the rate of an adult.

If the infant’s breathing rate differs from that described above, then this is a reason to consult a doctor.

The difference between the respiratory systems of an adult and a child is that the latter’s nose and nasopharynx are much shorter and narrower. This makes it almost impossible for the little person to take a full, deep breath.

How to determine your breathing rate

Obstruction of the lacrimal duct in newborns - symptoms of blockage

Moms need to know how to correctly count their baby's breathing rate. Usually this knowledge is not useful. But it’s better to remember and not take advantage of it than not to know what to do at a crucial moment. To measure, you need a stopwatch or timer. They work like this:

1. The child is calmed down, occupied with something, and placed on his back. It is important that the mother sees his chest and stomach. It is better if they are without clothes. If the measurement is carried out on a baby, then they try to lull him to sleep before doing so.
2. The adult carefully monitors the movements of the abdominal wall and chest. If this is difficult to do, you can place your hand on the desired area and count the breathing movements not visually, but by touch.
3. The timer starts for a minute. Or it is marked on the stopwatch. During this period, all the child’s breaths are counted. After the time has elapsed, the result is recorded.

A special monitor will help you measure the number of breaths during sleep. The sensor is attached to the baby’s clothing, monitors the frequency of breathing movements, and records them. In case of apnea (breathing stops for more than 10 seconds), the device will give a signal and wake up the baby.

Breathing monitor

Types of breathing in a child

During the first months of life, a baby is characterized by so-called abdominal breathing. Of course, over time he will master the chest, and then learn to combine these two types. By the way, doctors all over the world agree on one thing - combined breathing is the most useful and productive for humans.

1. During abdominal breathing, the diaphragm and the peritoneal wall mainly move. The advantage is that it is natural for the child; no force is required to stretch the ribs. The disadvantage is that the volume of air inhaled is much lower, which causes rapid breathing in infants. The tops of the lungs are poorly ventilated, which can lead to stagnation of the contents in them with the further development of respiratory diseases;
2. Chest breathing - the chest moves. Advantages of increasing the volume of inhaled air, disadvantage is that the lower part of the lungs is poorly ventilated;
3. Mixed type - here both the diaphragm and the chest work simultaneously. As already mentioned, it is recognized as the most optimal way of breathing, since the entire surface of the lungs is ventilated.

Causes of increased breathing in newborns

Redness, inflammation of the foreskin in a child under one year old

Children's breathing is already frequent. It can speed up even more if there are reasons for it. They can be like this:

• Difficulty breathing due to swelling, inflammation, spasms, infections. Pediatrician Komarovsky believes that this is one of the signs of pneumonia, for example. This can also happen due to partial blockage of the respiratory canal by foreign objects.

Important! If the newborn is breathing heavily, whistling or wheezing, is weak and sleepy, cannot make sounds, and the skin around the mouth turns blue, you should immediately call emergency help. This condition threatens the life of a small person.

• Runny nose, cold. Due to the structure of the respiratory tract, they swell faster than in adults. In addition, the matter is complicated by snot, which flows down the back wall of the trachea directly into the lungs, causing the development of bronchitis and coughing.
• False croup. This is swelling of the larynx, similar to what happens with diphtheria (which is called true croup). In addition to increased frequency of breaths, symptoms include a barking cough.
• Feverish conditions. Since children cool down through breathing faster than adults, this is a normal phenomenon at high temperatures. An older baby will breathe through his mouth like a dog.
• Excited state. This is especially obvious if the child has been “over-the-top.” Also, tachypnea (increased frequency of breaths) occurs when the baby is just calming down after a nervous shock or hysteria. At the same time, he sighs quickly, intermittently.
• Deviations in the development of internal systems, for example, the heart. The baby exhibits shortness of breath (not to be confused with shortness of breath - rest).
• Transient tachypnea. Amniotic fluid remains in the lungs, causing respiratory failure soon after birth.

Peculiarities of infant breathing

In the first days, the newborn’s body adapts to new living conditions, incl. to independent breathing. The baby’s entire body is still imperfect; it is far from physiological and anatomical maturity. Features of the respiratory system of a newborn are:

• very short nasal passages and nasopharynx compared to adults;
• narrow air passages;
• undeveloped weak respiratory muscles;
• insufficient chest volume.

To provide the body with a sufficient amount of oxygen, adults take rarer and deeper breaths, but a baby, due to an insufficiently developed respiratory system, cannot inhale deeply, so a newborn child breathes often to inhale the amount of oxygen necessary for normal life.

If an adult makes a maximum of 20 breathing movements per minute, then a baby up to one month of age should make up to 60 such movements during the same time to ensure good ventilation of the lungs.

In addition to frequency, the breathing of a newborn is characterized by:

• curtness;
• shortness of breath;
• irregularity;
• superficiality;
• tension.

A newborn may experience difficulty breathing through the nose with the slightest cold: the body instantly turns on a defense mechanism, and the nasal mucosa swells. Due to hyperemia, the already narrow lumen of the nasal passages narrows even more. These changes can make breastfeeding difficult because the baby must release the breast to breathe through the mouth.

Increased secretion of nasal mucus can also be caused by ordinary dust particles, pollen and other small foreign particles inhaled with air. In this case, the protective reaction is sneezing. To prevent your baby from experiencing difficulties, you need to regularly clean his nose with a cotton swab or other gentle methods.

Pace

In the first days of life, a newborn breathes very unevenly; he takes one deep (relatively) breath for every two or three frequent ones. This pace will last the baby up to 3-4 months. As they grow, the pace will gradually even out, and by the age of one year the baby is already breathing smoothly, rhythmically, evenly and without interruption. The development of rhythmic breathing may be slightly delayed in children born prematurely or with low birth weight.

Newborns may hold their breath while sleeping. This condition should be distinguished from apnea syndrome (temporary stoppage of breathing). The delay can last up to 10 seconds, after which everything is restored. If there are no breathing movements for more than 10 seconds and the chest remains in a sunken state, the newborn should be awakened and raised, then placed on its side and turned over every hour.

If this condition occurs frequently, you should consult a doctor. Apnea most often occurs in premature and weak infants.

The organs involved in the respiratory process are fully formed in children by the age of 6-7 years.

Frequency

The frequency is calculated by the number of respiratory movements (inhalation and exhalation) produced by the newborn at rest. The easiest way to count inhalations and exhalations is by the movement of your chest and tummy. During the waking period, the baby breathes more often: it is noted that the newborn often breathes like a dog in those moments when he experiences positive emotions (play, affection, new impressions, sensations, etc.).

Respiratory frequency (RR) is the value necessary to determine the type, depth and rhythm. By calculating this value, the pediatrician can analyze the functioning of the respiratory organs, chest and abdominal wall, as well as the cardiovascular system. For parents, the data given in the table (this is the norm for the corresponding ages) must be compared with their own calculations: deviations from the indicated values ​​may indicate the development of diseases or pathological processes.

Breathing increases significantly in cases where the newborn is very hot (heated room, wrapped up too warmly) or the room where he sleeps is poorly ventilated. When overheated, the baby may breathe frequently like a dog, with his mouth open, which may also indicate that the air in the room is dry.

Breathing type

There are three types of breathing:

• chest;
• abdominal;
• mixed.

In the chest type, air enters the lungs due to the expansion of the chest, while in the abdominal type, its volume increases due to the movement of the diaphragm. In both cases, there is a risk of developing congestion in the upper (abdominal type) or lower (thoracic) parts of the lungs due to insufficient pulmonary ventilation.

Mixed breathing is optimal for a child, when both the abdominal wall and the chest participate in the respiratory movements. At the same time, all lobes of the lung are evenly filled and well ventilated.

Norm

Rapid breathing in newborns is called tachypnea. Smooth and clean breathing is considered normal. Cleanliness means the absence of:

• wheezing;
• hissing;
• strained whistling sounds when breathing through the nose.

Normally, a newborn breathes through his nose, while his mouth is closed, although in the very first days nasal breathing may alternate with mouth breathing. If later the child begins to breathe through the mouth, this means that the nasal passages are blocked either due to a narrowing of the lumen due to swelling of the mucous membrane, or due to a foreign body entering the nose.

Warning signs include moaning, flaring of the nose, changes in complexion, and heavy and loud breathing. But the sounds that periodically accompany a child’s sleep (gurgling, snoring, grunting, etc.) should not frighten parents: this is a normal phenomenon caused by the still imperfect structure of the respiratory tract. By the age of one and a half years, children usually outgrow this. If, after one and a half years, the child continues to make sounds at night, this is a sign of abnormalities or diseases of the respiratory or cardiovascular system.

Causes of rapid breathing

Tachypnea in babies can occur both during wakefulness and during sleep for the reasons described above. It is when a child falls asleep that he can breathe more often due to:

• An unpleasant dream that makes the baby worry;
• Adenoids. In this case, it is difficult for the child to breathe through the nose when lying down. He breathes through his mouth (if age allows). So the blood is less saturated with oxygen, so the number of breaths increases.

If breathing becomes more frequent due to a runny nose or swelling of the mucous membrane, the baby will soon begin to grunt in his sleep. When he wakes up, he will probably twitch and cry, scared.

Rapid shallow breathing

Diphtheria

Allergy

Cold

Stroke

15824 November 23

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Rapid breathing: causes of occurrence, what diseases it occurs with, diagnosis and treatment methods.

Definition

Rapid, shallow breathing (tachypnea) occurs when a person takes more breaths than normal in one minute. Normally, in one minute, an adult at rest takes from 14 to 20 inhalations and exhalations, and a child – up to 40. In some cases, associated with the characteristics of the external environment or pathologies of the body, breathing may become more frequent to maintain the required concentration of oxygen in the blood.

Tachypnea develops as a result of a violation of gas exchange with the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood and a decrease in oxygen content.

If the lack of oxygen is caused by diseases of the heart, lungs or other organs, they speak of pathological tachypnea, requiring medical attention. Reflex tachypnea develops during a person’s stay in an area with low oxygen levels, does not require taking specific measures and disappears after returning to their usual habitat.

Types of rapid breathing

The development of pathological tachypnea may be a symptom of the following diseases and conditions:

1. lung diseases (pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pleurisy, pneumothorax), as well as pathologies that impair bronchial patency (tumors, foreign body);
2. heart diseases (heart attack, heart rhythm disturbances, cardiomyopathy, heart defects);
3. vascular diseases - thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery and its branches;
4. fever, acute viral infections (ARVI, influenza), croup (true and false);
5. panic attack;
6. disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system;
7. allergic reactions accompanied by shock and/or swelling of the respiratory tract (Quincke's edema, anaphylaxis);
8. anemia.

When inflammation occurs in the lung tissue, the affected part of the lung ceases to properly participate in gas exchange, which leads to a decrease in oxygen concentration.
Many pulmonary pathologies are characterized by a cough (dry or with sputum), increased body temperature, and weakness. During an attack of bronchial asthma, in addition to rapid breathing, panic occurs, the lips, nasolabial triangle and fingertips turn blue (a sign of acute lack of oxygen), and wheezing appears.

If the whistling suddenly stops and shortness of breath increases, despite all measures taken, you should immediately seek medical help.

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, which is a serous membrane that covers the lungs and consists of two layers - parietal or parietal. Between the layers of the pleura there is a narrow space filled with a small amount of fluid, which facilitates the sliding of the pleural leaves during breathing. With pleurisy, there may be excessive accumulation of pleural fluid, which is associated with its insufficient absorption or excess production. As a result, compression of the lung tissue is observed, which, in turn, leads to rapid breathing. A similar mechanism of increased breathing is observed when air enters the sealed pleural cavity as a result of injury or lung disease - this condition is called pneumothorax.

With chronic heart diseases leading to the development of heart failure, there is a feeling of lack of air, accompanied by an increase in breathing rate. Tachypnea intensifies with physical activity (even when walking) and in a lying position, which forces patients to sleep with the head of the head elevated.

In acute myocardial infarction, the patient experiences severe pain in the left half of the chest, radiating to the lower jaw or left shoulder blade, increasing lack of air, weakness, and possible loss of consciousness. In some cases (for example, in patients with diabetes), a heart attack occurs without pain - then rapid breathing becomes the main symptom.

Thromboembolism (blockage) of the branches of the pulmonary artery is a life-threatening condition in which rapid breathing occurs acutely and increases rapidly, loss of consciousness is possible, and blood appears during coughing. The source of blood clots in this pathology is most often the veins of the legs. After breaking off from the wall of a blood vessel, the thrombus reaches the lungs, where it disrupts the blood flow.

Acute respiratory viral infections that occur with swelling of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity and pharynx are accompanied by increased breathing due to a decrease in the diameter of the respiratory tract. Croup is a group of diseases associated with narrowing of the larynx due to its swelling as a result of inflammation. More often diagnosed in children.

Croup that occurs with diphtheria is considered true, while false croup develops with other infectious diseases of the ENT organs.

In addition to increased breathing during croup, hoarseness of voice and a dry and painful barking cough are observed.

With fever (increased body temperature with chills), frequent breathing may also appear, which is compensatory and helps lower the temperature (moisture evaporates not only from the surface of the skin, but also through the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract).

Hysteria, panic attack with other manifestations is accompanied by shallow rapid breathing. This type of disorder is characterized by a failure in the regulation of the breathing rhythm associated with being in a stressful environment or a psychologically uncomfortable environment. For example, breathing becomes faster in people with claustrophobia when they are in a confined space and feel afraid.

The respiratory center is located in the medulla oblongata. With the development of brain tumors of various locations, strokes, hemorrhages as a result of traumatic brain injuries or rupture of an aneurysm due to compartment syndrome, rapid breathing is possible.

Any disturbance in the functioning of the nervous system requires specialized assistance and examination in a short time.

Rapid breathing during an allergic reaction is explained by swelling of the bronchi and throat and narrowing of the airways. This is a dangerous condition that requires immediate hospitalization.

With anemia, the number of red blood cells or the hemoglobin they contain decreases, not only breathing, but also the heart rate increases, since the body needs to quickly saturate and “drive” blood through the vessels.
Which doctors should you contact if you have increased breathing?
First of all, you need to contact, who, after carefully collecting an anamnesis, will conduct the necessary examination and prescribe consultations with specialized specialists: a pulmonologist, a neurologist, a psychotherapist, an allergist, etc.

Diagnosis and examinations for rapid breathing

To diagnose pneumonia, bronchitis, tuberculosis, neoplasms in the lungs and bronchi, as well as pleurisy and pneumothorax, X-ray or CT of the chest organs, a general blood test, culture and microscopy of sputum (including for Mycobacterium tuberculosis) are prescribed.

How to help a sleeping person breathe normally

A newborn baby sometimes breathes rapidly in his sleep. It is not a symptom of a problem if it occurs rarely. In order for everything to remain this way, it is important to prevent the development of pathology. For this:

1. Strengthens children's immunity. The less often infants get sick, the less their respiratory system is affected.
2. Do gymnastics with the child. It will help develop the lungs faster and avoid congestion in them.

Infant gymnastics with mom

1. Watch the baby's nose. He cannot blow his nose himself, so his mother supervises the cleaning of the nasal passages. If necessary, mucus is removed with a cotton swab or aspirator.
2. Organize sleeping on the back, in the optimal position for the newborn to rest. If a baby falls asleep on his stomach, it is dangerous - breathing problems or SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) may develop.
3. Remove soft toys, heavy blankets, and anything that might block the baby’s nose from the crib. It is advisable to remove the sides, no matter how safe they may seem.
4. Keep the baby away from cigarette smoke and wipe off the dust in a timely manner. These two elements can cause asthma (of which tachypnea is a symptom).
5. Children are not allowed to move into their own room until they are one year old. It is better if he is constantly with his parents, even in his own crib. If the little one suddenly gets sick, mom and dad will have time to react in time.
6. Don’t forget to open the windows at night and moderately humidify the air in the room. Clean and fresh air is necessary for healthy child development.

How to teach a child to breathe correctly - methods

You can teach a child to breathe correctly only when he grows up a little and will not unconsciously imitate, but meaningfully repeat someone else’s actions. With a newborn baby, you can do strengthening gymnastics, which promotes the development of the muscular system and stimulates lung ventilation.

Mom can do this exercise to improve breathing on her own, or maybe with someone’s help. The newborn should be placed on his back, his arms should be spread to the sides, then brought to the chest. Alternate these movements with bending and straightening your legs, pressing your knees to your stomach. This exercise is more effective if done with four hands: the arms are spread apart, at this time the knees are brought to the stomach, after which the legs are lowered, and the arms are brought to the chest at this time.

When your child gets a little older, you can practice breathing yoga with him. Even one-year-old babies can lie on their tummy, resting on their bent arms, at the command of an adult, rise on their elbows, inhale deeply, and then exhale sharply when mom or dad counts to three. An exercise that stimulates lung ventilation: invite the child to imagine that he is smelling a flower, and after a deep breath, exhale strongly.

To make the exercises more interesting, you can cut out butterflies from colored paper, place them on the table and let the child blow so that the butterfly flies as far as possible.

When to see a doctor

In a newborn, rapid breathing may be normal or a reason to visit a doctor. Mom should be wary if:

• Tachypnea occurs too often due to unknown circumstances. It is considered the number of respiratory movements at rest over 80 times per minute.
• Whistling, grunting sounds appear, quite loud and constant. May be a symptom of congenital anomalies.
• Cyanosis begins. This is a blue discoloration of the fingertips, cheeks, and lips. A serious sign - it may indicate a lack of oxygen, which is detrimental to the brain, or heart failure.

An example of cyanosis in a newborn on the fingers

Respiratory rate in children

The respiratory rate (RR) in children also differs from that in adults. It directly depends on the age of the child: the younger he is, the more frequently he breathes. This is due to the small volume of the lungs. In addition, in children, shallow breathing predominates over deep breathing. NPV is calculated while the child is sleeping, and normally its indicators should look like this:

The figures given are approximate - a slight deviation from them is within the normal range. However, a serious difference is a cause for concern for parents and a reason to take the child to the doctor.

Problems in premature babies

Babies born prematurely also breathe quickly. At the same time, it is more superficial, since their lungs are still completely immature. The frequency of inhalations is higher - from 40 to 90 times per minute. The pace is uneven, apnea occurs more often.

With emotional and physical stress (for example, sucking or crying), breathing accelerates, but then freezes, until an attack of asphyxia. These babies do not have a cough reflex, which causes liquid to enter the respiratory canals during feeding.

The lung tissue is not yet formed as it should, therefore there are prerequisites for the occurrence of emphysema. During it, the alveoli become pathologically enlarged, as a result of which the gas exchange process is disrupted.

Premature babies who weighed no more than 1.5 kg at birth (they are considered very premature) only normalize the respiratory cycle by the turn of three months. Children who have managed to gain the required weight cope with this problem earlier - already by the 3rd week of life. In any case, a baby born prematurely will have a vulnerable respiratory system for a long time.

The breathing of a newborn is an important sign that parents should not ignore. It is necessary to periodically measure its frequency and record the data obtained. If something makes mom and dad worry, it’s better to visit a doctor without delay for a consultation.

What you need to know about breathing?

This process is so natural for an adult that he doesn’t even think about how he does it. Only when he gets sick. But for a little person who has just been born, the way he breathes is of no small importance. After all, first of all, it will depend on how often he will suffer from respiratory diseases.

Children's doctors also claim that the development of his speech will depend on how correctly he inhales and exhales. Therefore, parents should not ignore everything related to baby’s breathing if they want their baby to grow up healthy.