If you watch a baby sleep, you will likely notice a lot of rhythm changes during the night. The idea that babies sleep peacefully through the night is a myth that needs to be debunked. «My baby breathes heavily when sleeping«, express many mothers in the consultation with the pediatrician. It is normal?
The sleep pattern of children is a mystery for many parents and that is why fears and despair appear. It is common to hear that during the night babies shake or hold their breath, they can even produce certain particular sounds. Reviewing the baby's sleep it is possible to know some issues.
Labored breathing in the baby
How many nights have we woken up only to see that the baby is breathing calmly. Sudden death is a ghost for many parents who control the state of the baby sleep. The concern also appears when children have a runny nose, a cold or are going through a flu-like state. Then their breathing is affected, they may hold their breath or not breathe well. As with the integral development of the baby, breathing and sleep also have their own process of maturity.
Newborn babies can breathe heavily for the first few hours of life. It is called transient tachypnea and it is a very fast or labored expiration during the first hours of life. The condition lasts about 24 hours and everything indicates that the picture regularizes hours later without leaving sequels. On the other hand, newborns breathe exclusively through their noses, but in some cases they can breathe in another way, so it is necessary to consult with the pediatrician.
If the baby breathes through the nose and with the mouth closed without snoring, you are doing it correctly. When breathing is nasal, the lips are closed and the tongue is positioned forward and towards the top of the mouth, touching the palate. So we can say that a baby breathe correctly.
What if my baby breathes hard when sleeping?
Irregular breathing in a baby is normal and this is because their respiratory system is not yet mature enough. You can notice that the baby breathes hard when sleeping or that, on the contrary, his breathing is very slow. This is normal because breathing can vary due to the immaturity of the system itself. This can continue until they are six months old since their palate is still soft and therefore they only breathe through their nose. From that age, his respiratory system matures and that is why he will also begin to breathe through his mouth.
Newborns can have labored breathing of up to 40/50 breaths per minute during the day and 20 at night. Or have pauses in your breathing for 5 to 10 seconds. What is not normal is for a baby to stop breathing for more than 10 seconds. In that case, make the corresponding pediatric consultation.
If you notice that your baby breathes with his mouth open and snores, it is also a reason for consultation as it may be a physiological problem. In this case, the tongue could be lower and towards the back of the mouth. This could cause a backflow of air into the lungs, which could end up affecting the child's growth in later years.
Respiratory diseases
When a baby is going through a respiratory disease such as bronchiolitis, bronchospasm or laryngitis, it is possible to notice changes in their breathing. It is common for the baby to breathe fast when he sleeps due to the mucus he has. The appearance of seal cough, a symptom that anticipates problems in the throat and upper or lower respiratory tract, is also common.
If you notice any irregularity or something that catches your attention, do not hesitate to go to the medical guard since it is important to detect it in time so that the baby's oxygenation level does not drop.