What causes unstable breathing in newborn babies?

The moment of birth is the first lesson that newborns face, which is to accept the outside environment. The baby's initial growth stage is in the womb. After suddenly going outside, the body will inevitably feel uncomfortable. Because the child's cardiopulmonary function has not yet developed well, the chest is prone to bacterial infection, or there will be symptoms of shortness of breath when panting. Parents will find that the newborn baby's breathing is unstable. What is the reason?

From birth, the first lesson a newborn baby faces is breathing. Because when the baby is in the fetal stage, although the chest has breathing movements (preparing for breathing after birth), this "breathing" is weak and ineffective, and there is no real breathing, otherwise the baby will inhale amniotic fluid.

Newborn baby's first breath

As a newborn baby passes through the birth canal, during the delivery process, its body temperature is affected by the external temperature, and the oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acidity (PH value) in the blood change accordingly. These stimulate the respiratory center, and naturally the newborn takes its first breath. Obviously, a natural birth by the mother allows the baby to pass through the birth canal, which is very beneficial for the newborn's first breath.

From nothing to the beginning, the first breath of a newborn is different from normal breathing in the future, and the breath is particularly deep.

Because the respiratory center is immature and the muscles between the ribs of newborns are weak, breathing mainly relies on the up and down movement of the diaphragm, which is abdominal breathing. From infancy to adulthood, chest breathing is used.

In order to allow the newborn baby to breathe freely, when handling the umbilical cord, do not use a bandage or gauze to tie the navel, and do not tie or fix the newborn baby's abdomen. This is not conducive to the baby's smooth breathing or lung expansion. When handling the umbilical cord, you can use a small rubber band or umbilical cord clamp to fix the umbilical cord, and then cover it with gauze to make abdominal breathing convenient and smooth for the newborn baby.

You should know:

A newborn baby's breathing is shallow and his breathing rate varies. During the first two weeks after birth, the baby's breathing is relatively fast, about 40 times per minute. If it is more than 60 times per minute, it is abnormal and you should ask a doctor to check it in time.

Beware of apnea:

During sleep, the newborn baby's breathing depth and rhythm are particularly irregular, and there may even be respiratory arrest (for a few seconds). The heart rate will slow down, but the breathing will speed up again and the heart rate will return to normal. Although these are normal phenomena, if the baby's breathing stops for a longer period of time, more than ten or twenty seconds, it is often a sign of illness:

For example, in neonatal pulmonary embolism, there will be prolonged apnea.

If a newborn baby has experienced asphyxia during birth, he or she may also experience respiratory arrest during the recovery process after rescue.

Premature babies are born without fully developed lungs, so they breathe faster than full-term babies (but not more than 60 times per minute) and are particularly prone to sleep apnea (this is why premature babies are placed in incubators or intensive care units after birth).

The unstable breathing of a newborn baby is called respiratory apnea. Generally speaking, it is understandable for a child to encounter such a situation. Worried parents can count the child's breathing rate. About 40 times per minute is normal. If the child cries, is restless, and spit up during rapid breathing, it can be judged as a respiratory disease.