Normal heart rate and breathing in newborns

Newborns are what parents worry about the most, especially their health. If it is a normal newborn, there will be no abnormalities in the body, and the body temperature will be normal right after birth. The weights are all ideal numbers, indicating that the newborns do not have any medical problems. In very good health. What parents must want to know is what the normal heart rate and breathing of a newborn are, because this is the only way to determine whether the newborn is healthy and does not have any other hidden diseases. So what is the normal heart rate and breathing of a newborn?

The heart rate of a newborn is very fast, about 140 beats per minute, fluctuating between 120 and 160 beats per minute. Due to the slow peripheral blood flow and high hemoglobin, cyanosis around the mouth and cool extremities may occur when crying or being exposed to cold. As the baby grows older, peripheral blood circulation will improve.

The newborn's breathing is shallow and rapid, about 40 times per minute, sometimes with irregular rhythm, and mainly abdominal breathing. If you don't look closely, you can't see the breasts rising, you can only see the belly rising and falling. Because the respiratory center is not fully developed in the first few days, breathing is sometimes irregular and even apnea may occur, especially in premature infants. Generally, it will gradually become regular after 2 to 3 days, but the breathing rhythm will speed up the heart rate when crying or feeding.

The breathing of full-term newborns is shallow and rapid, with a respiratory rate of 60 to 80 times per minute within one hour after birth, which can drop to 40 times per minute after one hour, and to 20 to 40 times per minute after two days. Newborns breathe abdominally, and there are obvious respiratory movements in the abdomen. Therefore, it is not advisable to bandage the abdomen too tightly to avoid affecting breathing.

Due to individual differences, many similar questions are controversial. There are still many versions of textbooks, and the values cannot be unified internationally. Some medical textbooks say that gynecological breathing is 30-40 times and pediatric breathing is 40-45 times. Such controversial questions are not usually included in medical or nursing exams.

When observing the baby's breathing, the mother should also pay attention to whether the baby's breathing rhythm is regular, whether the breathing depth is consistent, whether the breathing activity on both sides of the chest is symmetrical, whether there is any abnormal odor when breathing, whether the baby is restless, has flaring nostrils, or has blue lips, etc.

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