# Newborn with rapid breathing



## Lana23

Hello everybody :]
I hope u don't mind me posting here.

My baby girl is breathing too fast.
Especially when she sleeps.She does it VERY often.I don't know if she's alright or not.
She is 13 days old today.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance

P.S: i did take her to the er the day before yesterday.They told me there is nothing in the lungs and the air flows smoothly.


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## cileag

If you're really concerned, you should feel free to call your pediatrician--they should have an after-hours nurse line or MD on call, but just an FYI a newborn's normal respiratory rate is 40-60 breaths a minutes, which is pretty darn fast compared to our 12-20 a minute.

Hope you babe is breathing easy!


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## katelove

When you say "too fast" how fast do you mean exactly? A normal respiratory rate for a baby of your LOs age is 40-60 breaths/minute. It could go higher than that briefly if she was crying or squirming around.

Are you able to take her to a paed and have it investigated?


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## sky_and_lavender

Before my midwife left after our baby was born, she warned us that NB breathing patterns can be irregular (I think for a few weeks at least), sometimes extra fast and with occasional pauses, and not to worry too much as long as the baby didn't seem distressed. And, others have noted that the regular breathing rate for a newborn is pretty fast.

Still, don't be shy about calling your health care provider. It's part of his or her job to be there for your questions and concerns!

Congratulations on your new baby!


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## misstorri

New babies are kind of scary. I hope your ped can reassure you.


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## noobmom

I remember thinking the same thing about DD. She's a little over a month old now and I haven't noticed the fast breathing recently.


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## yentroc

You have to count breaths for a full minute to see if you're at the 40-60 breaths b/c newborns breathe so irregularly.


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## Heidi74

I would definitely time her breathing at different times (time for a full minute) and if it is higher than 60, contact your ped about it just to make sure.

When my first DS was a newborn, he was breathing at between 65 and 90 breaths per minute (!) and when we took him to our pediatrician, we were immediately admitted to the hospital. They monitored him for two days, and did all kinds of tests, one of which showed that he had slightly stiff lungs and a reduced lung capacity. The strange thing was that they were not able to figure out why, but he was happy and healthy and getting enough oxygen, so we were released the next day and he was monitored on an outpatient basis for the next 18 months. Every time we came in with him (weekly at first, then monthly and then every three months), his lung capacity had improved, and at about 10 months old, he was breathing completely normally. We've been told to be a bit alert to indications of asthma as he gets older, but nothing showed up on their allergy screens.

I hope this does not worry you, but I did want you to know that if a newborn is breathing very fast (and remember, my little guy sometimes breathed 90 breaths a minute...and 75 while sleeping, so it was very fast), it is something to take seriously. Probably it is absolutely nothing to worry about, but you should have a ped check it out anyway.

How fast is your baby breathing?

One thing you should know is that they were most concerned about his breathing while he was asleep, and for a long time they asked us to count his breaths several times a night while sleeping.


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## PlayaMama

this is really important!!!

one of the major signs of congenital heart defects is rapid breathing that is not related to the lungs.

please please please take her to your ped or back to the er and have them check out her heart.

my friend's baby had rapid breathing and was told multiple times that everything was okay and it wasn't. she has a photo montage showing her and her son's journey.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p...d&skin_id=1901


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## Heidi74

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PlayaMama* 
this is really important!!!

one of the major signs of congenital heart defects is rapid breathing that is not related to the lungs.

please please please take her to your ped or back to the er and have them check out her heart.


This was what they were most worried about when my son was a newborn too.

Everyone (parents, friends, even our health visitor) was telling us it was nothing to worry about since he seemed absolutely fine otherwise, but the hospital took it very seriously.

OP - know that a lot of things can cause rapid breathing, and just because she is breathing fast doesn't mean anything is necessarily wrong. It just means that you should take it seriously and have it checked out, just to make sure. I have been where you are right now, and I don't even want to begin to describe what it was like when my little baby was admitted. I have never been so afraid in my life. But he turned out just fine...he outgrew it, whatever it was. Today, he is a highly energetic 2 1/2 year old who is breathing just fine.

Let us know how it goes.


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