Sometimes it happens that the baby begins to breathe not with his nose, as it should, but with his mouth. Vigilant parents immediately begin to look for this reason. When a child begins to breathe through the mouth, what is the reason of this and how to deal with such a situation? Let's try to figure it out.
What you need to know about the breathing of newborn babies
At first glance, the recently appeared peanut is exactly the same as its parents - it breathes the same way, sneezes, sees, coughs ... But a good specialist will explain that the baby’s body is very different from the adult: he has his own diseases, and they differ from those in adults; there are physiological features. Parents should know such features, because the nuances of caring for the baby depend on them.
One of the most important life-supporting systems in the human body is the respiratory system, through which a constant exchange of gases between the body and the environment is carried out. The continuous supply of oxygen to the blood, as well as the continuous release of carbon dioxide from the blood, is the main function of the respiratory system. Without the mentioned function, the life of any of the living organisms on Earth is completely unthinkable.
Types of baby breathing
So that parents do not worry about the frequency of movement of the oxygen supply system in the baby, they need to be reminded of the types of breathing of their babies. Only three types are counted:
- Breast. In this case, quite active work of the upper lung. In infants, not very good ventilation of the lower section can be observed.
- Abdominal. This type of movement is clearly indicated by the movements of the diaphragm and the abdominal wall. If for a long time there will be just such breathing, there is a possibility of diseases of the upper parts of the lungs.
- Mixed. The most optimal type. In this case, both the tummy (diaphragm) and the chest of the baby will rise in a certain rhythm.
How do newborns breathe?
It must be said right away that the breathing of recently born babies is very light, one might say superficial. Sometimes mother does not even immediately understand whether her child is breathing. This is especially difficult to do when the baby is sleeping. And yet, shallow breathing can be called the norm for newborns.
How do newborn babies breathe in the first few weeks? This happens more unevenly, and the rhythm of breathing changes all the time. Any external stimulus or some kind of activity can influence this rhythm. But after only a couple of months, the baby’s breathing will become more stable and even.
In a newborn, breathing is more frequent than in adults. The average frequency of a sigh in a dream among peanuts during the first year of life is approximately 35-40 per minute. And during wakefulness, this figure rises. This is also absolutely normal.
Newborns have rather narrow nasal passages. During this period, only one speck will be enough for the baby to begin to sneeze. Here parents should not overdo it with care. If the baby has no other signs of a cold, except for the sometimes occurring sneezing, then in most cases everything is fine with him.
Able or not?
To understand when a child begins to breathe through the mouth, one must know that babies have some peculiarity: they are not able to breathe through the mouth. This should be given increased attention. And all because in the first weeks (sometimes it lasts the first months) of the baby, he simply did not learn yet to inhale air through his mouth. Consequently, with any nasal congestion - whether due to a cold, or due to the accumulation of mucus - a real problem arises.
In order not to cause shortness of breath, parents need to carefully monitor the hygiene of their nosy beetle. Important: such a small nose is cleaned exclusively with a cotton flagellum, and not with cotton buds.
Little baby's breath
We have already found out at what age the child begins to breathe through his mouth. Young parents should be alarmed by the fact when their very small child begins to breathe in this way. Some pediatricians are sure that breathing through the mouth is completely normal for the baby, because his nasal passages are not yet fully formed and very thin. It can be difficult to breathe through the nose for the baby, so he uses his mouth.
Even when the child begins to breathe through the mouth? If his nose is blocked. To eliminate the situation, you need to drip the necessary medications into the nose and very carefully clean it from foreign bodies. More about this in more detail below.
When does the child begin to breathe through the mouth under other circumstances? This happens if the baby sleeps without its pillow and his head is thrown back a little. So the baby gets oxygen much easier. This situation can be corrected if a tiny pillow is placed under the baby’s head - the child will receive oxygen, but will not breathe through his mouth.
Another situation is when the baby just sleeps with his mouth open, but breathes with his nose, as usual. Before taking any measures, parents should just make sure that the baby breathes through the mouth. Just listen to how the baby breathes.
What should parents do if their child breathes through their mouths?
When a newborn baby begins to breathe through his mouth, and even a little bit older, his sleep may be disturbed. Parents first need to check if the child has a runny nose. If suddenly there is a nasal congestion of a small nose, it is necessary to rinse it and drip it with vasoconstrictive drops. The blame may be dry air in the apartment. Because of it, natural mucus dries up in the baby’s nose, making breathing more difficult.
Getting rid of this problem can be the usual neat cleaning of a small nose with oil and cotton turunds. In the future, it is necessary to ventilate the room more often, and even better - purchase a humidifier.
If the mother did not find the symptoms described, but the baby can’t breathe with her nose anyway, it’s better to go to the ENT doctor, because there is a chance that the baby began to get inflamed adenoids.
Another situation should attract the attention of parents - if the snot in a baby without temperature. First, clean the nose with wicks with soda solution (dissolve one teaspoon of soda in a glass of water), and then you can drip 1-2 drops of breast milk, because it contains all the protective substances that a person develops throughout his life. If the mother does not have milk, it is permissible to instill a couple of drops of heated vegetable oil.
Most often, a runny nose is a manifestation of a viral disease. The squirrel contains substances that neutralize viruses. It is important for parents to prevent mucus (squirrel) from drying out. This will help cool clean air and plenty of fluid consumed inside. After all, if the mucus dries, the baby will breathe in the mouth, which will cause the mucus to dry in the lungs, and the bronchi will become clogged. And this is a direct path to the development of pneumonia (inflammation) in them. The baby can be moistened with nasal drops by drops, which will make the mucus more fluid.
We clean, but very carefully
To understand how a newborn baby breathes, one must remember that in a recently born baby, the nasal passages are anatomically very narrow. Therefore, when mom begins to conduct a toilet, then she needs to free these moves from crusts. Do this procedure regularly and with extreme caution - with a cotton flagellum, and not with cotton buds (this was already mentioned just above). This is because the mucous membrane of such small children is very tender, vulnerable, and it is supplied with blood more abundantly than in adults. Therefore, its damage can be fraught with bleeding and the onset of the development of the inflammatory process.
If a runny nose has already begun, the nasal cavity must be cleaned of mucus using a pear (let the air out of it, introduce the little one into the nose and wait until the pear walls straighten) or a special device. If there is a need, and the doctor has prescribed, it is permissible to use vasoconstrictor drops in the nose, which will save the baby from severe swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa and ensure the normal flow of air into his respiratory tract.
By the way, a good measure for the prevention of various viral diseases of the respiratory tract of a baby is to lubricate his nose with ointments that fight viruses - “Grippferon”, “Viferon”. Thanks to them, a protective film forms on the nasal mucosa, which provides another barrier of protection along the paths that viruses try to penetrate.
How to carry out preventive measures?
In order for the breathing of the newborn in a dream, and even after awakening, to be normal, simple rules should be followed. So parental responsibilities are as follows:
- cleanliness must be maintained in the children's room, which is achieved by regularly conducting wet cleaning and airing the rooms (even if the weather is frosty). By the way, the heat is kept in the room if the parents open the window or balcony for about five minutes. But if the window is open for about an hour, then the air will become much colder;
- air should be humidified using a special home humidifier. If it is not, it is permissible to hang wet laundry on the battery, for example, put an aquarium in the room or put more plants, not forgetting to irrigate the leaves with water;
- temperature conditions should be adjusted. The temperature in the room should not be higher than 22 degrees, and the optimum is considered to be from 19 to 20 degrees.