What you should know as first-time parents - sleep and breathe patterns

Sleeping and Breathing Patterns
In the first weeks, infants usually spend most of their time sleeping. This may be even more exaggerated during the first day or two of life in newborns whose mothers received certain types of pain medications or anesthesia during the labor or delivery.

 

Frequently, new parents become concerned about their newborn's breathing pattern, particularly with the increased attention that sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has received in recent years. But rest assured that it's normal for young infants to breathe somewhat irregularly.

 

When an infant is awake, his or her breathing rate may vary widely, sometimes exceeding 60 breaths per minute, particularly when the little one is excited or following a bout of crying. Newborns will also commonly have periods during which they stop breathing for about 5 to 10 seconds and then start up again on their own. This is known as periodic breathing, which is more likely to occur during sleep and is considered very normal. However, if your infant turns blue or stops breathing for longer stretches of time, it's considered an emergency and you should contact your child's doctor immediately or go to the emergency room.

 

Although talking won't come until much later, your newborn will produce a symphony of noises — especially high-pitched squeaks — in addition to the obligatory crying. Sneezing and hiccups also occur very frequently and don't indicate infection, allergies, or digestive problems in newborns.