For every mother, there is nothing more important than the health of her own child. Especially disturbing are the first months of life, when the baby can not say that it hurts. Therefore, many young mothers pay attention to every detail, for example, listen to how the baby breathes, or count the pulse in the child. The heart rate in children, of course, differs from this indicator for an adult, so there is no need to sound the alarm only if it is somewhat more frequent.
Each age is characterized by its own normal heart rate. The larger the child becomes, the lower his heart rate. This is due to an increase in blood volume in the body. What is the normal heart rate in children? For a baby who has just been born, the normal number of strokes is in the range from 140 to 160. For a one-year-old baby, this figure will already decrease significantly and will be from 120 to 125 strokes.
In the next year of life, i.e. from a year to two, the child’s pulse is the norm if he is in the range from 110 to 115 beats. At the age of two to three years, the optimal number of beats per minute is from 105 to 110. When the baby is three years old, but still not seven years old, the normal heart rate is from 90 to 100 beats. At the age of eight to twelve years, the pulse in a child is the norm if its rate is from 75 to 80. After twelve years, a teenager's
normal heartbeat should be the same as in an adult - from 70 to 75 beats per minute.
Pulse counting in children is the same as in adults. It is necessary to find the most palpable vein so that the blows can be clearly felt. As a rule, just putting your hand on it is enough to calculate their number.
But if in doubt, it is better to arm yourself with a stethoscope so that the calculation is accurate, for Mom’s peace.
When the place to listen to the beats is selected, you need to take a normal watch and, after measuring a minute, start counting. When time runs out, counting must be stopped. The figure on which it was finished will be the number of beats per minute.
If the child’s pulse is normal, then it will lie in the corresponding age range described above. If it is different from normal, do not immediately sound the alarm, because this indicator can be affected by excitement, sleep, fear, tearful state and much more, so you need to try to measure it again when the child is completely calm in order to get a reliable result.
Of course, if the child’s pulse is normal, there should be no anxiety. If his indicator is lower or higher, you need to inform the pediatrician about it, and not take independent actions to change its value. Various factors can affect your heart rate, which are not visible to lay people. There are also acceptable values of the deviation of the heartbeat from the norm, associated with the growth, weight, activity of the baby. Do not think that mom understands her baby better than anyone. In most cases, this is just what is desired, not real. Also, mom, due to anxiety and excitement, may simply not notice the moments obvious to the doctor. If there are doubts about the health of the child, you should always contact a specialist immediately, and not ring up friends and self-medicate.