An indicator of the health of babies and one of the ways to control how the internal organs of the baby is working is the respiratory rate (NPV). This is a kind of medical indicator, the values of which can be seen by counting the cyclic respiratory movements for a set period of time. This is usually one minute. What is the norm of respiratory rate in children? You can find out the answer from this article.
Counting baby's breaths
Thanks to the method of determining the frequency of respiratory movements, doctors can note the capacity of the chest and abdominal wall of the baby, the type of breathing (chest, abdominal or mixed), as well as depth, rhythm and a possible deviation from the norm.
During each examination, the pediatric doctor must conduct all necessary procedures and measurements. One of them is counting the breaths of a baby in one minute. All this is quite simple to do, and information is of great importance. From these calculations, you can find out what condition the baby's respiratory system is in, how the heart system works.
To calculate the frequency of breathing of her baby, the mother may well independently, without resorting to the help of doctors. Only now it will be much more difficult for her to deal with the information received. The norm of the respiratory rate in children is not at all the same (and this is normal!) As the standards of an adult. Because there is a direct connection with some anatomical features of the structure of the baby’s body.
How does the respiratory system work?
At the first cry of the newborn baby, his first breath arises. Prior to this very important moment in his life, all respiratory organs are inactive. Gradually, they develop, and when the baby is at its first, nine-month stage of intrauterine development, they grow with it. Baby oxygen gets through the placenta from my mother’s blood to her.
There are several parameters for the uniqueness of the baby's airways (nasal passages):
- their short length;
- anatomical narrowness;
- the inner surface is very tender, with a large number of vessels that carry lymph and blood.
Therefore, as soon as at least tiny catarrhal manifestations appear, they are able to develop (as is almost always the case) into swelling of the nasal mucosa, and the lumen of the nasal passages becomes clogged. In a very short period of time, shortness of breath will develop, there will be attacks of respiratory failure (because the kids still do not know how to breathe through the mouth).
Infant lung tissue
The features of lung tissue in babies include the following:
- light in volume small;
- the number of vessels is large;
- lung tissue is still poorly developed.
Parents should pay attention to the slightest change in the breathing of their child and immediately consult a doctor.
We carry out an accurate calculation
To find out what is the norm of respiratory rate in children, you can look at the table in which all the data are indicated. But first, you can calculate the number of respiratory movements at home. This is not at all difficult to do. Mom will not need any special skills. The calculation procedure is as follows:
- take a watch with a second hand, or a regular stopwatch;
- when respiratory movements are measured, the baby should be absolutely calm and be in a position in which he is comfortable. If carapace is very small, then the respiratory rate in children in a dream is measured much more convenient for both them and mothers. Another option is to measure when the baby is maximally distracted from this procedure;
- mother should remember that heart rate and respiratory rate (pulse and respiratory rate) in babies up to one year old are two to three times higher than in adults;
- to conduct a study, the mother must place her hand on the tummy or visually try to determine the frequency of breaths;
- the counting duration is only one minute (the duration is associated with the rhythmic breathing cycle);
- so that the accuracy of the calculations is as large as possible, doctors suggest doing this study three times, and then calculate the average value.
According to this technique, everything can be done very quickly and simply. The main thing is to follow all the recommendations.
How to act?
So, the parents have already remembered that it is necessary to measure the pulse and respiratory rate of the child at each examination. These data are of great importance for the correct assessment of the health status of crumbs. He himself is not yet able to explain what, how and where it hurts. And pathology can sometimes be detected by rhythm disturbance, respiratory rate, which will be its only symptoms.
When the study is conducted, the baby should be in a calm state. It should be excluded its activity: jumping, running, crawling ... Do not conduct such studies when the baby is crying, screaming or nervous. All this can greatly increase performance.
It should be noted that in infants, in newborns , breathing is quite often arrhythmic. This is why breaths must be counted for a full minute. Then there will be the most reliable information. Another important point: at karapuziks pronounced movements of the diaphragm and chest, so there is no need to use any additional devices or touch the baby.
Respiratory rate in babies
The norm of the respiratory rate in children, as well as other physiological processes, are directly dependent on their age. For newborn tiny creatures in the first hours of their life, the normal respiratory rate is approximately 40-60 breaths per minute. In this case, the average frequency is about 4-5 tens per minute. The respiratory rate in a child at 1 year is 3-4 dozens of breaths per minute, from two to three years of age - 20-30 breaths, for a teenager - 18-20. These indicators are considered normal.
It is also considered absolutely normal that the baby breathes with a full diaphragm; quite often, his breathing can be erratic and superficial. By the way, in premature babies, breathing can periodically increase and decrease, after which a pause in breathing of 10-15 seconds is possible.
In children who came to this world on time, such periodic breathing is very rare, but this can be considered a normal indicator.
So, be sure to check the rate of respiration and heart rate in children with every visit to a doctor.
Important information for parents. Doctors consider the pause in the child’s breathing (apnea), which lasts more than 20 seconds, or the pause in breathing, which results in pallor or cyanosis, as a defect.
Table indicators
When can we say that respiratory rate in children - the norm? Table, incorporating this data will help to deal with this issue. It is possible to say that the indicators are normal when they correspond to the following figures.
It is on these data that parents should be guided.
Normal baby breathing
So we got acquainted with information about the frequency of respiration in children. The norm by age is really different. The explanation is very simple: the younger the baby, the less his lung capacity; in order to provide its growing body with the required amount of oxygen, the baby makes more respiratory movements (inhalation and exhalation).
Normal breathing is considered to be one in which the baby is deeply inhaled first. And then he exhales smoothly. To make it clear how well ventilation of the baby’s lungs is, and the respiratory rate in children is measured. The age norm has been calculated for a long time, and these values are considered to be the standard. If the baby's breathing deviates from the norm in the direction of increase, then this indicates the surface of the breath. And this opens up a "green light" for pathogens.