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Newborn rapid breathing. How a child breathes in the womb: features of placental respiration. The role of the umbilical cord in the process of cellular respiration. Respiratory rate in children

The first cry of a newborn, his first breath. Tears of joy and happiness on the face of the newly-made mom. It's fine! But how did he live and develop, what did he eat, and most importantly, does the child breathe in the womb before birth?

In one breath

Throughout the entire period of pregnancy, the child continuously receives oxygen, only this happens in a way that is not usual for us.

From the first days of conception, a fertilized egg is fed with a substance that looks like an egg without a shell. it yolk sac, which in the first weeks of pregnancy reliably protects and supplies the fetus with all necessary components for development.

But its reserves are limited, and gradually the outer shell of the fruit becomes covered with small villi. They are embedded in the walls of the uterus, and every day there are more and more of them. By about the 14th week of pregnancy, a new organ is formed in the bosom of the pregnant woman, which is responsible for the further life support of the baby - the placenta. It is thanks to the placenta that the child receives and nutrients and oxygen.

It happens like this: blood enriched with oxygen enters from the small villi of the placenta into circulatory system babies on the umbilical artery. It saturates every cell with nutrients. On the way back, flowing out, the blood frees the fetus from unnecessary toxins and carbon dioxide.

Placental breathing stops after the baby is born. But even after the baby is born, the umbilical arteries continue to pulsate, insuring and supporting him until the placenta is rejected from the mother's body. After that new person begins to breathe on its own.

For myself and for that guy


The placenta is an amazing organ. Even if there is a shortage of certain substances and oxygen in the mother's body, she is able to compensate for this deficiency at the expense of her reserves.

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How does a baby breathe in the womb? In fact, pregnant women breathe for two, for themselves and for the baby. It is during this period that women react so sharply to the lack of fresh air, and stuffy rooms become torture for them. But even in such conditions, when the mother is ready to faint from lack of oxygen, the baby, thanks to the placenta, may not experience any discomfort.

But it would be wrong to say that in the womb, the baby is not preparing to breathe through the lungs. Despite the fact that the baby's mouth gap is tightly closed, starting from the second trimester, he performs something similar to breathing movements. And towards the end of pregnancy, the mother thinks that the child often hiccups. In fact, this is not hiccups, but a kind of breathing training.

The baby's lungs are finally formed by 34 weeks of gestation. It is at this point that the respiratory organs are synthesized essential component- a surfactant responsible for the full expansion of the lungs after birth.

Breathe deeply


It is extremely important for the expectant mother to remember that the placenta, although it protects the baby from harmful effects environment, but its reserves are being depleted. For example, placental insufficiency or premature aging placenta - consequences wrong image mother's life. Smoking, alcohol, wrong reception drugs - this all affects the state of the placenta, respectively, on the condition of the child.

One of the actions carried out during the examination by a pediatrician is the counting of respiratory movements. This seemingly simple indicator carries important information about the state of health in general and about the functioning of the respiratory system and of cardio-vascular system in particular.

How to correctly calculate the respiratory rate (RR) per minute? This is not particularly difficult. But with the interpretation of the data, certain difficulties arise. This is more true for young parents, because, having received a result from a child several times higher than their own, they panic. Therefore, in this article, we still propose to figure out what is the rate of NPV in children. The table will help us with this.

Features of the child's respiratory system

The first thing that waits for so long future mom- the first cry of the baby. It is with this sound that his first breath occurs. By the time of birth, the organs that provide the child's breathing are not yet fully developed, and only with the growth of the organism itself does their maturation occur (both in functional and morphological terms).

The nasal passages (which are the upper airways) in newborns have their own characteristics:
... They are quite narrow.
... Relatively short.
... Their inner surface is delicate, with a huge number of vessels (blood vessels, lymphatics).

Therefore, even with insignificant mucous membranes in the child's nose quickly swells, and so small the lumen decreases, as a result, breathing becomes difficult, shortness of breath develops: small children still cannot breathe through their mouths. How younger child, the more dangerous the consequences can be, and the faster it is necessary to eliminate the pathological condition.

Lung tissue in young children also has its own characteristics. They, unlike adults, have poorly developed lung tissue, and the lungs themselves have a small volume when huge amount blood vessels.

Respiratory rate counting rules

Respiratory rate measurement does not require any special skill or equipment. All you need is a stopwatch (or a watch with a second hand) and simple rules to follow.

The person must be in calm state and in comfortable posture... When it comes to children, especially early age, then the counting of respiratory movements is best done in a dream. If this is not possible, the subject should be distracted from the manipulation as much as possible. To do this, it is enough to grasp the wrist (where the pulse is usually determined) and in the meantime count the breathing rate. It should be noted that the pulse in children under a year(about 130-125 beats per minute) should not cause concern - this is the norm.

In infants, it is strongly recommended to count the respiration rate during sleep, as crying can to a large extent influence the result and give deliberately false numbers. Putting your hand on the anterior abdominal wall (or just visually), you can easily conduct this study.

Considering that breathing has its own rhythmic cycle, it is necessary to observe the duration of its counting. Be sure to measure the NPV for a whole minute, and not multiply the result obtained in just 15 seconds by four. It is recommended to do three counts and calculate the average.

NPV rate in children

The table shows the norms for the frequency of respiratory movements. Data are presented for children of different age groups.

As you can see from the table, the younger the child, the higher the respiratory rate per minute. Gradually, as they grow older, their number decreases, and by puberty when a child turns 14-15 years old, the respiratory rate becomes equal to this indicator in an adult healthy person... There are no gender differences.

Breathing types

There are three main types of breathing in both an adult and a child: chest, abdominal, and mixed.

The pectoral type is more typical for the female. With it, inhalation / exhalation is provided to a greater extent due to the movements of the chest. The disadvantage of this type of respiratory movement is poor ventilation of the lower parts of the lung tissue. Whereas in the abdominal type, when the diaphragm is more involved (and visually moves during breathing, the anterior abdominal wall), the upper parts of the lungs experience a lack of ventilation. This type of respiratory movement is more typical for men.

But with mixed type breathing, there is a uniform (equal) expansion of the chest with an increase in the volume of its cavity in all four directions (upper-lower, lateral). It is the most correct one that ensures optimal ventilation of the entire lung tissue.

Normally, the respiratory rate in a healthy adult is 16-21 per minute, in newborns - up to 60 per minute. Above, the NPV rate in children is given in more detail (table with age norms).

Rapid breathing

The first sign of damage to the respiratory system, especially with infectious diseases, is In this case, there will certainly be other signs colds(cough, runny nose, wheezing, etc.). Quite often, with an increase in body temperature, the respiratory rate increases and the pulse rate in children increases.

Holding your breath while sleeping

Quite often, in young children (especially infants), short-term respiratory arrest is noted in a dream. it physiological feature... But if you notice that such episodes become more frequent, their duration becomes longer or other symptoms such as blue lips or loss of consciousness occur, you must immediately call Ambulance"to prevent irreversible consequences.

Conclusion

The respiratory organs have a number of features that contribute to their frequent damage and rapid decompensation of the state. This is primarily due to their immaturity by the time of birth, certain anatomical and physiological features, incomplete differentiation of the structures of the central nervous system and their direct effect on the respiratory center and respiratory organs.
The younger the child, the less lung volume he has, the more, therefore, he will need to make more respiratory movements (inhalation / exhalation) in order to provide the body with the required volume of oxygen.

Summing up

It should be remembered that respiratory arrhythmia is quite common in children during the first months of life. More often than not, this is not pathological condition, but only indicates age characteristics.

So, now you also know what is the rate of NPV in children. The table of average indicators should be taken into account, but one should not panic with small deviations. And be sure to check with your doctor before jumping to conclusions!

Realizes how a child breathes in the womb. Some expectant mothers are very interested in this question, and sometimes alarming, therefore it is better to understand in advance the peculiarities of gas exchange of the fetus and the role of the placenta and umbilical cord in this process.

Fetal respiration process

Breathing is a process of gas exchange in a living organism, in which carbon dioxide is removed from the cells and oxygen is supplied, which is necessary for the full functioning of all body systems.

Therefore, the notion that a child does not breathe and a pregnant woman breathes for two is wrong. Since the process of breathing does not imply mechanical inhalation and exhalation, but gas exchange in the cells of the body. The fetus begins to breathe while still in the womb, but this process has distinctive features from our habitual breathing.

It is quite simple to understand how a child breathes in the womb. This process takes place through the placenta, which not only allows breathing, but is also a conduit nutrients from mother to fetus and a means of removing waste products and metabolic processes from the fetus.

In addition to these functions, the placenta also serves as a separator, preventing the mixing of maternal blood and lymph with the biological fluids of the fetus.

How does a baby breathe in the womb

Oxygen is transferred from the mother's body through the umbilical cord to the placenta. In the opposite direction from the placenta, metabolic products and carbon dioxide, which is a product cellular respiration fetus.

Waste gas with blood enters the pulmonary arteries mother and is excreted through the respiratory system, and gas exchange occurs in the alveoli of the lungs. This process occurs endlessly, allowing the mother and fetus to saturate with the oxygen necessary for life.

Knowing how a baby breathes in the womb, one can easily conclude that pregnancy is a heavy burden on female body as it literally works for two, providing developing baby with all the necessary microelements and vitamins and oxygen necessary for life.

The role of the umbilical cord in breathing

The body of the mother and the child is connected not only by the placenta, but also by the umbilical cord, which is a dense tourniquet consisting of two arteries and one vein. As the baby grows, the umbilical cord grows in size, and after birth it is the same length as the baby.

Through the umbilical cord, metabolic products are removed from the fetus's body, from a vein in the umbilical cord they enter the mother's bloodstream and are excreted from her body. From the mother through the umbilical cord, nutrients and oxygen are supplied to the placenta. How a child breathes in the womb can only be understood by understanding the very root of this issue and understanding the features of the breathing processes.

The value of fresh air during breathing

To provide for her body and the body of the baby, a pregnant woman needs to spend a lot of time on fresh air, since a lack of oxygen can cause not only dizziness and loss of consciousness in the mother, but also hypoxia in the fetus, which negatively affects its development.

Therefore, to understand the importance of fresh air, you need to know how a baby breathes in the womb. A photo of the fetus in the womb makes this process more visual and understandable.

Since the child's lung tissue matures only at the 34th week, after exposure to a special substance - a surfactant. If the baby is born prematurely, it is connected to the device artificial ventilation until the lung tissue matures in the baby's body. Modern medicine learned to synthesize a surfactant, allowing for the maturation of the lungs and giving the child the opportunity to breathe on their own.

The way a baby breathes in the womb is significantly different from the process. spontaneous breathing, which requires the opening of the alveoli of the lungs. Therefore, a pregnant woman needs to walk enough in the fresh air and try to stay in stuffy rooms as little time as possible in order to avoid the development of oxygen starvation and premature birth.

It only takes a few seconds for a newborn to "emerge" from aquatic environment, rebuild and start breathing air. A short cry - the baby took in air in the chest - and now he is already breathing on his own, switched to pulmonary breathing. But it may take another couple of weeks until the baby fully adapts to the new conditions. During this period, he has some disturbing symptoms for inexperienced parents, such as sudden respiratory pauses, blue lips, rapid pulse, some strange heart sounds. As a rule, this is not a cause for serious concern: the frightening phenomena are explained by the fact that the baby's blood circulation must adapt to completely different conditions of "extrauterine" life.
V first weeks of life newborn fully occupied with adapting to new conditions of life. He has not yet figured out how day is different from night. Of the 24 hours that make up a day, he can sleep for a total of 18 to 20 hours. Sleep is a means of "self-defense" for a baby. In order not to overload from numerous environmental factors, his system is simply turned off.

When the baby is looking for the nipple of the mother's breast, as soon as you touch his cheek or touch his lips with his finger, he begins to suck. These are manifestations of an innate reflex. Grasp reflex fades out after three or four months. Other reflexes remain for life: blinking, breathing, swallowing, coughing, sneezing.

On its own, the baby cannot yet change its position. Only lying on his stomach, he tries to overcome the powerful force gravity: at least for a couple of seconds, but raise your head.

A newborn can see, hear, feel, smell, although his senses work differently from that of an adult. A baby can see very clearly by about six months. At this age, it is best for him to examine objects from a distance of twenty-five centimeters. But now the child is able to distinguish the voices of people and distinguish them from other sources of noise. When a baby hears a familiar voice of a mother or father, he begins to show increased attention, other acoustic noises do not interest him.

  • Feeding on demand is the most appropriate during this period. The baby wakes up every two to three hours, and sometimes even more often.
  • In the early weeks, try to be more restrained with a dummy. This will benefit breastfeeding. Help the child, bring the handle to his mouth, let him suck on his fist better - this is a great way to comfort him.
  • You don't have to tiptoe all the time. This is unusual for you and your baby to fall asleep and sleep more difficult.
  • Baby baths are great for the baby at first. Be careful! Better to bathe in a round basin. To prevent the baby from slipping, place a soft towel on the bottom.

The heart of a newborn beats quickly, making 110-150 beats per minute (in adults, 70-80 beats are considered the norm). It beats at such a speed, because it is small and, accordingly, the volume of blood pumped by it in the body is still small. Since the heart beats quickly, the baby breathes faster.

In the first weeks of life, the baby can take up to 50 breaths per minute, moreover, irregular and noisy. Some also sigh heavily, snore, and sniff loudly. And only in the phase of deep sleep do they breathe silently, which, again, is very alarming for parents. Adapting to a new environment is hard work for an infant, so short pauses in the breathing process are normal. Sometimes a whole second passes - an eternity! - while the baby takes the next breath.

It is necessary to sound the alarm if the child sharply turns pale or turns blue during this respiratory pause - then urgent medical intervention is necessary.

When a baby cries loudly, he, too, may turn blue, since when crying, the rhythm of breathing becomes disordered, not sufficiently enriched with oxygen, the waste blood returns to the circulatory system. As soon as the child is lifted, picked up and calmed, the skin returns to its normal pink color.

Yellowing of the skin in a newborn is also associated with the restructuring of the body. Since the baby is already breathing on its own, now he needs fewer red blood cells than during his stay in mother's womb... Their excess is processed in the liver, while bilirubin is formed, which stains the skin in yellow... Three quarters of newborns have "jaundice", but after a few days there is no trace of it.

There is another important problem - heat conservation: the child must constantly maintain a slightly elevated temperature in his body - from 37 to 37.5? C. Hypothermia is dangerous for him, because in this case the body needs more oxygen to retain heat. In this situation, it is useful to put on a hat for the newborn, it protects him well, because the heat mainly goes "through the head". Cold hands or feet are not yet an indicator that the baby is overcooled. Clothes for newborns should not be too warm or irritating. In the early days, it will be enough to swaddle the baby and do not immediately dress him in rompers and overalls. Better to touch the skin on the back and tummy, it should be pleasantly warm, but not sweaty - this symptom shows that the baby is doing well.

For unstable blood circulation, a cold bed is also a great load. Cold means additional work for the heart - he needs to make more efforts to replenish the missing warmth. Therefore, before you put your baby in the crib, be sure to warm up the bed, for example, by placing a heating pad or a bottle with hot water(the bottle should then be removed or placed so that the baby cannot accidentally touch it).

The neonatal period is a particularly difficult time for a child. This is the period of adaptation to environmental conditions - existence outside the womb. The functions of all organs and systems are being rebuilt: respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, excretory, immune, etc. Many problems and many questions may arise in this difficult period at mom and dad. Therefore, the baby should be under the constant supervision of a doctor - starting with the maternity hospital, and then in the clinic at the place of residence. The child undergoes the first examination immediately after birth. Didn't have time to be born, the first marks are already being put. Doctors assess the health of an infant by testing it on the Apgar scale. Controlled heartbeat, breathing, color skin, muscle tension, are checked congenital reflexes... Most toddlers receive seven to eight points for this. A closer look at the results of this "exam" is observed when a certain delay in the development of the child appears.

The doctor listens to his heart, lungs, feels the head, tummy, limbs; checks sucking, grasping, plantar and other important, characteristic of a newborn. In the maternity hospital, the child will receive the first vaccinations: during the day, the first vaccination of hepatitis B is carried out; on the third - seventh day of life healthy newborn get vaccinated against tuberculosis (BCG).

After that, on the first or second day, a doctor from a children's clinic comes to the house. He gets to know his mother, the living conditions of the family, finds out the peculiarities of the course of pregnancy and childbirth. After a detailed survey and a thorough examination of the child, the doctor should tell the mother about the peculiarities of the adaptation period: explain why the baby loses weight in the first days, what is a sexual crisis in girls and boys (swelling mammary glands, bloody issues in girls and swelling of the scrotum in boys). The doctor and the district nurse teach the mother to treat the umbilical wound with brilliant green or a solution of potassium permanganate until complete healing... This is important because umbilical wound can be open door for infection. It also provides advice on feeding, bathing and caring for a newborn.

During the first month of life, the doctor visits the child three times. When the baby is one month old, the mother and child are invited to the children's clinic for an appointment. Weighing is carried out, height and circumference of the chest and head are measured. The doctor checks whether the child is developing correctly, gives recommendations on nutrition, explains the benefits of breastfeeding. Often, children are prescribed vitamin D to prevent rickets. At the age of one month, the child is given the second vaccination against hepatitis B. In addition, the mother and the baby should get an appointment with specialists: a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, an orthopedist.

Early diagnosis of abnormalities in the child's health helps timely and successful treatment.

Respiratory organs, carrying out a constant exchange of gases between the body and environment, are one of the most important life-support systems in human body... Continuous supply of oxygen to the blood, as well as persistent allocation from blood carbon dioxide gas, - the main function respiratory system, without which the life of any living organism on Earth is inconceivable ...

The work of the respiratory system can be divided into two main stages.

The first is the conduction of air through the upper respiratory tract (nose, nasopharynx, larynx, trachea and bronchi) to the lungs, where gas exchange between air and blood takes place in the alveoli: oxygen enters the blood from the air, and carbon dioxide from the blood into the air.

The second is the actual gas exchange: in the blood vessels that bring blood to the lungs, venous blood circulates, poor in oxygen, but saturated with carbon dioxide, and blood enriched with oxygen and freed from carbon dioxide rushes from the lungs to the tissues and organs.

The respiratory system of newborns, like other organs and systems, has whole line age characteristics. These features, on the one hand, provide the necessary mode of operation of the respiratory system for a newborn, and on the other hand, they cause a predisposition to complications characteristic only of this age.

Features of the respiratory system of a newborn

Mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract a newborn is much more abundantly supplied with blood than at an older age, which creates the preconditions for the development of edema. In this regard, in newborns and children in the first months of life, difficulty in nasal breathing is very often noted. This is facilitated by the fact that in children of the first months of life, the nasal passages are anatomically narrow. Therefore, in infants, with the development of a viral or bacterial rhinitis, a pronounced swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa first of all develops, followed by an abundant outflow of mucus. These symptoms, characteristic of rhinitis at any age, are most pronounced in newborns and children in the first months of life, which is aggravated by the fact that babies at this age still cannot breathe through their mouths. Therefore, when inflammatory process in the nasopharynx of a newborn child, sleep and the feeding process are sharply disturbed, because in order to ensure an adequate supply of air to the lungs with a cold, the child must scream.

  • It is necessary to especially dwell on the age characteristics of the larynx. overweight, prone to allergic reactions, the mucous membrane of the larynx is even more prone to edema. Therefore, "plump" babies who are artificially fed (they are often the ones who suffer overweight), a rather serious complication of colds and especially viral diseases often develops - laryngitis with stenosis of the larynx. Due to edema, a significant part of the lumen of the larynx closes, and it is difficult for the baby to breathe. This condition requires urgent medical attention.
  • Anatomically narrow are the trachea and bronchi in newborns. Therefore, when an inflammatory process occurs in this part breathing tube babies can develop fairly quickly respiratory distress due to the difficulty of air entering the alveoli of the lungs.
  • Between the throat and inner ear a person has the so-called auditory (Eustachian) tube, the main meaning of which is to maintain a constant pressure in the inner ear. In babies of the first months of life, the Eustachian tube differs in that it has a fairly wide lumen with a relatively short length. This creates the prerequisites for a more rapid spread of the inflammatory process from the naso- and / or oropharynx into the ear cavity. That is why otitis occurs more often in young children, in preschoolers and schoolchildren, the likelihood of their occurrence is already less.
  • Another important and interesting feature the structure of the respiratory organs in infants is that they do not have the paranasal sinuses (they begin to form only by the age of 3), therefore, young children never have either sinusitis or frontal sinusitis.
  • The lungs of a newborn are not well developed. A child is born with lungs, the alveoli of which are almost completely filled amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid). This liquid is sterile and during the first two hours of life it is gradually released from the respiratory tract, due to which the airiness of the lung tissue increases. This is also facilitated by the fact that during the first hours of life, a newborn baby usually cries for a long time, taking deep breaths. But, nevertheless, the development of lung tissue continues throughout the entire period of early childhood.

First breath

The life of a child as an independent organism begins at the moment when he takes his first breath. This happens immediately after birth and the intersection of the umbilical cord that connects it to the mother's body. Before that, throughout the entire period intrauterine development gas exchange between the fetal body and the environment was carried out through the uteroplacental circulation: the fetus received arterial blood enriched with oxygen, and gave his mother his blood, saturated with carbon dioxide. But as soon as this connection is interrupted, a complex mechanism is triggered, aimed at stimulating the respiratory center of the newborn, located in the brain.

Powerful stimulation of the respiratory center is also facilitated by the fact that during last hours delivery, the fetus experiences a moderate oxygen starvation, increasing gradually, as a result of which the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood increases. It is this factor that is one of the most important stimuli that induce a newborn baby to take a deep breath and scream loudly immediately after birth.

Proper care is important!

Breathing in newborns and children of the first months of life is carried out mainly due to the contraction of the diaphragm - the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity, in contrast to adults and older children, in whom the intercostal muscles and muscles also participate in the breathing process abdominal... Therefore, in infants, respiratory function is impaired with problems related to function. digestive tract: with constipation, increased gas production, intestinal colic there is an overflow of the intestine and an increase in its volume, which, in turn, causes a violation of the contractile function of the diaphragm and, accordingly, difficulty in breathing. That is why it is so important to keep an eye on regular emptying of the baby's intestines, do not allow increased gassing... It is also very important not to swaddle your baby too tight, as this limits the mobility of the chest and diaphragm.

So that the baby does not get sick

Speaking about the peculiarities of the respiratory system of newborns and children in the first months of life, one should especially dwell on the prevention of diseases of these organs. Diseases of the respiratory system occupy a leading position among all diseases of early age. What should parents do to make their babies as little sick as possible with colds and viral rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis and bronchitis?

First of all, it is necessary to maintain a healthy indoor climate. That means optimal temperature(23-24 ° С) and sufficient air humidity. This is especially true in winter period, when, due to heating in the room, conditions are created that negatively affect the respiratory organs of a person of any age. Particularly vulnerable respiratory organs of infants react to these negative factors first of all. Elevated temperature and especially the dryness of the air in a heated room is disturbed by barrier function nasopharyngeal mucosa. Drying out, the mucous membrane ceases to effectively resist the penetration of viruses and microbes. Therefore, it is necessary to control the air temperature in the room where the child is, and, if necessary, install humidifiers in it.

It is important not to wrap your child's face while walking. Excessive wrapping contributes to the fact that the mucous membranes of the baby's respiratory tract develop in "greenhouse" conditions. Therefore, accidental intake of cold air into the respiratory tract can cause the development of a cold.

As mentioned above, the nasal passages of a newborn baby are anatomically narrow, therefore, when carrying out the toilet, it is necessary to regularly free them from crusts. This must be done with extreme caution using cotton flagellum, but not cotton swabs, because the mucous membrane of a newborn is extremely delicate, vulnerable and much more abundant than adults, it is supplied with blood - damage to it is fraught profuse bleeding and the development of the inflammatory process.

If a runny nose has already arisen, it is necessary to regularly empty the nasal cavity from mucus with the help of a pear (release air from the pear, insert it into the baby's nose and wait until the walls of the pear expand) or special device, and if necessary, as prescribed by a doctor, use vasoconstrictor drops in the nose, helping to relieve the baby of severe swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa and to ensure adequate air supply to the respiratory tract.

During periods of increased incidence of influenza and ARVI, it is necessary to prevent these diseases in all family members, to limit visits by strangers. All adults should get the flu vaccine. A good measure for the prevention of viral diseases of the respiratory tract is to lubricate the baby's nose with antiviral ointments (for example, VIFERON, GRIPPFERON ointment). These ointments, in addition to their main antiviral action, create a protective film on the nasal mucosa, which provides an additional protective barrier against the entry of viruses.

The main measures for the prevention of colds and viral respiratory diseases are breastfeeding and rational regime caring for a newborn. Breast-feeding provides a constant supply of mother's immunoglobulins to the newborn's body, protecting the baby from most diseases. From the first weeks of a child's life, attention should be paid to hardening procedures: air baths, hygienic massage and gymnastics. All these procedures contribute to better development respiratory muscles, optimize blood circulation (including in chest), strengthen the body's defenses.

Long walks with the child in the fresh air are necessary, regular (twice a day) through ventilation of the child's room (at a time when the baby is not there).

Try to organize the bathing procedure in such a way that the child will fall in love with it: this is an excellent hardening procedure, among other things, having a positive effect on the entire development of the child, including the development of his respiratory system.

Needless to say, smoking by any family member is harmful to the baby's body. motor function villous epithelium of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, which entails the development of a tendency to protracted and recurrent rhinitis, tracheitis and bronchitis. Children of smokers are much more likely to suffer and allergic diseases respiratory tract, they often have asthmatic bronchitis, subsequently developing into such serious disease like bronchial asthma.

Human health is laid during the period of intrauterine development. And the first month of life largely determines how the potential inherent in utero is realized. Therefore, we must make every effort to ensure that our children get sick as rarely as possible: the absence of colds and viral diseases in the first year of a child's life is a good foundation for a strong body.

How does the baby breathe?

Even with all the precautions taken, free swaddling, ensuring the normal functioning of the intestines of the newborn, the baby's breathing during the first months of life remains superficial.

Shallow breathing does not provide enough oxygen for the baby's shelter, this deficiency is compensated by an increase in the frequency of respiratory movements. If in adults the normal respiratory rate is 18-19 breaths per minute, in children younger age- 25-30, then in newborns - 40-60.

A newborn baby breathes often, but this frequency may not be enough - under such stresses as feeding and overheating, the frequency of breathing may increase. If at the same time there is no difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, then increased breathing during such loads is the norm. It is important to monitor the nature of breathing: if its increased frequency is accompanied by respiratory noises, the inclusion of auxiliary muscles in the act of breathing, swelling of the wings of the nose and moaning, then this is an obvious pathology that must be immediately reported to the doctor.