Breathing Distress Tip

Thank you to this mama for sending us her story as a great reminder - record your little one's normal breathing in case you ever need to refer to it, and to help you get to know their "normal"!⁠
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In the first video, we can see signs of visible respiratory distress. This little one has abdominal recession (sucking in at the ribs and/or tummy), and a tracheal tug (sucking in around the neck). ⁠
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In the second, you can clearly see the difference in comparison to the first video, and what this little one's "normal" breathing looks like!⁠

Babies are "tummy breathers" and obligate nose breathers. This is normal. The important thing to note in this video is that the increased rate of breathing, the sucking in at the neck and around the tummy (tracheal tug, and abdominal recession/retractions) is DIFFERENT to this baby's normal breathing. This is what prompted mum to get medical help.
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"Hello team, I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for the constant updates and reminders on your page.⁠
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My 5-week-old son is currently in hospital after contracting a cold from his older siblings. He seemed well, happy, and otherwise completely normal (feeding normally, sleeping, and generally settled). But I noticed he was sucking in under his rib cage and took him to emergency. This was the best decision I made because yesterday while in hospital he stopped breathing briefly, exhausted from the effort to breathe. He is now on the mend after spending several days in hospital assisted by oxygen and managing his congestion to assist his breathing and conserve his energy.⁠
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He is my third baby so I am very familiar with sick babies. But even for me, the most surprising (and scary) thing was that before I took him to hospital he seemed otherwise normal and happy. His older siblings had both had colds so I was watching him closely in case he became unwell. The ONLY sign something wasn't right was the recession under his rib cage. Had I not known to watch for that, we would not have realised he was unwell at all, let alone in early stages of respiratory distress.⁠
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I only wish I had taken an earlier video of his chest when breathing normally for comparison - this would have eliminated a brief period of me second-guessing myself and trying to recall what his normal breathing looked like!"⁠
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Share this tip with anyone expecting, or who has a little one. ♥️⁠
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[wannacya]

They don't come with a handbook. Thank you for teaching mom's what to look out for.

[SpiritualBabydoll]

When my son was one day old, he was breathing like this making it really squeaky noise and they rushed him away from me and he had a heart problem and they didn’t even recognize it. They’re like oh that’s a weird noise and then finally one of the nurses on staff literally saved his life, healthy and happy and four years old I will never forget them for helping us

[Sleepyslothhugger]

Thank you for sharing this. My son got RSV at 8 months and I could tell something seemed off but everyone told me I was overthinking it. Later that night I rushed him to the ER and they had to give him oxygen and breathing treatments. It was so scary. Mamas always listen to your gut feeling and ignore people saying you’re overthinking! No one ever told me what infant labored breathing sounded or looked like. So this video is very helpful.

[shamikabyrd]

The crazy thing is my daughter was breathing like this we were 45 mins from a hospital so i decided to call the ambulance and the EMT said out his mouth, "this is a normal looking child" "she's fine" then proceeded to tell me "she was only belly breathing and it was not a cause for concern " Mama bear came out but i couldn't even give him the energy. We finally made to the er and the took my daughter away and was hooking her up to all kinds of monitors. She has a history of asthma and had had 2 attacks that day. I just prayed and left it with God. Thankfully she came back home with me. No overnight ER stay!!

[astridwarrior]

This will definitely get buried, but, that is called see-saw breathing. It's a massive indicator of breathing troubles. Babies rely alot on their diaphragms to breath but this is considered excessive for obvious reasons. It's called accessory muscle use. Most power for breathing comes from the muscles surrounding the lungs in the chest. You can also see "accessory breathing" in adults, but its more in the collarbone than the torso. Keep an eye out Mama! You did great! Thank you for educating people! -Lovingly signed, an EMT

[kristinadowney]

Thank you for sharing. So many mamas don’t know what to look for when doctors say “retractions”. So helpful!!

[sea_my_finds]

Thank you for this! I tried to get medical folk to listen me when my son would make these sounds - my midwife told me I was an anxious mother - at 9 days old I had to resuscitate him on the kitchen table!! Go with your instincts mums!!! He was eventually fine after a long spell in icu! And is now a relatively healthy 9 year old!!

[SeherTimurrrr]

Ben Türkiyede Ebe olarak görev yapıyorum. Annemi yeni doğan yeğenim için tebrik etmek adına aradım ve telefon ile konuşurken 1 günlük yeğenimin inleyerek ağlamasından şüphelendim.Annemin acilen doktor yada hemşirelere seslenmesini istedim ancak gelen hemşire sıkıntı yok gayet sağlıklı dedi.Anneme bebeğin göğsünü aç ve izle eşit yükseklikte mi göğüs kafesi dedim, parmağını bebeğin ağzına koy emiyor mu dedim, dudakları morarıyor mu dedim?hepsine olumsuz yanıt verdi, yeğenim spontan pnömotoraks olmuştu 🥲 anneme acilen doktor çağırmasını söyledim ve bebeği hemen yoğunbakıma aldılar. Ben telefondan yeğenimin hayatını kurtardım. Şükürler olsun şu an okula gidiyor ve çok zeki ❤

[jillk]

My son did that at three weeks old! We stayed in hospital for 7days with pneumonia! Then we made trips to the ER it seems like every four to six weeks! He became asmactic and had allergies terrible! He finally grew out of it at the age of about twelve! I am glad your baby is better! Life is so precious ❤😊

[Mrsrchy]

Yep. My baby started breathing like this when she had a brain hemorrhage at 6 weeks old. Thankfully, my mom had experience in respiratory therapy and knew it was dire when I showed her my daughter’s breathing and told me, “We’re going to the ER right now!” She saved her life.

[JadetheGoober]

gonna add myself to list of people thanking you for posting this. thank you for saving babies.

[JessicaHenning-ds]

Yeah, I have a son with severe asthma who has at times looked like this and even worse. It’s good of you to show this because in some cases like your sweet baby they don’t seem to show much distress until you look at their chest.

[amberhall]

So scary as a mama ❤ I’m happy baby is ok

[kimberlycarlson]

This is so important because it looks so obvious but when your a first time mom you don’t know how sick is “sick” if that makes sense. Everything seems off . I lost my son to pneumonia and this information would have been good to know. To see visually on what to look for .

[AprilEstepp]

Iam just glad your precious baby is oky thank you Jesus for watching over this beautiful precious little angel

[MishaThePolly_Therian]

That is a good thing to show people.. but also, any time you are uncertain, air on the side of caution. One easter, when my daughter was 4 months, she was breathing like that, and her feet were turning blue. Her father said I was being a drama queen when I wanted to take her in. I'm glad I listened to my gut, cuz she had rsv, and had to be hospitalized. She almost died!

[juliarush]

Took my son in multiple, multiple times with both tracheal tugging, indrawing, and flared nostrils with rapid gasping/breathing. They just said it was "belly breathing" because he chubby and would send me home. I was starting to wonder if I was crazy and the final time they actually checked his blood oxygen levels and they were 72. Instantly rushed in with a cardiologist, a respiratory therapist, and a paediatrician. He was admitted for 5 days. Listen to your gut people! We know when our babies can't breathe! It's so scary to think of what would have happened if I had listened to them every time they said he was fine.

[baribari]

My son was hospitalized at 2 weeks old for breathing problems. Numerous times i had to rush him to the hospital for asthma attacks thankfully he completely grew out of it by the time he was 5.

[ralucablaj]

I came to the hospital with a 7kg 3 m.o baby boy.. The doctor put him at oxigen and with maximum O2 he has 64 saturation. He was so close...
God gave life to him and now he's almost 2 and he's our miracle ❤

[rpstgag]

"retractions" - a sign of respiratory distress at any and every age