To worry or not? Baby breathing faster

[UnsureMumma]

My LO is 15 weeks and for some reason my hubby decides to count her respiratory rate today, it ranged from about 60 -70 a min. She seems totally fine as usual. Hubby has anxiety and says he has checked before and it was always a bit faster than the normal. I remember discussing in early weeks and was all ok at dr appt. should I worry immediately? I am not worried as she seems normal self but I would never want to ignore anything but at same time I don't want to have health anxiety about my baby. I wonder if any other babies have higher rates than the normal and are ok? I will make dr appt tomorrow but should I go a&e now or ?? Please advice and please don't flame me for being stupid/awful/naive mother :)

Anyone?

If she's her normal self and her breathing isn't laboured, then I really wouldn't worry. If she's eating, drinking, weeing, pooing and sleeping ok, then there's usually nothing to worry about, but if you're going to fret, then you can always call 111 for reassurance.

And don't worry about looking stupid - EVERY health care professional understands the pressures on new mums and appreciates that it's sometimes hard not to worry about the slightest little things. :-)

If she's happy, feeding her normal self then no. If she's blue on her lips or using her muscles to breathe then yes. Baby's breathing goes up when they're wriggling, feeding, crying.

If your Dh is counting her breaths per min then you will notice differences over time.
If he wasn't counting is there anything about her that would concern you? If not don't worry.
I would be encouraging him to stop the counting, sounds a bit too obsessive and not really as useful as just being attuned to your baby's normal ups and downs and needs.

If her tummy is looking like it's pulling in a lot with each breath then it may be worth getting her checked out but from what you've said, she is probably okay to wait until doc appointment tomorrow. As said above, try ringing 111 or NHS direct. Don't do the symptom checker on the NHS website though as it comes up with 'ring an ambulance' far too often and when not necessary!!

It's difficult to say anything confidently because we're not there, but if she seems fine then she's probably fine! You know her best, trust your instincts. If everything else is fine then I would wait and see.

I wouldn't even ring 111 myself - they'll default to 'take to hospital' at any mention of 'breathing'! and you'll sit for hours in the local paeds dept before being sent home!

As PPs have said - the main thing is, is she breathing easy, not getting puffed when feeding. Even if she is, and it's slight, it will keep till tomorrow. It's only urgent if she's struggling to finish feeds. Count breathing when she's asleep - if it's 40 or less no need even to see GP, an excited/fretful baby can easily go at 60-70/min for a while!

I do feel she is ok and now sleeping on me her breathing is 48bpm so I think that's ok, it totally is another thread but I don't know how to deal with anxious hubby over new baby. I would hate myself if I ever didn't worry and something bad happened. But he worries over a lot more than I do.

I did wonder if the issue is your DH's anxiety. It's normal for anyone's heart rate to rise when they're awake and active. It should settle down when you're asleep just like your dd is doing.

Is it just since your dd has been born or is it on going? It's normal to worry about a new baby, but not if it's affecting your relationship.

Ah pobble it's very complicated and long but anxiety is a problem for me and I never know now whether I'm being unreasonable or not when it comes to his concerns

My son did this, I took him to A&E , he had pneumonia. Please get him/her checked...quite frankly it's not worth the risk

He had no other symptoms...there is a reason for fast breathing & you need to find out what it is

Babies breathe faster than adults. Their heart rate is faster than adults too. No harm in getting medical advice about a little baby, no one will tell you off. Make sure your DH attends the appointment so he can be reassured.

Pneumonia is an infection and therefore causes a fever, superstrength - and in any event most pneumonias are viral and there's no treatment for them in a well baby. Antibiotics get sprayed around because of chest x ray changes which are probably viral. Juniper, the 'can't be too careful' school of thinking is what has brought the OOH service to its knees - a happy baby whose resting respiratory rate is 48/min warrants a listen by a doc, but not same day.

Thanks for responding everyone. I don't think pneumonia as she apparently has had quicker breathing since early weeks when he used to check.... She has no other symptoms, I will see dr tomorrow I just needed some reassurance that going with instinct was matching what you all might think and not just ignoring DP concerns

I agree Walkacrossthe but I assumed OP was asking about making a visit to GP or HV not urgent care else she wouldn't be asking on MN. OP - if your DP has anxiety I really think he should be taking the baby to the appointment so he can have his concerns addressed. He's entitled to time off for this.

Does she seem like she's breathing faster than normal for her? Not what the book says but does it seem faster than she normally breathes? If no then I'd say you're fine, if yes then out of hours doc. If her breathing is laboured or she is blue anywhere then 999. I think this is more about your dp anxiety though. If she's behaving normally for her then no problems, maybe she was excited when he was measuring her breathing.

Our DS breathed faster than "average" and it caused us worry... We regularly counted his breaths and even called 111. I think it was just the way he was made! He was and is fine, but if it would reassure you then go see the doc.

Yes she normally breathes this way and breathing is slower when asleep like within norms again.