“It is a sign to get your baby or child to hospital.”As cold and flu season descends upon us, all moms know to be on the lookout for runny noses and sneezes. But one mom, Charlie O’Brien, shared an eye-opening video of another symptom that might be easy to miss — and could mean you need to rush your child to the doctor immediately.
Her 4-week-old, Luna, was sleeping soundly, but breathing unusually hard and deeply.
“I stumbled across this on my phone and thought it may be useful to share,” O’Brien wrote on Facebook. “When Luna was 4 weeks old she had a really quiet day of sleeping and barely any crying (unusual for Luna!) I was watching her sleep next to me and realized it didn’t look right. I unbuttoned her babygrow [onesie] and this is what I saw.”
The warning sign is the way her baby’s ribs are being sucked in as she breathes.
“Sucking in at ribs is a sign to get your baby or child to hospital,” O’Brien urged. “She had bronchiolitis and her oxygen levels were very low. Luckily after a night on oxygen she made a very good recovery.”
The mother originally shared the video in preparation for cold season to help spread awareness.
This unusual type of breathing indicates respiratory distress. Other warning signs of infants in respiratory distress include: nasal flaring, chest retractions, tachypnea, and grunting, according to The American Academy of Pediatrics.
This video was taken by Charlie O’Brien. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.
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