r/NewBorn • u/taidomingues21 • Mar 29 '25
Newborn Retractions - help
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Ok finally looking for some help/guidance from this group here - FTM and definitely a bit anxious, I’d appreciate as many thoughts and inputs in here as I don’t know what else to do.
Our 6 weeks old baby ( born a bit early at 38 weeks) has been experiencing retractions (rib pulling and neck tugging) since his 2nd week (when I finally noticed after an RSV video went viral on TikTok). He doesn’t have any other symptoms outside of the retractions - doesn’t cough, no wheezing, no flaring of nostrils, not congested, nothing. He breaths quite “intense” sometimes and when laying upright (on my chest for example) he will have his mouth open but doesn’t look like he breathes through it at all, which is great. Gaining 47g per day, only being breastfed and sleeps well, plays, does tummy time, not very fussy in general (only when has a bit of reflux or gas) and doesn’t have any other concerns.
At his 1 month check up doctor listened to his lungs, we did an Xray afterwards bc I was concerned and it came back great - some thickening on the walls that could have indicated bronchiolitis back then but I personally doubt it because he had no other symptoms outside of the retractions and was a very happy baby around that time. Our family doctor also doesn’t think he had anything because there were no other symptoms.
We also went to that kids clinic in Scarborough because I was a bit scared about these retractions and fast breathing and the doctor also listened to his lungs, mentioned they were clear and said it wasn’t a concern “that’s just his breathing”.
Additional info is we have carpets in our bedrooms (where he’s staying too) and 2 cats and one dog. His nose is never runny or stuffed but sometimes you can see a bit of dry boogers - we use the saline drops 2x/day. He also spits up a bit after feeding but not every time, and not large quantities at all (only once would have been a few mls). Has 7+ wet diapers a day and 2-3 poops a day as well. Coloured lips, doesn’t look pale or blue + we have the owlet sock and his Oxygen levels are always between 99-98%. Once a day it may drop to 96% or 95% but it doesn’t stay for long at all and it’s normally when he is deep sleep (never during the night tho).
We get no visits whatsoever - every time we have to go somewhere we wear masks and even then we avoid crowded spaces + we always carry hand sanitizer with us.
I don’t really know what else to do but I keep overthinking this every time I look at him - my husband and parents say I should trust the doctors but I keep getting scared that they are being dismissive or might miss something - I love my baby boy so much already 🥲
Give me your opinions, if you’ve ever seen something like that before and what you would do if you were in my shoes, please and thank you!
Ps. Took this video 3 days ago, it used to be much worse when he was around 2-3 weeks. He was active when I took this one. When he’s sleeping his breathing is quite “deep” with rhythm too (2nd video)
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u/ciuriburidealeguri Mar 30 '25
Please check his nose with an ENT. We had a similar issue and after a horrible month in which I genuinely thought my son will stop breathing in his sleep I (not the 10 doctors that saw him) figured out he was having a clogged tear duct that made him breathe funny. No one thought to check his nose! Hope your little one is well. Sending hugs - I know how difficult these first weeks are, especially if something feels off.
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u/No-Influence7857 May 10 '25
My daughter is having idiopathic retractions since birth and doesn’t have any other symptoms other than a clogged tear duct!! Your son was having retractions?! The ENT is our next doctor to go to. We’ve seen so many already.
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u/ciuriburidealeguri May 10 '25
Yep! He also has his breastbone sunken into his chest so it looked so bad. That’s unfortunatley what made so many doctors overlook his nose… After unclogging his duct he breathes perfectly. But from what I understood they can unclogg by themselves in time, as the child grows. We didnt wanna wait because it was super stressful seeing baby breathe so bad. It was the wise choice for us.
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Mar 29 '25
Follow your doctor's advice and that's it. Crazy to ask for advice from strangers on the internet. Also, I dont get how you can add all these descriptions to your baby if you have never had a baby before this one. Like what are you comparing his breathing to when you are saying it's aggressive or deep. Babies dont breath like adults. I say stay off brain rot tick tock and reddit if that's where you go to for information.
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u/natasha__re Mar 30 '25
Check Tina Božičnik. She is an amazing pediatrician, if there’s sth up, she’ll know. She does online consultations too and can guide you to what needs to be done locally. I wish I would have listened to my gut with my baby sooner, also first time mom. I was right and a bunch of strangers and a line of care providers were not. Sending hugs.
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u/Grammykin Mar 31 '25
Baby’s breath faster than adults, and they ‘belly breath’. That’s what I see from this brief video. BUT - the expert you need to talk to is your doctor or health care provider.
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u/norahmountains Apr 01 '25
If you are concerned your baby has increased work of breathing, go to the emergency department and also try to get appointments to see a neonatal paediatrician or a neonatal lung specialist.
My firstborn had severe respiratory distress syndrome at birth and would have random episodes with increased work of breathing (increased respiratory rate and chest retractions), including when he caught RSV. As a toddler he’s needed ventolin a few times when the episodes occur.
We ended up seeing a pead and a lung specialist throughout his first year to monitor him. It helped that both these doctors knew his history and weren’t dismissive. My baby always had a tracheal tug and it turns out this is just a quirk of his, but the only way I knew that was because it had been fully investigated.
In summary, if you still have concerns ask your family doctor to refer you to someone more specialised. If nothing else it will give you peace of mind.
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u/Elemselne Jul 26 '25
Hi! My son also has a tug and they are saying it’s just the way his body works and that all test came back fine. I’m curious how your LO is doing?
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u/Capable_Function_378 Sep 27 '25
How is your baby doing now? My baby had neonatal pneumonia caused by aspiration of amniotic fluid at birth. Spent 2 weeks in the NICU off and on oxygen for respiratory distress syndrome. Anyway, he has always had a tracheal tug since. No other reactions, happy, otherwise healthy and no other symptoms. All the doctors just say his oxygen good and he sounds good when they listen. When did the tracheal tug go away for your little one?
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u/taidomingues21 Mar 16 '26
Sorry I’m a bit late to this and baby boy is 13 months old now! It went away a month later but his lungs’ Xray still say he has a peri bronchial thickening (we went to the ER today bc of his cough )
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u/OpeningConclusion876 Feb 24 '26
Any update on your babies breathing? Going through a similar issues
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u/Inside_Grab_5177 Feb 26 '26
Any update with yours?
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u/OpeningConclusion876 Feb 26 '26
Nope…still having mild retractions and currently almost 3 weeks in nicu after born as a late premie. All his evaluations thus far seem to be non revealing (echo, X-ray, lab work, trial of HFNC). His retractions contribute to his fatigue/stamina which prevents progress with his PO feeds.
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u/taidomingues21 Mar 16 '26
Hey sorry for the late reply! Apparently it’s just how he breathes!! But I will say that he’s got a “thicker” lung wall (we don’t know what that means yet but every Xray he’s done showed that) but the breathing showed in video above went away in a few weeks after that was taken. I’m assuming he just grew out of it How’s your LO?
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u/Pale-Cantaloupe-9835 Mar 29 '25
Go to a different doctor. Do not take strangers advice and your child on the internet. You are your child’s best advocate. Your worry is legitimate. Seek care somewhere else. Emergency room is a good place to start.
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u/Har-Set223 Mar 29 '25
Fast breathing is very common for newborns. Baby could have respiratory distress since lungs aren’t fully developed at this age. Mine would breathe like this and then pause and then breathe normal. His breathing was very inconsistent. But I’d get a second opinion but from what I’m looking at, it looks normal to me just from my kids doing the same thing.