Newborn breathing fast: what is normal, how to count breaths, and when to call

This page cannot see your baby, and it is not a substitute for a clinician. What it can do is show you what each organization publishes, with their name on every number, so that tonight you are looking at your baby instead of at a search box.

What newborn breathing usually looks like

The pattern that frightens people has a name. The AAP describes breathing during REM sleep that is often irregular and may stop for 5 to 10 seconds, then start again with a burst of rapid breathing at the rate of 50 to 60 breaths a minute for 10 to 15 seconds, then settle. AAP HealthyChildren

The AAP names one detail that separates that pattern from apnea: the baby's skin color does not change with the pauses in breathing, and there is no cause for concern. AAP HealthyChildren The same page says babies generally outgrow periodic breathing by about the middle of the first year. AAP HealthyChildren

Cleveland Clinic describes the same thing and adds when it peaks: the pause usually lasts five to 10 seconds, and it is most likely to happen when your baby is 2 to 4 weeks old. Cleveland Clinic

Color is one signal, not a clearance. Both organizations publish a pause length that means call for help, and neither one waits for a color change before calling.

When these organizations say call 911

Seattle Children's Hospital publishes exactly four items on its call 911 now list for an infant, and says your baby needs medical help right away if they have any one of them. Seattle Children's PE1736

• They stop breathing for 15 seconds or longer, which that handout calls apnea.
• They have severe difficulty breathing.
• They have blue-tinged skin, cyanosis, especially noticeable around the lips, fingernails and gums. The handout adds the line most pages leave out: this may not be visible on darker skin tones, so pay close attention to your child's breathing and behavior.
• You are unable to wake your baby.

Cleveland Clinic publishes a shorter pause than Seattle Children's does. It says to call 911 or take your baby to the emergency room if they stop breathing for longer than 10 seconds. Cleveland Clinic Two children's institutions publish two different numbers, 10 seconds and 15 seconds, and we are not going to average them. If you are timing a pause, the earlier of the two published numbers is the one that asks less of you.

The word apnea is used differently in the two places, which is worth knowing before you read a third page tonight. Seattle Children's applies it to a pause of 15 seconds or longer on its 911 list, while Cleveland Clinic writes that apnea in an infant means they stop breathing for 20 seconds or longer at a time. Cleveland Clinic

If you are not sure whether what you are watching matches a line above, that is a call to your pediatrician, at any hour.

How to count breaths, and what the count is for

Seattle Children's publishes the instruction almost nobody else does. While your baby is sleeping, count the number of times their stomach rises and falls in 30 seconds, where one rise and fall equals one breath, then double that number to get the breathing rate per minute. Seattle Children's PE1736

Watch the belly, not the chest. That is where the handout tells you to look.

Here is what that number is compared against. Seattle Children's publishes normal breathing rates during sleep of 30 to 60 a minute from birth to 1 year, and separately lists abnormally high rates as over 60 from birth to 2 months and over 50 from 2 months to 1 year. Seattle Children's PE1736 MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, gives the normal newborn rate as 40 to 60 times per minute. MedlinePlus (NIH)

One honest caveat follows from the AAP's own description. Periodic breathing alternates pauses and bursts, so a single 30 second count can land in either part of that cycle. The number is not a verdict on its own. What it is for is the conversation with your pediatrician, who can hear what a count cannot tell you.

Effort is a separate question from speed

Rate is one observation. How hard your baby is working is another, and Seattle Children's explains each sign rather than only naming it. Seattle Children's PE1736

• Retractions. Skin pulling in or tugging around bones in the chest, in the neck, above the collar bone, under the breast bone, and between and under the ribs. The handout calls it another way of trying to bring more air into the lungs.
• Nasal flaring. When nostrils spread open while your child breathes, they may be having to work harder to breathe.
• Grunting. A grunting sound when breathing out, described as the body's way of trying to keep air in the lungs so they will stay open.
• Head bobbing. The head moving back and forth with each breath.
• Color change. Pale, or a blue-gray color around the lips and under the eyes, named as a sign the child is not getting enough oxygen, and again noted as possibly not visible on darker skin tones.
• Sweating. An increase of sweat on the head without the skin feeling warm, with skin that more often feels cool or clammy.

The same handout lists behavior worth the same attention: lethargy, described as acting tired and weak, fussy or agitated behavior, eating less than normal or stopping to rest while eating, and pulling off the breast or away from the bottle to take a breath. Grunting and retractions sit on that list of signs to speak to a healthcare provider about, which is a different list and a different action from the four that mean 911.

Fast breathing in the first days has its own name

If this started in the first hours rather than in week three, one common cause is bounded in time. MedlinePlus describes transient tachypnea of the newborn as breathing problems that begin soon after birth, usually starting within 1 to 2 hours, and says the condition most often goes away within 48 to 72 hours after delivery. MedlinePlus (NIH) That is a description of a condition a clinician confirms, not a reason to wait at home.

One thing that is not about breathing at all

It belongs here because it changes what you do tonight. The AAP writes that if your baby is 3 months of age or younger and has a rectal temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 38 degrees Celsius, or higher, call your pediatrician immediately. AAP HealthyChildren That instruction stands on its own, with or without anything you noticed about breathing.

A note from the editor

Every range on this page belongs to the organization that published it, and their name is next to it for a reason: we do not invent thresholds, and where two organizations differ we show you both rather than picking one quietly. Five source pages from four organizations are cited here. One of them is old and we would rather say so than have you find out: the AAP page describing periodic breathing was last updated in 2013. It stayed because Cleveland Clinic publishes the same five to 10 second pause on a page last updated in February 2025, so the pattern rests on a current source as well as an old one. Several other pages we wanted to include could not be read on the day of writing, so their numbers are not on this page at all. If the breathing looks different to you tonight and nothing here explains why, your pediatrician is the right person, at any hour.

FAQ

Is it normal for my newborn to breathe fast while sleeping?

Often, yes. The AAP describes normal periodic breathing of infancy, where breathing during REM sleep is often irregular and may stop for 5 to 10 seconds, then start again with a burst of 50 to 60 breaths a minute for 10 to 15 seconds. The AAP adds that the baby's skin color does not change during those pauses. Color is one signal and not a clearance: Seattle Children's puts a pause of 15 seconds or longer on its call 911 list, and Cleveland Clinic sets its own line at longer than 10 seconds.

How many breaths per minute is normal for a newborn?

Seattle Children's publishes 30 to 60 during sleep from birth to 1 year, and lists over 60 from birth to 2 months and over 50 from 2 months to 1 year as abnormally high. MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, gives the normal newborn rate as 40 to 60 times per minute. The two ranges overlap rather than agree exactly, which is why both are shown.

How do I count my newborn's breaths?

Seattle Children's publishes the method: while your baby is sleeping, count how many times their stomach rises and falls in 30 seconds, where one rise and fall equals one breath, then double that number. Watch the belly rather than the chest. Because the AAP describes periodic breathing as alternating pauses and bursts, one short count can land in either part of the cycle, so the number is something to bring to your pediatrician rather than a verdict on its own.

What are four signs of newborn breathing distress?

Seattle Children's names retractions, where skin pulls in around the bones of the chest, nasal flaring, grunting when breathing out, and color change, described as pale or blue-gray around the lips and under the eyes. The same handout lists more: head bobbing with each breath, sweating on the head with cool or clammy skin, lethargy, eating less than normal, and pulling off the breast or bottle to take a breath. It also notes that color change may not be visible on darker skin tones.

When should I worry about my newborn's breathing?

Seattle Children's publishes four things that mean call 911 now: a pause of 15 seconds or longer, severe difficulty breathing, blue-tinged skin around the lips, fingernails and gums, and being unable to wake your baby. Cleveland Clinic sets its pause line at longer than 10 seconds. If you are unsure whether what you are watching matches, that is a call to your pediatrician, at any hour.

Sources

1. AAP HealthyChildren: Stages of Newborn Sleep
2. AAP HealthyChildren: Fever and Your Baby
3. Cleveland Clinic: Periodic Breathing in Newborns
4. Seattle Children's Hospital: Signs of Respiratory Distress in Your Infant (PE1736, revised 2024)
5. MedlinePlus (NIH National Library of Medicine): Transient tachypnea, newborn

Every source above was checked live on 2026-08-16 and confirmed to support the statement it is attached to. Sources we could not open on that date were left out entirely rather than cited from memory.

Education from checked sources, not medical advice. Emergency: 911.