The job of parenting is both wonderful and difficult. Sometimes it’s hilarious and other times it can be downright scary!

Scary? Yes (and I’m not just talking about the contents of those nappies or diapers!). There are three events that you may experience as a parent that, while harmless, may scare the living daylights out of you. They are:

• Breath holding episodes
• Reflux and choking
• Febrile convulsions

In the next 3 blogs I will address each of these frightening occurrences. Firstly… episodes of breath holding.

A provocative stimulus, such as a fright or unexpected pain, may cause your baby to hold their breath. It will generally go like this:

• Your baby will cry vigorously
• They will expel all of the air from their lungs
• Your baby will hold his/her breath and go blue

And if that isn’t scary enough for you…
• They may lose consciousness and have a short seizure

Sounds dreadful doesn’t it? And if you have experienced one of these episodes with your baby then you’ll agree it’s mighty frightening.

Babies and young children (up to about 4 to 6 years of age) may experience an episode of breath holding and if they hold their breath long enough to pass out it will be frightening and worrying for all. The good news is that any loss of consciousness will immediately cause your baby to stop crying and breathe again. (Phew!)

Can I reassure you that episodes of breath holding are, by and large, harmless and will not result in any long term complications. A panic attack for you, yes, but harmful to your baby, no.

As breath holding more commonly occurs in your presence, you will undoubtedly feel compelled to do something (who wouldn’t?). However, apart from maybe rolling them on to their side, you really need take no specific action. One again, there is nothing to worry about as no baby or child is able to consciously hold their breath long enough to cause any harm.
While I hope you never witness a breath holding episode with your baby, can I reassure you that if you do, your baby will be fine. Always seek medical advice if you are unsure or need reassurance (there’s more good information from the Royal Children’s Hospital here) but remember that breath holding is harmless and will cause not complications (other than your jangled nerves!).

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 6:58 pm and is filed under Baby Sleep Problems, Illness, Newborn Sleep, Scary episodes, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.