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Take a deep breath…and clear the air for your baby

I thought I knew plenty about newborns. But I didn’t know that they areobligate nasal breathers, which means they cannot breathe through their mouths until they are around four months old.

I also didn’t really ever understand how to use saline solution to clear a new baby’s nose. (Four kids, and I never learned this? Imagine how many hours of sleep I lost!) Or that toxins from the clothes of a tobacco smoker are enough to cause irritation to the respiratory system.

Or that if you can hear a child snoring from the next room, it could indicate a significant sleep problem — such as sleep apnea.

Ear, nose and throat specialist Nina Shapiro, M.D., has published a book with plenty of new information on breathing problems in babies and young children.

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