Stridor manifests itself gradually in the first days or weeks of life of the infant.
Its manifestations are quite characteristic: when the baby is sleeping, we can barely hear his breath, but when he sucks, gets angry or cries, we hear low sounds, as if he were embarrassed to breathe. However, all the noises made by the baby do not indicate a stridor: “It may happen that during the first weeks an infant makes a little noise while breathing. It can be a purring sound due to a small stuffy nose or a growling during a phase of restless sleep, because his breathing is then more irregular. But there are other causes, including stridor ”, explains Dr Sylvie Hubinois, pediatrician and past-president of AFPA.
Loud inspiration
Stridor translates, when baby inhales, by a rather low sound, similar to that caused by laryngitis. “Often, we hardly hear it when the child is calm or asleep, but rather when he is straining, sucking, crying or if he is agitated. Laryngomalacia or “soft larynx” is the most common congenital cause of this noisy breathing. On inspiration, it shrinks or flattens out, hence the appearance of this strange noise. An anomaly which will increase in intensity during the baby’s first months, then gradually disappear within eighteen months in most cases ”, reassures our expert.
We examine his general condition
“Nothing alarming if baby continues to take his feedings well, if he is not embarrassed to breathe, that his cry is normal, that he has a good tone, sleeps well and develops in a normal way”, notes Dr Hubinois. It is also advisable to feed the baby slowly, giving him periods of rest. On the other hand, one consults his pediatrician without further delay if the baby is breathing loudly more and more often, that he seems to have respiratory discomfort, has significant regurgitation and / or difficulty feeding, fever. Medical examinations will rule out other abnormalities.