RESPIRATION OF THE NEWBORN INFANT

Abstract

THE RESPIRATION of newborn infants during sleep is often irregular, and a classification of patterns has been offered.¹The irregularities may be severe or mild and are abolished by the giving of oxygen.¹They²also are often produced by the giving of a respiratory mixture in which the oxygen concentration is lowered. More data were sought on the stimulating effect of high concentrations of oxygen, particularly with reference to the amount which is optimum for stimulation, and on the depressing effect of mixtures low in oxygen. To facilitate the study, a Beckman Oxygen Analyser was used to give analyses of the per cent of oxygen breathed by the infant at sixty second intervals, and this in connection with a body plethysmograph, as described previously,¹gave a continuous record of rate of respiration, tidal air, minute volume of respired air and per cent of oxygen in the