The Baby Belly-Breath: The Right Way to Breathe?

Many point to the belly and how it rises and falls. They deduce that because the baby breathes that way, it is the right way for adults to breathe as well. This is not true. The baby belly breath is simply a beginning, not the whole picture by any stretch of the imagination. It is perhaps 40-50% of an optimal breath.

The baby's belly rises so much because:

• There has been little development of the lungs and breathing coordination by that time. The baby actually closes its throat so that it can breath and suckle at the same time. This ability is lost as it grows older and sits up more. This, of course, reduces flow of air and forces more attention in the abdominal area. Breathing is harder this way.

• The stomach has replaced the umbilicus now with solid food, and it invites some fat accumulation and bulking of the belly giving a visual impression of excessively implied importance.

• There is a minimum of chest expansion because the lungs have not gotten large enough to need more space.

• Balanced integrated breathing has not developed, and the belly, mid chest, sides, back and abdomen are not nearly developed for optimal breathing.

The mid back above the kidney area has the larger lung volume, but when the baby is on its back, there simply is no where else for the baby to be able to breathe but into the belly area. That is probably why many are more comfortable on their sides as they can access some of the back breath and breathe easier.

The soft tissue of the frontal belly area is the path of least resistance, so the majority of visual emphasis is in that area. Being on the back is mostly better than the side or stomach as it causes the rib cage to raise, and that allows the diaphragm to rise for a deeper easier inhalation, and the baby, or most people for that matter, to breathe easier, but not necessarily better. More about this in the "sleeping" article in the manual.

Ideally, standing straight up, or swimming the breast stroke or side armed-back stroke are two of the best ways (with exceptions) to get the easiest lung volume while moving the body. Neither of which are readily available to the unstable non-walking baby. See more about this in our #176 Rapidly Improving Your Breathing Video.

Posture-wise, the baby has not been upright much at all, and its body is compressed in the areas it is lying on, generally the back. After all, it has just spent the last several months or its intrauterine life in a bent-forward position. Try bending forward and taking a deep breath, and you will soon see that bending over restricts the breath quite a bit.

Does this imply that the baby should breathe into the upper chest? Nope. Not yet unless it is well coordinated, and there is enough 360-degree belly breath as a foundation. More about that in our #176 Rapidly Improving Your Breathing Video and program. click here