Question
If there is a newborn at home, how can you determine if the baby has pneumonia? Please describe the symptoms and manifestations of neonatal pneumonia.
Answer
Neonatal pneumonia typically develops within the first 3 days after birth. The main symptoms include shallow breathing, shortness of breath (breathing rate can reach 60 times per minute), blue lips, refusal to breastfeed, a feeling of suffocation, vomiting white foam, flaring of the nostrils, and indentation of the chest during breathing. Since newborns’ lungs are underdeveloped, they may not exhibit a cough when infected with pneumonia and rarely have a fever. Some infants may show symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, such as nasal congestion and runny nose.