Will a baby resume breathing if she passes out from crying??

Question

My poor little 11 month old girl bonked her head this morning, and cried very hard. Her initial cry after hitting her head was to the point where she exhausted all of the air in her lungs until finally she gasped for air for the next cry. I am curious if someone has had a child lose consciousness from not breathing because of a hard cry, and as a parent what I am supposed to do if this happens. Thanks for your time!

F.Y.I.-I was just curious if it was even possible for this to happen (not from a head injury; only from crying)...my baby did not lose consciousness...I do the procedures adult & infant first aid.

I do (KNOW) the procedures for first aid.

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Answer 1

Occasionally children will hold their breath as a form of a temper tantrum. It scares the heck out of parents and some children actually hold their breath until they pass out. However, as soon as the child passes out, his breathing resumes to normal and he is fine. I personally don't have a child of my own who has passed out from crying, but I think the mechanism is the same as that from passing out due to breath holding. Once the child has passed out, his natural body function will return to normal. If your child passes out from crying, I would suggest that you place them in a comfortable position and let their breathing return to normal at which point they will wake up and be fine.
Added: After reading other's answers, I went back to see if indeed your daughter passed out after the head bonk, but I understand from your question that she did not, but that you are just curious to know if children can pass out from crying too much. I say it is possible this could happen, but not likely. If your daughter had passed out I am sure you would have contacted emergency personnel, especially since she had hit her head.

Answer 2

Well if your baby ever loses consciousness than you should be calling an ambulance and administering first aid. If you don't know first aid, I suggest you take a class. Every parent of a young child should know first aid. A child should not pass out from crying. My daughter has cried so hard that she has to catch her breath and I think that is normal, but losing consciousness is not.

Answer 3

It is not a normal thing for this to happen. I did have a friend once whose child would do that almost everytime she cried and it turned out that she had asthma. The doctor told her that this is not a normal thing that babies don't just pass out while crying they do eventually take a deep breath. When a child does that there is usually a medical reason for it. I have never none another child to do that. Good question though.

Answer 4

Some children do cry so hard they lose their breath, or hold their breath and turn puce. However, since this happened after a head bump, I would definitely take her to your pediatrician right away or at least call, in case she sustained a concussion. Little heads are very sensitive and an eleven month old's fontanel may not be closed yet.

Answer 5

She didn't say the baby DID pass out, she asked if it has ever happened to anybody! Anyway, it is right that if a baby looses consciousness after a bump on the head to take it to the hospital. A baby really shouldn't pass out just from crying. If it it just from crying hard, then I would go straight to the doctor or hospital. The color has drained out of my daughter from a prolonged "wail" but she has never passed out.

Answer 6

The trick is to comfort the child and calm her down before she cries to the point of unconsciousness. We have all (parents among us any way) had those moments when the child inhales for what seems like forever before letting out the inevitable super loud cry it's kind of like that just remember to comfort her and try not to let her reach that point in the first place it will bring closer to you as it will make her feel safer with Daddy and as much as not it gets easier for you and her as time goes by if you are a calming comforting force in her life. Daddy's little girls are a gift from God and are ours to protect, nurture, teach and love. Next time it happens and ooohhhhhh yeah there is always a next time just pick her up right away and comfort and cuddle her until she calms down.

Answer 7

if they lose consciousness, particularly after a "bonk on the head" or any injury, that is a medical emergency and 911 should be called. i know the cry you are speaking of, my son had that same one when he fell and broke his arm. but he did continue to breathe.. not breathing is a very bad sign. when they are crying that hard sometimes blowing in their face helps.

Answer 8

A baby should not lose consciousness because of crying. It is possible that it was caused by the injury especially to the head. I would take her to the doctor immediately.

Answer 9

When one of my brothers was a baby, he would throw HUGE temper tantrums from the time he was three months old!!!! He would hold his breath till he turned blue. arch hiss back until it was nearly impossible to hold on to him....scared my mother to death!!!!! I was 10 so I remember the doctor telling my mother to ignore him because he would start breathing again if he passed out... she was freaking out and blowing in his face to get him to breath... the doctor also said that some babies learn at very young age how to get a reaction or attention and that we should ignore him...guess what...after one time of NOT getting a reaction, he did hold his breath until he passed out ..... and never did it again..weird but true., so I would just make sure a child was in a safe position like on the floor and then leave them alone for a little bit if they passed out but always keep watch and begin CPR if they don't resume breathing immediately..if they do resume on their own, just leave them alone and ignore them. Obviously if your child does this, they should be checked by a doctor to make sure the is not a physical problem.

Answer 10

No way this is a real question. What parent will let their infant pass out after a hard injury to the head and casually log on to an Internet site and wait around for answers??!!!! Jack off.