Some parents think that baby grunting is a sign of something to be more concerned about. So parents ask why is my baby grunting at different times of the day.

But try to find out the solutions for this problem keeping one thing in your mind. That is, occasional grunting is a very normal thing among toddlers.

The infants produce various noises such as gurgling, snoring, whistling, hiccuping, coughing, sneezing, and grunting.

In the beginning, the newborns are trying to learn how to breathe outside the womb which can also cause a number of weird and strange sounds.

Parents try to see a difference between the gurgling noises and the squirms and try to enjoy most of the time.

But when it applies to grunting, most parents may begin to worry that the newborn or the toddler is in pain and they need help.

But observe the baby’s grunting closely and try to note that it happens with each and every breath of the baby.

This is the time you need to get a consultation with a doctor. This is essential when the baby is having a fever and appears to be in distress.

In this instance, the grunting may be a sign of a serious respiratory problem and need immediate medical attention.

What causes the newborn grunting?

Do you know about the grunting baby syndrome? That is the newborns get used to grunting when they are having bowel movements.

Babies need a series of muscle actions to pass their stools. Here, they use the stomach muscles to apply pressure that helps to move the stools through the gut and additional reflex activities are helping for this.

When The baby is too small, abdominal muscles are not strong enough to do this. So they use their diaphragm as an additional set of muscles.

So they try to put pressure on the diaphragm and that pressure is exerted on the voice box and causing the grunting.

Some newborns have irregular breathing patterns. So they try to control their breathing patterns and that causes the grunting.

The nasal passages of your newborn are very narrow. They automatically collect through the nasal passages. So that trapped mucus is causing the grunting.

Sometimes the grunting may be an indication of dreaming when your baby is sleeping. In other cases, the food in the stomach tends to rise in the food pipe of the baby.

This happens due to acid reflux most of the time and causes discomfort and baby grunting

Various noises that babies can make

Babies are nasal breathers. They form various noise types by gurgling, snoring, whistling, hiccuping, coughing, sneezing, and grunting.

Their breathing patterns vary from adults. A newborn can take 30-40 breaths per minute. But the adults can only do 12-20 times per minute while resting.

So don’t be concerned too much about the fast breathers. Most babies will grow out of it by about six months.

Some babies are snoring and whistle while the baby is resting. Some babies are born with narrow nasal passages and they are having intermittent whistling.

Another category of babies is born congested which means they are submerged in fluid for nine months. The snoring, coughing and can help them to work out that mucus.

A smaller percentage have smaller nostrils at birth and they are snoring while sleeping most of the time.

Combination of newborn grunting and constipation

Grunting newborns usually pass soft stools. But if your baby passes small, dry stools he/she won’t grunt as usual way. They have reduced appetite and a hard stomach.

They have fewer than three bowel movements per week.

You can follow a few strategies such as changing the formula, changing the diet of the adult if breastfeeding, feeding multiple times to increase hydration, and massaging the baby’s stomach.

Grunting as an infant distress warning sign

If your baby is having difficulties that are called distress. Sometimes your baby may have breathing problems such as retractions and grunting.

Retraction is an unusual breathing movement where the chest muscles pull the skin around the bones. If your baby produces a noisy breathing sound to keep the air in the lungs that are called grouting.

What is grunting baby syndrome?

When your baby squirms and grunts, mostly they may be passing soft and smooth stools. Don’t think that your baby is in pain.

Sometimes baby starts to squirm, and grunt together with crying then that situation is a bit more concerning situation rather than the previous situation. It may be the condition called grunting baby syndrome.

When your baby is trying to poop, it needs muscle coordination between the brain and the pelvic floor. Also in newborn babies, the stool reflex and the anus muscle activity do not work together.

So they try to use the diaphragm and tummy muscles while holding the anus tightly closed. If the child is doing this without effort then they squirm and grunt a lot to see the poop comes at least for 10 minutes.

It takes a little time for your baby to learn how to poop effectively. When the baby’s digestive system matures, it will eventually happen.

The Baby’s brain and body communication system also do additional support for this after it matured.

Grunting as a repetitive movement

Dear parents, If you are sure that your baby’s grunting is not related to the breathing movement, It may be related to the tic-like symptoms and another repetitive movement type.

It may be related to a neurological condition that is largely uncontrolled and involuntary.

When to need medical attention for grunting?

You may notice the following signs in your baby, take them to a doctor immediately.

Difficulty in breathing

Here baby tries to grunt too often. If you notice that the baby is experiencing increased difficulty in breathing with severe grunting, you need to consult a doctor as it could be a sign of a respiratory condition.

Blue patches on the skin 

If your baby has a disrupting breathing pattern unusually, sometimes you may notice his skin turning blue. This is also a medical emergency.

Other illness signs 

 When your baby has other health problems, he/she might make the different noises associated with grunting.

So if you notice the grunting accompanied by the illnesses like fever, shortness of breath, or indigestion you need to get the medical attention

Are home remedies practical for grunting

To practice the home remedies, you need to confirm with your doctor that your baby’s grunting is normal. Grunting is a simple way of learning how to have a bowel movement.

Your newborn needs to learn how to relax its anus while pushing its abdomen. This takes considerable time to practice these movements with trial and error.

If they grunts, So they are in a process of learning these bowel-passing movements.

Some researchers say that grunting helps with anal stimulation.

Dear parents, I strongly suggest that you should not rely on home remedies for the grunting of the baby. Most often babies grunt because of a pathological reason.

That may be either a physical or a mental issue. Taking the baby to a doctor is more practical. 

Don’t panic. Get the condition treated as soon as possible

Final thoughts

Try to differentiate between the occasional grunting and the grunting due to a pathological reason.

You can guess this by seeing the baby’s discomfort and other physical signs most of the time.

Mostly grunting is associated with breathing issues. If you observe bluish patches with respiratory difficulty with grunting, it is a medical emergency.

In another way, you can consider grunting with other illnesses with your baby. Don’t hesitate to get medical attention in such situations.

Sometimes grunting can appear as a repetitive movement type related to a neurological condition.

My advice for parents who experience often grunting with their babies, don’t rely on home remedies and get medical attention as soon as possible.