# Babies can't breathe through their mouths? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507 "2012-11-19T14:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/21 "2012-11-20T01:08:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > When I googled “babies can’t breathe through their mouths”, there were a staggering number of hits indicating that this is a widely-believed meme, hence my questions. It would appear that, like many such beliefs, there is a grain of truth in it that has transformed itself into a “ducks’ quacks don’t echo” sort of thing. Your (and my) incredulity notwithstanding, it’s good to get an answer from somebody who actually knows the facts rather than just another “you’re teh stoopid” comment. I disagree. I think it’s personally reasonable to post a (as you call it) “you’re teh stoopid” comment when someone asks if baby humans can breathe through their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/22 "2012-11-20T04:13:07Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I disagree. I think it’s personally reasonable to post a (as you call it) “you’re teh stoopid” comment when someone asks if baby humans can breathe through their mouths. Well, perhaps if I’d asked for your opinion instead of a fact-based answer, I’d give a shit what you think. And I didn’t ask that question, so you’re reading skills suck, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/23 "2012-11-20T04:23:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And I didn’t ask that question, so\*\* you’re\*\* reading skills suck, as well. \*\*We’ll \*\*done. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/24 "2012-11-20T11:18:15Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Take-home message from that paper: > [@](#): > > These results demonstrate that newborn infants may use the oral airway for ventilation, both spontaneously and in response to complete nasal occlusion. “May” as in “may or may not,” right? If I am reading that abstract correctly, they experimented by blocking babies’ noses for 15 seconds, and they found that 40% of the babies responded by breathing through their mouths. Presumably that means that 60% did not. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/25 "2012-11-21T16:47:23Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I disagree. I think it’s personally reasonable to post a (as you call it) “you’re teh stoopid” comment when someone asks if baby humans can breathe through their mouths. [Moderator Note] Actually, since the OP indicated he thought it was unlikely and was basically looking for the source of a common misconception, it wasn’t necessary to be so snarky. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, perhaps if I’d asked for your opinion instead of a fact-based answer, I’d give a shit what you think. And I didn’t ask that question, so you’re reading skills suck, as well. This said, this isn’t an appropriate response either. If you have a problem with another poster, report it. I’m not making this a warning, but let’s refrain from this in the future. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/26 "2012-11-21T17:27:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > “May” as in “may or may not,” right? If I am reading that abstract correctly, they experimented by blocking babies’ noses for 15 seconds, and they found that 40% of the babies responded by breathing through their mouths. Presumably that means that 60% did not. Or that 40% had “open mouth” as the first response and the other 60% had “try to escape” as the first response. Never presume that whomever wrote an abstract was any good at writing. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/27 "2012-11-21T17:45:43Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > “May” as in “may or may not,” right? If I am reading that abstract correctly, they experimented by blocking babies’ noses for 15 seconds, and they found that 40% of the babies responded by breathing through their mouths. Presumably that means that 60% did not. I interpreted that as 40% mouth breathed within 15 seconds, and they didn’t try for longer than that. I expect the number breathing by mouth would have continued to rise rapidly over the next 15-45 seconds until it approached 100%. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/28 "2012-11-22T02:20:34Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I interpreted that as 40% mouth breathed within 15 seconds, and they didn’t try for longer than that. I expect the number breathing by mouth would have continued to rise rapidly over the next 15-45 seconds until it approached 100%. One supposes that being genetically predisposed to never mouth breath is not a dominate trait in species who get colds. Statistically, it couldn’t be very common as a recessive trait, either. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/29 "2012-11-22T19:02:02Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Babies are [obligate nasal breathers](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4032139). It doesn’t mean they can’t breathe through their mouths, it’s just much more difficult for them. Their tongues are bigger in relation to their airway. Perhaps that terminology is the source of the urban legend. “Obligate” gets confused with “obligatory”. As for the fact that babies can breathe through their noses while swallowing, that is not only correct, but is the norm for most mammals. We hoo-mans have given up that ability (except as infants) in order to speak. Which demonstrates the considerable advantage speech has, since it sets us up for choking while eating. Even if infants had the brainpower to speak, they wouldn’t have the anatomy to make many sounds as their larynx has not descended yet. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/30 "2012-11-22T20:36:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > As for the fact that babies can breathe through their noses while swallowing, that is not only correct, but is the norm for most mammals. We hoo-mans have given up that ability (except as infants) in order to speak. Which demonstrates the considerable advantage speech has, since it sets us up for choking while eating. Even if infants had the brainpower to speak, they wouldn’t have the anatomy to make many sounds as their larynx has not descended yet. Do you have some information on the changes to throat anatomy that allow for this? I’ve never heard that babies can breathe while actually swallowing, and I’m trying to figure out how that would be possible with a human pharynx. They breathe while suckling, sure, but that’s because they gather milk in the back of their mouths for a few sucks before swallowing, and I thought they (momentarily) held their breath during the swallow just like you and I do. And if we had to “give it up to speak”, then how do infants babble? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/31 "2012-11-22T21:05:49Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Do you have some information on the changes to throat anatomy that allow for this? I’ve never heard that babies can breathe while actually swallowing, and I’m trying to figure out how that would be possible with a human pharynx. They don’t have a “human” pharynx, so to speak. They have the more common mammalian anatomy. > [@](#): > > They breathe while suckling, sure, but that’s because they gather milk in the back of their mouths for a few sucks before swallowing, and I thought they (momentarily) held their breath during the swallow just like you and I do. And if we had to “give it up to speak”, then how do infants babble? They can make sounds similar to what chimps can make. It’s not until they are a few months old that they can start to produce more of a human range of sounds. Most of what I’ve read about this is in books, but [this site](http://www.livescience.com/7468-hyoid-bone-changed-history.html) explains things a bit. I couldn’t find a good one with pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507/32 "2012-11-22T21:18:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Perhaps that terminology is the source of the urban legend. “Obligate” gets confused with “obligatory”. > > As for the fact that babies can breathe through their noses while swallowing, that is not only correct, but is the norm for most mammals. We hoo-mans have given up that ability (except as infants) in order to speak. Which demonstrates the considerable advantage speech has, since it sets us up for choking while eating. Even if infants had the brainpower to speak, they wouldn’t have the anatomy to make many sounds as their larynx has not descended yet. How exactly do other animals breathe while swallowing, unless they can only breathe through their noses (then how do animals like dogs bark)? There is only one tube after the nose and mouth until you reach the epiglottis. [This paper](http://www.nature.com/gimo/contents/pt1/full/gimo10.html) also seems to confirm (“It is well established that breathing and swallowing do not occur simultaneously in infant or adult animals and humans”) that other animals can’t breathe and swallow at the same time, despite the apparently widespread (per Google search results) myth, if it is a myth, that humans are the only mammal that can’t do both at once (I say mammal because there are animals that can’t do either; for example, amphibians can’t [breathe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buccal_pumping) at all if their mouth is full of food, much less while swallowing). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babies-cant-breathe-through-their-mouths/641507.md?page=1)