Review: Take a Deep Breath by Nina Shapiro, MD

There are plenty of challenges that we face as parents. Some are simple, like learning how to simultaneously change a diaper, finish a phone call and prevent your child from knocking over everything on the changing table. Others, like helping your child when they’re sick, are a lot more difficult and frightening. As Mom to a child with asthma, I’ve had my share of sleepless nights trying to decide if she needs to be dragged to the emergency room in the wee hours or if I should just ride it out until morning. And every time, no matter what I decided, I ended up second guessing myself. In an effort to help parents just like me, and you, Nina Shapiro, MD has written Take a Deep Breath to help us all understand how kids breath, and how to help them if they’re not breathing well.

The science behind how children breath is complex. It changes as they grow and what’s normal changes, too.  All this just makes it more challenging for parents to know what to do when a child is sick. Doctor Shapiro neatly breaks down normal breathing at different stages in their lives through three sections: Newborn to Three Months, Three Months to One Year, and One to Five Years.  In each section, she describes the way a child usually breathes and how it sounds. She makes all those wheezes and gurgles and odd little noises make sense.

And she helps set your mind at ease so that you’re not panicked at every last sound your child makes. Her descriptions of the problems children face breathing when they’re sick or have allergies is presented in a way that parents can easily understand. There are plenty of things that sound wrong to a parent’s ear that are perfectly normally, and Dr. Shapiro makes understanding the difference a little less intimidating. There’s also a quick reference page at the end of each section with “Worry” or “Don’t Worry” as a guide for some common concerns.

Take a Deep Breath, Clear the Air for the Health of Your Child provides a framework for understanding how children breath and for helping them when they’re ill. Whether your child is healthy or suffers from chronic problems like asthma, you will find this book a comforting guide to managing your child’s health.

A copy of this book was provided for review.