Normal infant vital signs by age
A quick reference for newborn and infant heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure ranges. Use it to frame a bedside check, then interpret the number with the infant's appearance and trend.
Reference range disclaimer
Quick answer
- Newborns and infants have faster baseline heart and breathing rates than older children.
- Recheck values when the infant is calm, asleep, or settled after feeding if the first number seems high.
- Fever, crying, pain, dehydration, bronchodilators, and respiratory distress can all shift HR and RR upward.
- Use these broad ranges for quick reference. Use local pathways and the full clinical picture for escalation decisions.
Normal infant vital signs chart
These age bands match the site's pediatric vital signs calculator and are intended for quick bedside orientation. Values are rounded ranges, not rigid diagnostic cutoffs.
| Age | HR awake | HR asleep | RR | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neonate (0–28 days) | 100-205 bpm | 90-160 bpm | 30-53 breaths/min | 67-84/35-53 mmHg |
| Infant (1–12 months) | 100-190 bpm | 90-160 bpm | 30-53 breaths/min | 72-104/37-56 mmHg |
Need an exact-age lookup for older children too? Use the pediatric vital signs calculator.
Temperature and oxygen context
- Temperature: route matters. Many young-infant pathways treat rectal temperature of 38.0 C (100.4 F) or higher as fever, especially in infants under 60 days.
- Pulse oximetry: record room air versus oxygen support and follow local thresholds. Cyanosis, sustained low oxygen readings, or increased work of breathing should override a routine chart check.
- Trends: a value moving in the wrong direction can matter more than one borderline reading. Document context and reassessment timing.
How to measure infant vital signs
- Count respirations for a full minute; infant breathing can be irregular and periodic.
- Measure heart rate for a full minute when rhythm is irregular or the infant is very young.
- Record whether the infant was awake, asleep, crying, feeding, febrile, or receiving oxygen.
- Use the correct blood pressure cuff size and repeat unexpected BP values before acting on one reading.
- For preterm infants, corrected age may be more useful than chronological age when comparing expected ranges.
Red flags and when to escalate
A chart can help with context, but an ill-appearing infant needs clinical assessment even if one number sits inside a reference band.
- Persistent fast breathing, retractions, grunting, apnea, cyanosis, or oxygen concern.
- Poor feeding, lethargy, abnormal tone, inconsolability, or a caregiver report that the infant is not acting right.
- Cool extremities, delayed capillary refill, weak pulses, mottling, or a falling blood pressure trend.
- Fever in a young infant, especially under 60 days, or any temperature instability with ill appearance.
- Bradycardia, recurrent pauses in breathing, or abnormal values that do not improve when the infant settles.
Preterm and newborn workflow notes
For former preterm infants, corrected age can be more useful than chronological age when judging expected baseline physiology. For newborns in the first days of life, combine vital signs with feeding, bilirubin, glucose, weight change, and temperature stability.
Related tools and references
Frequently asked questions
Normal infant vital signs depend on age and state. In this reference, newborns 0 to 28 days have awake HR 100-205 bpm, asleep HR 90-160 bpm, RR 30-53 breaths/min, and BP about 67-84/35-53 mmHg. Infants 1 to 12 months have awake HR 100-190 bpm, asleep HR 90-160 bpm, RR 30-53 breaths/min, and BP about 72-104/37-56 mmHg.
Crying, fever, pain, feeding effort, dehydration, and medications can raise heart rate. Recheck when the infant is calm, and interpret the number with breathing effort, color, perfusion, feeding, and overall appearance.
Often yes, especially in early infancy. Corrected age can better match expected growth and development after preterm birth, but local neonatal guidance should drive decisions when an infant is medically fragile.
Blood pressure is not always measured during routine well visits in healthy infants. It is more common when an infant is ill, premature, has cardiac or renal history, or needs inpatient or emergency monitoring.
Seek urgent clinical assessment for abnormal vitals with poor feeding, lethargy, respiratory distress, cyanosis, poor perfusion, fever in a young infant, apnea, or values that stay abnormal after the infant settles.