Coughs, colds and croup are the three most common breathing issues experienced by young children. However, young children with CP may face extra breathing challenges. 

CP may cause spasticity in your child’s breathing muscles - weak muscles, spinal abnormalities and compromised posture, which may all contribute to a reduced and less-efficient lung function. This means that your child with CP is more prone to respiratory issues, such as aspiration, pneumonia, bronchiolitis and respiratory distress syndrome.

Children with CP may also have oral motor dysfunction, causing them to have difficulty using their mouth the way they want to when they speak, bite, chew and swallow. This can cause respiratory problems because aspiration can occur when food goes into the breathing pipe (trachea), which can lead to pneumonia or other lung infections.

Croup is a common chest infection in children under six. It begins with cold symptoms, which develop into a barking cough, noisy breathing and sometimes a hoarse voice.

Pneumonia, caused by a virus or bacteria, is a serious lung infection. It reduces the amount of oxygen able to reach your child’s system due to the small airways in their lungs becoming clogged with mucus.

If your child is having any breathing difficulties, please seek medical advice immediately.

There are things you can do to support your child’s breathing. With the right support, monitoring, management and advice from your healthcare team, your child’s breathing issues can be managed effectively.

In this section you will find more resources about breathing.