Final answer:
Newborn respiratory characteristics are primarily abdominal, diaphragmatic, and irregular, with a typical rate of 30 to 60 breaths per minute, which stabilizes and decreases over time.
Step-by-step explanation:
The characteristics of a newborn's respirations are typically abdominal, diaphragmatic, and irregular. This pattern is a result of the neonate adjusting from placental oxygenation to independent breathing. Newborns tend to breathe with their diaphragm, as their chest muscles are not yet fully developed, which results in their abdomen moving up and down with each breath. The breathing pattern is irregular due to the respiratory centers in the newborn's brain still maturing, causing variations in rate and depth of respirations. Immediately following birth, as the lungs inflate and begin to exchange air, these irregular patterns start to stabilize, but it is still normal for a newborn's breathing rate to vary significantly.
At birth, several factors, such as contractions during labor restricting the umbilical flow and elevating carbon dioxide levels, stimulate a newborn to begin breathing air. Gradually, over the early childhood years, the respiratory rate decreases from an initial range of 30 to 60 breaths per minute down to a rate similar to adults of 12 to 18 breaths per minute.