The nurse is counting an infant's respirations. Which technique is correct?

A) Watching the chest rise and fall
B) Observing the movement of the abdomen
C) Placing a hand across the infant's chest
D) Using a stethoscope to listen to the breath sounds

Watching the abdomen for movement is the correct technique because the infant's respirations are normally more diaphragmatic than thoracic. The other responses do not reflect correct techniques. To count the respirations of an infant the nurse should not observe or place a hand on the chest because infants' respirations are more diaphragmatic than thoracic. The nurse should also not listen with a stethoscope to count respirations because that will influence the infant's breathing. Instead, watching the abdomen for movement is the correct technique to count an infant's respirations because the infant's respirations are normally more diaphragmatic than thoracic.