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Normal Vital Signs — Newborn (0–1 month)

In the first month of life everything runs fast: a newborn heart beats roughly twice as fast as an adult’s, and breathing is quick and sometimes irregular, with brief pauses of a few seconds that are normal at this age. Newborns also cannot regulate their temperature well, which is why both fever and a low temperature under 97.7°F (36.5°C) in a newborn are taken seriously.

Vital signNormal range — newborn (0–1 month)
Heart rate (awake, resting)100–160 beats/min
Breathing rate30–60 breaths/min
Blood pressure — systolic60–90 mmHg
Blood pressure — diastolic20–60 mmHg
Oxygen saturation (SpO2, room air)95% or higher
Body temperature97.7–99.5 °F (36.5–37.5 °C)

◆ Good to know

Rates swing widely with sleep, feeding and crying, so measure while your baby is calm. Heart rate is much lower in deep sleep and jumps quickly with crying — both are normal at this age.

Measuring at this age

  • Count heartbeats with a hand flat on the chest, or listen with your ear against it, for a full minute while your baby is calm.
  • Count breaths by watching the tummy rise and fall for a full minute — newborn breathing is irregular, so short counts mislead.
  • Blood pressure is not routinely measured at home at this age; if it is checked, it is done in clinic with a tiny cuff while the baby is calm.

Fever at this age

A temperature of 100.4°F (38.0°C) or higher is a fever. Thresholds, measuring methods and warning signs by age are covered in the fever guide — and any fever in a baby under 3 months old needs medical care the same day.

The full eight-band chart is on the vital signs by age hub, and as a printable wall chart.

All ages chartOlder: Infant (1–12 months) →
Please note: This page is patient education, not medical advice. Normal ranges are guides for a person who is awake, resting and measured correctly — a single reading outside the range is not a diagnosis. Abnormal readings in someone who is unwell, breathing with difficulty, unusually drowsy or simply worrying you warrant medical care — seek it promptly rather than re-checking at home.