What is normal spit-up of milk in babies?
When the contents of your baby's tummy come back up easily through their mouth, this action is termed as Spit-up. Spit-up often comes with a burp and it's not forceful. Mommies you might have experienced very often, because every baby does it. Spitting up is common in healthy babies.
Causes of spit- up
Some babies are happy spitters, they are comfortable, growing well and do not have any breathing problems caused by excess spit-ups and vomiting. During the first three months, about half of the babies experience acid reflux, which is coming back of stomach contents into the esophagus(food pipe). This condition is known as gastroesophageal reflux, infant acid reflux or infant reflux.
When we eat something food enters through the esophagus(food pipe) to the stomach. There is a muscle called lower esophageal sphincter between the esophagus and stomach to control the backflow of food. In infants, lower esophageal sphincter is not well developed therefore, milk content often comes out through babies mouth.
Difference between vomiting and spit- up
Spitting up is the easy flow of the baby's stomach contents through their mouth, which is mostly curdy in look and comes with a burp. While vomiting is forceful flow, comes quickly rather than dribbling from the mouth.
When spit-up is a problem
Infants are more prone to acid reflux because of their under- developed lower esophageal sphincter. More than half of all the infants experience acid reflux to some degree. Usually it starts from birth to 4 months and goes away on its own when the baby starts sitting on their own. It is very rare that the infant acid reflux symptoms continue till 1.5 years or 2 years of the baby's age. If the symptoms persist, then it's a sign of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Common symptoms of GERD includes:
Frequent spitting and vomiting: Consider the frequency of spitting and vomiting of your child. spitting up after every feed is abnormal.
Vomiting: If the vomiting is projectile with the force, it is not the same as spit-up. Also, check vomit color- green or yellow or blood or materials like coffee grounds.
As vomiting is typically seen in conjunction with other symptoms, like a fever or diarrhea, therefore consider that too.
Failure to gain weight: Baby's might show irritability during feeding and thus lack of weight could be a medical concern.
Gagging and choking: During reflux, the baby might feel choked.
Breathing issues: During reflux, the baby might feel gagging, choking, wheezing, coughing and sometimes in severe cases pneumonia from inhaling their stomach contents into their lungs.
Baby reflux sleep solutions
When my daughter (Purvi), was at the age of newborn to 3 months, she had three to four times acid reflux and suffered choking and breathing issues. Later on it goes on its own and thankfully she didn't get any reflux issue. While getting reflux she used to get breathing issues so I used to immediately hold her and elevate her head and back, like a sitting position which relaxes her. Being new parents, me and my husband, really got scared thinking what if she gets choked at the middle of the night, but luckily she didn't face anything like that during night sleep. We consulted our pediatrician, and he recommended making her sleep by elevating her head a little upward. For this we bought a wedge baby reflux pillow which has a belt to support. Usually wedges are not recommended to use because of the fear the baby may slide down or to their sides and may get covered by the blanket. Therefore, if you are planning to use a wedge pillow then invest in some good pillow having a proper belt or something that will hold your baby to sleep in position. I used to make my baby sleep by my side, and protect her sides with unrolling pillows. After four months we didn't find any infant reflux issue and she sleeps without any wedges or pillow. I am sharing here the picture and link of the infant reflux pillow, available online, which I used for my daughter. I bought it from the first cry but it's unavailable there, the same company pillow I got on some other website you can check below. If you want to buy it you can check the link.
Actually, if you follow some of the tips accurately, your baby will definitely not get any reflux. Here are the tips.
Tips to reduce spit-up
Avoid overfeeding to your baby: Feed your baby in smaller amounts more frequently than overfeeding at one time.
Upright position: First feed your baby making her head little elevated and second hold him/her in an upright position for at least 30 minutes.
Burp, Burp, Burp: Burping after each feed is very necessary, mostly for the babies having reflux issues. Do not lie down your baby without listening to that burp sound.
Sleep on back: Put your baby to sleep on his/her back on the tummy. Some parents make their baby sleep on their tummy to prevent spit-up which is totally not recommended.
Mommies diet (nursing mom)- If you are a breastfeeding mom, then take a healthy diet to avoid reflux in your little one. Avoid acidic foods like tomato, citric fruit juices, dishes like rasam, Kadhi, foods made with besan, etc.
Hope this article helps you in finding out why your baby is getting spit-up and how you are going to overcome it.
For more articles related to babycare, postpartum and pregnancy care do not forget to subscribe Moms Review Pad.
Also read:
Comments