Babies usually tend to spit up when they've gulped in some air along with their milk. — TNS
All babies spit up.
Some babies spit up more than others, or at certain times.
Typically, babies spit up after they gulp down some air with breast milk or formula.
A baby’s stomach is small and can’t hold a lot after all – milk and air can fill it up quickly.
With a full stomach, any change in position such as bouncing or sitting up can force the flap between the oesophagus (food pipe) and stomach to open.
And when that flap (the oesophageal sphincter) opens, that’s when some of what your baby just ate can make a return appearance.
So, what can you do – if anything – to reduce the amount of your baby’s spit up?
How do you know if your baby’s symptoms are part of a larger problem?
Here are some common concerns parents have about spit up:
Possible cause: Gastroesophageal reflux (this is normal, if mild).
Action to take: None.
The spitting up will grow less frequent and stop as your baby’s muscles mature, especially that flap we talked about earlier.
It often just takes time.
Possible cause: Aerophagia (swallowing more air than usual).
Action to take: Make sure your baby is positioned properly during feeds.
Also be sure to burp the baby during and after feeds.
Consider trying a different bottle to decrease your baby’s ability to suck in air.
Possible cause: Overstimulation.
Action to take: Keep mealtimes calm.
Limit active play for about 20 to 30 minutes afterward.
Possible cause: Pyloric stenosis or another health problem that requires diagnosis and treatment.
Action to take: Call your paediatrician right away so that they can examine your baby.
Possible cause: Swelling of the oesophagus or stomach (oesophagitis or gastritis), or another health problem that requires diagnosis and treatment.
Action to take: Call your paediatrician right away so that they can examine your baby.
Regardless of whether or not your baby’s spit up warrants watchful waiting or medical intervention, some simple feeding suggestions can help you deal with the situation at hand.
Here are five tips to help reduce your baby’s spit up:
Like a gas tank, fill baby’s stomach too full (or too fast) and it’s going to spurt right back out at you.
To help reduce the likelihood of overfeeding, feed your baby smaller amounts more frequently.
Extra gas in your baby’s stomach has a way of stirring up trouble.
As gas bubbles escape, they have an annoying tendency to bring the rest of the stomach’s contents up with them.
To minimise the chances of this happening, burp not only after, but also during meals.
Pressing on a baby’s belly right after eating can up the odds that anything in their stomach will be forced into action.
While tummy time is important for babies, postponing it for a while after meals can serve as an easy and effective avoidance technique.
If your baby is formula feeding, there’s a possibility that their formula could be contributing to their spitting up.
While some babies simply seem to fare better with one formula over another without having a true allergy or intolerance, an estimated 5% of babies are genuinely unable to handle the proteins found in milk or soy formula.
This condition is known as cow’s milk protein intolerance/allergy (CMPI/A).
In either case, spitting up may serve as one of several cues your baby may give you that it’s time to discuss alternative formulas with your paediatrician.
If your baby does have a true intolerance, a one- or two-week trial of hypoallergenic (hydrolysed) formula designed to be better tolerated might be recommended by your baby’s provider.
Cow’s milk and soy in your diet can worsen spit up in infants with CMPI and CMPA.
Removing these proteins can help to reduce or eliminate spit up.
Giving babies cereal before six months is generally not recommended, with one possible exception.
Babies and children with dysphagia or reflux, for example, may need their food to be thicker in order to swallow safely or reduce reflux.
In response to concerns over arsenic in rice, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that parents of children with these conditions use oatmeal instead of rice cereal. – By Dr Alejandro Velez and Dr Chris-tine Waasdorp Hurtado/AAP/Tribune News Service
Dr Alejandro Velez is a second-year gastroenterology fellow and Dr Christine Waasdorp Hurtado is an associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in the United States.
