Many novice parents have been tortured by the baby's spitting up, especially in the middle of the night, the baby suddenly vomited a bed, only to open the confused sleep eyes to get up to make the bed to change the quilt.
Sometimes even during the day, when kissing and hugging the baby and holding high, suddenly a mouthful of milk sprays on your head, and some babies can even spray directly onto the wall two meters away, and the combat effectiveness is explosive.
It's normal for babies to spit up, but you should also pay attention to see if your baby has gastroesophageal reflux.
Gastroesophageal reflux refers to stomach acid, pepsin and other things in the stomach, reflux to the esophagus or even the mouth, in general, the baby's gastroesophageal reflux is because the baby's sphincter under the esophagus is not perfect enough to cause, this is also a normal phenomenon, usually in the baby 1-2 years old will disappear, parents do not have to worry too much.
The most prominent manifestation of the baby's gastroesophageal reflux is spitting up or milk spillage, which is divided into two situations:
The first: known as "happy vomiting", generally occurs in breastfeeding, or after the baby drinks milk with the bottle, there is a situation of spitting up or milk spillage, and there is no discomfort after vomiting and other undesirable performances, some babies will also feel very fun, mental condition is also better.
This is mainly caused by physiological gastroesophageal reflux. Because the baby is still relatively small, the muscle ring (lower esophageal sphincter) between the stomach and esophagus is not yet fully developed, and the strength is also very weak, sometimes unable to guide food down and block the return of food, resulting in spitting up or milk leakage.
For this physiological gastroesophageal reflux, drug therapy is generally not required.
Generally healthy babies will also often have gastroesophageal reflux, usually after birth there may be vomiting and other situations, in the baby 4 months when the symptoms peak, spitting up is also more frequent, and then will continue to decrease with age.
Most babies will significantly reduce the number of spit-ups at the age of 1, and there will be almost no spit-up after the age of 1 and a half, and usually disappear completely after the baby reaches the age of 2.
It should be reminded that sometimes the baby cries, coughs, overmobilizes or overwork can also induce gastroesophageal reflux, and lying flat, flat gas or food allergies, infections, etc. may also aggravate the symptoms of reflux, so parents can gently burp after feeding their children to reduce spitting up.
Second: this situation will be more serious, the baby will be uncomfortable after spitting up milk or milk spillage, poor mental condition, feeding difficulties, growth retardation, and some babies will have repeated coughing, wheezing difficulties, stool with blood, and even suffer from pneumonia.
If your baby has the following symptoms, parents should send your baby to the doctor as soon as possible:
The baby has abnormal symptoms such as severe vomiting, crying and restlessness, and abdominal distension and stiffness;
Coughing, wheezing, pneumonia, blood and stool caused by spitting up milk;
The baby has difficulty feeding and has obvious growth and development delays
So, is there a way to prevent gastroesophageal reflux in babies?
Although gastroesophageal reflux is a very common phenomenon, parents can still prevent it and reduce the frequency of spitting up milk in babies.
Eat fewer and more meals
Reducing the amount of each feeding can reduce the frequency and extent of gastroesophageal reflux, so parents can let their babies eat less and eat more meals, trying to feed before the baby is extremely hungry.
Keep quiet during feeding
Try to be as quiet as possible with each feeding so that your baby's meal time is calm and enjoyable. It is best not to let sudden noise, glare and other distractions disturb your baby's feeding.
When feeding with a bottle, pay attention to the size of the hole in the nipple and pay attention to burping during feeding
When feeding with a bottle, make sure the hole in the nipple is not too large (the milk comes out quickly) and not too small (swallowing more air). You can flip the bottle to try, if a few drops are dropped and then not dripped, it means that the hole in the nipple is the right size. At the same time, during the feeding process, you need to pay attention to burping your baby every 3-5 minutes.
Hold for 20-30 minutes after feeding
Do not let your baby lie flat to feed. Each time you finish feeding, pick your baby up or let him lie on your parent's shoulder for 20-30 minutes and burp your baby gently.
Also be careful not to let your baby's abdomen get under pressure or play violently after you have just finished feeding. When the baby is lying down, it can also be combined with the baby's slope pad (15°-30° above the upper body) to reduce gastroesophageal reflux.
Avoid exposing your baby to secondhand smoke
Nicotine in secondhand smoke lowers the pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, leading to gastroesophageal reflux.
Breastfeeding mothers eat less gas-prone foods
The mother's diet during lactation may also cause the baby to regurgitate, and the diet can be adjusted according to needs: vegetables that are easy to produce include broccoli, onions, garlic, cabbage, purple cabbage and asparagus; also drink less soda and foods containing sweeteners.
Increases the viscosity of your baby's complementary foods
If your baby has added complementary foods, you can try to increase the viscosity of each food, such as mixing a little rice paste in the milk to reduce gastroesophageal reflux.