Search:

Reflux: A Baby’s Silent Pain

By: Tymon Hytem First and foremost, it is important to understand that not all babies who have reflux will require medication. Secondly, most babies that are diagnosed with reflux tend to grow out of it once they start developing the skills of sitting, crawling and walking as their stomach muscles get stronger. When this occurs, then the small muscles at the entrance to the stomach should get stronger and the reflux should decrease and go away. A lot of babies have reflux, but it does not produce problems for them. Any infant who exhibits reflux symptoms, either with the pain or just the happy spit up kid, will benefit tremendously from some simple things to help reduce the symptoms. Many of the things hints below will help your baby’s discomfort and spitting up, and hopefully eliminate the need for medication.
• Keep the baby upright during their feedings and for at least thirty minutes after. This will help to reduce reflux by allowing gravity to work at holding the food in their tummies. Formula fed babies may require longer periods since formula is digested slower than breast milk. But as a rule, breastfed babies do get reflux too. If you are breast feeding you want to make sure that you avoid dairy products as well as caffeine and citrus foods. These things can sometimes make your baby’s reflux worse. Also, if you think you child might have lactose intolerance; you should also switch your dairy products to lactose free products, as this will help to reduce reflux in your breastfed baby.
• When feeding your baby, make sure to give smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will also cut down on the amount of reflux that you will see as it allows the stomach not to be overfull and cause the regurgitation of the food back up. You can also talk with your pediatrician about trying some cereal with your child. Sometimes introducing the thicker type of foods will help keep it down in the stomach instead of allowing it to come back up. You also want to make sure to burp your baby frequently during feeding, especially during bottle feedings. This will help them to get gasses out that can contribute to a full scale spit up after eating.
• Car seat position can also be an issue. Some car seats put the baby in a hunched over or slouched position. This will add pressure on their tummies causing an increase in reflux. Make sure that the car seat that you choose does not do this to your child otherwise you will find yourself cleaning out the car a lot.
• When you put your child down to sleep positioning is again very important. Keeping the head of the baby propped up during sleep is essential when they have reflux. Not only will it allow your child to sleep better, but it can also help reduce painful reflux episodes and reduce the risk of aspiration. Most babies with reflux do better sleeping on their stomach, because it reduces the instances of reflux. However there becomes an issue with what position to sleep your baby. Most pediatricians will tell you to reduce the risk of SIDS to sleep your child on their back. This is okay and the baby can be safe in an elevated position while on their back; however, you need to discuss with your pediatrician which is a better sleeping position for your child with reflux. There are some safe positions (and positioners) that you can use for your baby when placing them on their stomachs to sleep.
• Above all, you want to make sure that your baby is comfortable. Avoid tight fitting clothes, especially around the waist line as this can increase pressure at the stomach level and cause increased reflux. Most babies that have reflux just want to be held, and this is okay. Go out and purchase a carrier for your child. This will increase their comfort by keeping them upright and decrease their crying which can really contribute to the reflux symptoms. Finally, providing a pacifier for the baby to suck on is a good thing. This will help to sooth the acid that comes up with the reflux by producing saliva to help neutralize it.
No matter the cause of your baby’s reflux, it is something that can be dealt with. In some cases, medication is the only thing that will bring sanity back to your life and provide ease of symptoms for your baby. Don’t worry too much about it though, as your baby grows, in most cases, they outgrow the problem, and medications can be discontinued.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Bekie Cohner is a health and wellness professional with 16 years experience helping people make the right decisions for everything from Exercise Equipment to help with general medical issues. You can find more health information by www.spectrumhealth.info > Clicking Here .

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated