Why does a baby spit up milk and is it normal

It often happens that the baby spits up milk. Of course, this cannot but cause concern for moms. In most cases, there is no particular cause for concern, but sometimes the help of a pediatrician may be required. First of all, you need to find out the reason for regurgitation.

Why does a baby spit up breast milk?

If the baby has spit up breast milk, this may be due to the following reasons:

• Air is generated in the stomach. The baby may suckle too quickly, as a result, air enters with the milk, which causes belching. In addition, the mother may not properly latch the baby to the breast, which is why he also swallows air.
• Overeating. To avoid regurgitation, you should not overfeed the baby: it often occurs when the mother has a lot of milk and the baby eats more than needed. If he is artificially fed, it is necessary to monitor the dosage of the mixture.
• Wrong position of the baby's body after the end of feeding. After eating, the child must be allowed to rest for at least an hour. Do not take him in your arms, change clothes, squeeze your tummy.

If the baby spits up no later than an hour after feeding, if he feels good and gains weight normally, there is no reason for concern.

Why does the child spit up the mixture

The main root cause of regurgitation is the insufficient maturity of children's digestive organs, therefore, to a greater or lesser extent, it occurs in almost all children. However, artificial people are more susceptible to this than breastfed babies. Several factors can contribute to this:

• Incorrectly selected food. Even a high-quality mixture may have an individual intolerance for your baby, so you should not rely only on the recommendations of pediatricians and pharmacists.
• Inappropriate dosage of the mixture. Many moms make the mistake of giving their baby the same amount of formula. The consequence of this is overeating and belching. The dosage needs to be adjusted depending on the time of day and the condition of the baby.
• Accumulated gases that interfere with the flow of food into the intestines. Taking fennel medications can help.

Why does a child spit up like a fountain

Thus, belching after a meal is okay. However, it sometimes happens that a child spits up like a fountain. This eructation is more like vomiting and causes particular panic in the parents. Unfortunately, sometimes there are reasons for it: such a regurgitation may indicate the presence of problems in the baby's body.

Often, regurgitation by a fountain indicates abnormalities in the development of the stomach or intestines. In some cases, this may be a sign of poisoning or ingestion of a virus, and symptom of allergy... Finally, even milk intolerance can cause such regurgitation.

If the baby spits up like a fountain even after an hour or two after feeding, especially if the belching is yellow, you need to see a doctor. You should be especially wary if frequent regurgitation is accompanied by weight loss. Often in these cases, the pediatrician refers to a neurologist, since a disease of the nervous system can cause such symptoms.

What to do if a child spits up

To prevent regurgitation, you can try anti-gas products (such as fennel) to help relieve pressure on the stomach wall. In addition, in order to reduce the frequency and amount of regurgitated food, you need to follow certain rules for caring for a child:

• You can temporarily reduce the amount of food you give your child. If the baby is artificially fed, you just need to reduce the mixture rate. If you are breastfeeding, try shortening the duration of your feeding.
• Experts advise swaddling the baby before going to bed, leaving only the legs free. Then at night the baby will be in a calm state, the walls of the stomach will not be subjected to pressure and he will spit up less often.
• It is sometimes useful to give the baby a pacifier: when he sucks it, it stimulates the intestines. As a result of such activity, the child will spit up much less.
• Try to gradually develop the physical activity of the baby. Walk with him in the fresh air more often, bathe, if possible, do special exercises and take a massage course. All this helps to strengthen the muscles, including those that ensure the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. These muscle strengthening methods help to get rid of constipation in infants.

In addition, there are a few more rules. When the baby is in a crib or stroller, the headboard should be raised (a thin pillow will do). It is also necessary to ensure that the head is slightly tilted, then the crumb does not drown.

It is always necessary to feed the baby on time: if he gets hungry, he will overeat and begin to regurgitate. When feeding, you also need to be careful: the opening of the nipple should not be too large. Choose a suitable tilt of the bottle, when it is not positioned correctly, the baby swallows a lot and air enters the stomach.

If you follow the recommendations, put your baby to bed correctly, keep him upright in your arms more often and try to reduce gas formation, you can significantly reduce the frequency and volume of regurgitation. As the child grows up, the strengthening of his digestive organs, they will disappear altogether.