The medical terminology for when a baby spits up is gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Despite its scary-sounding name, reflux is common in most babies until they begin eating solid food. Although the lower esophageal sphincter is supposed to open and close to allow food into the stomach, sometimes in infants when the LES opens, milk or formula comes back up into a baby's esophagus and mouth. However, there are simple ways to treat the symptoms of GER in an infant.
Step 1
Keep your baby in an upright position, holding her at about a 45-degree angle while you are feeding her. Cincinnati Children's Hospital recommends raising the head of your baby's crib mattress by about 6 inches. Place a regular-size pillow underneath the crib mattress on top of the springs. If you need, use a second pillow. You want your baby's head to be positioned higher than her stomach, but be careful so that you don't raise the crib mattress so high that she slides down toward the foot of the crib.
Step 2
Give milk time to settle in your baby's stomach. Do not bounce your baby or lay him down for at least 30 minutes after feeding. When you do put your baby down to sleep, lay him on his back.
Step 3
Feed your baby less formula or milk, but feed him more often. Feeding your baby too much at one time can make reflux worse. If you bottle-feed your baby, burp him about every five minutes, or after every ounce of formula he drinks. Infants who are breastfed should be burped after nursing on each breast.
Step 4
Thicken your baby's formula with cereal to help her digest it better. Add 1tbsp. of rice cereal for every 2 oz. of formula. If you are breastfeeding your baby, you can also add cereal to pumped breast milk.
Step 5
Investigate the possibility of a food allergy. Some infants who suffer from reflux have an allergy to the protein in cow's milk. If a food allergy is suspected as the cause for symptoms, your baby's doctor will suggest other formula alternatives.
Step 6
Consider using medications to control your infant's reflux. Your baby's pediatrician may prescribe medication if your infant is having difficulty sleeping or is not growing as she should be. A class of medications called H-2 blockers is commonly used to keep acid from reaching the esophagus. Pediatricians often prescribe drugs like Zantac, Tagamet or Pepcid to treat infants with more severe cases of GER. Proton-pump inhibitors such as Prevacid and Prilosec are another class of medications that decrease the amount of acid the stomach produces. These are most frequently used in infants who fail to thrive.
Step 7
Consider surgery only in the most severe cases or when lifestyle changes and medications fail to help. It might be necessary for your baby to have surgery to ensure that the sphincter does not continue to allow acid from the stomach to pass through to the esophagus. According to the National Digestive Diseases Clearinghouse, surgery is usually required only in rare cases. Treatment depends on the age of an infant and the symptoms he suffers. Fortunately, in most cases, parents only need to make changes in a baby's eating and sleeping habits.
Tips and Warnings
- Mild cases of GER in children often do not require medical treatment since many infants outgrow the condition as they grow older. Contact your baby's pediatrician if she appears to be in pain, coughs or chokes while feeding, vomits forcefully or spits up what looks like more than 1 or 2 tbsp. of formula.
