If your infant has reflux, he or she isn't alone. Reflux, which occurs when stomach acid and food contents travel back up through the esophagus, is a common condition among American babies, reports the Mayo Clinic. Fortunately, most babies outgrow reflux sometime between 12 and 18 months old. Until then, you can help alleviate your infant's reflux by changing his or her feeding habits.
Reflux Symptoms
Spitting up breast milk, formula, or baby food can be a telltale sign of reflux. Reflux is the most common cause of infant vomiting, says Children's Hospital Boston. Other symptoms of infant reflux include coughing, wheezing, refusing to eat and crying at feeding times or when lying down flat on the back after feedings, according to the Mayo Clinic, which adds that you should call your doctor if your baby resists feedings; isn't gaining weight despite taking feedings; or spits up blood, green or yellow fluid, or black material.
Reflux Causes
Infants often have an immature lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that separates the stomach and esophagus. Sometimes the culprit is something else. The Mayo Clinic says that sometimes reflux happens when infants drink too much too fast, or when air bubbles in the esophagus push liquids out of infants' mouths.
Feeding Techniques
The way you feed your infant is just as important as what you feed him when trying to alleviate reflux. Since reflux is more likely to happen when your infant is lying flat than when he or she is sitting up, Children's Hospital Boston recommends either holding your infant in a sitting position or laying your baby on his or her stomach with the upper body elevated at least 30 degrees for 30 minutes after each feeding. The Mayo Clinic recommends giving your infant small, frequent feedings to minimize the risk of overloading his stomach, and also suggests burping your infant during feedings to release any gas that could cause reflux.
Breast Milk and Formula Considerations
You may be able to cut down on your infant's reflux or even eliminate it altogether by making changes to the breast milk or formula that you feed him. Thickening either breast milk or formula by adding a small amount of rice cereal to it may help fight infant reflux, says the Mayo Clinic, but be sure to enlarge the holes in the nipple you use to feed your baby so the thicker liquid can flow through. Keep in mind that a nipple hole is the right size when just a few drops of liquid fall out at a time. The Mayo Clinic cautions that your infant can gulp too much air if the hole is too small, or gulp too much liquid at once if the hole is too large. If you suspect that a formula allergy may be causing digestive distress for your infant and contributing to his or her reflux, try switching to a different type of formula to see if that alleviates the reflux, suggests Children's Hospital Boston.
