Hiccups are one of the symptoms of gas buildup in your baby. This is a common condition that occurs as your baby digests the lactose, protein and other nutrients in breast milk or formula, says T.A. Lawrence on the Colic Calm website. But, while gas and the resulting hiccups aren't usually causes for concern, they can be uncomfortable for your baby. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can help ease the condition.
Causes of Hiccups
According to the Babycenter website, hiccups occur when the diaphragm muscle is irritated, causing it to spasm or contract suddenly. Hiccups are one of the main side effects of gas -- others include flatulence, a bloated stomach, restlessness, burping and spitting up, says Lawrence. There are a variety of causes of gas buildup in babies, but some of the most common are gas forming as a natural byproduct of digestion and your baby taking in extra air when crying, breastfeeding or sucking on a bottle nipple. Some experts also believe that if you eat gas-producing foods -- for example, legumes and vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage -- you can pass gas onto your baby. A maternal diet with high acidity -- from citrus fruits and tomato -- may also irritate your baby's digestive processes.
Burping
This is an essential part of the feeding process because it helps dispel air bubbles created as your baby suckles. To avoid excess gas and hiccups, Lawrence recommends burping every three to five minutes during every feeding. Another way to reduce the risk of hiccups if you are bottle feeding is to make sure the teat is the right size: too big and your baby will gulp too quickly; too small and he will take in too much air as he tries to suck the milk. Both actions can result in excessive gas and the telltale hiccups. The Maternity Network also recommends feeding your baby in an upright position and avoiding laying him down on his back immediately after a feeding.
Baby Massage
Gently pressing or rubbing your baby's stomach may help reduce gas buildup and therefore ease hiccups, says Lawrence. Placing her in the football hold -- cradled on your arm, face down with legs hanging free -- may also help by placing gentle pressure on the tummy and promoting the expulsion of excess gas.
Precautions
Gas and hiccups are usually not serious and generally go away by themselves, but they can be a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease, says Lynnette Mazur, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the Shriner's Hospital in Houston, on the Babycenter website. See your doctor if your baby hiccups persistently and often, has trouble keeping food down and is unusually irritable and restless. While burping and gentle massage can give your baby relief from hiccups, Mazur warns against using folk remedies, such as startling your baby, pressing on her eyeballs or fontanel, or pulling hertongue. There is no evidence that these remedies work and they can, in fact, harm your baby.
