How to Solve a Baby's Spitting Up After Burping

Some spitting up after feeding is normal in babies and does not interfere with growth or health. Spitting up is sometimes a nuisance, however; it stains all sorts of fabrics and simply makes quite a mess. While frequent burping is associated with a reduction in spitting up, the process of burping your baby can also trigger spitting up, as a bit of formula or breast milk may come up along with the trapped air. Fortunately, most babies outgrow spitting up long before their first birthday.

Watch for signs that your baby is done eating. Stop feeding her if she begins turning away from your breast, biting, fussing or putting her hands on the bottle. Overfeeding increases the risk of spitting up.

Stop feeding your baby if she cries while eating or gulps at the breast or bottle. The more air she swallows during a meal, the more likely she is to spit up after burping.

Hold your baby still and semi-upright for at least 15 minutes following a feeding.

Burp your baby often during feedings, at least once every ounce if your baby frequently spits up. This helps prevent large air bubbles that bring up formula when her feeding is over.

Rub your baby's back in an upward circular motion to burp her, instead of patting her back or placing her on your lap and patting her. This helps reduce spitting up after burping.

Hold your infant in a semi-upright or upright position when burping her to encourage gas to work its way out more freely.

Tips

If your baby is bottle fed, try a smaller or larger nipple hole.

Warnings

Call your baby's pediatrician if she vomits after eating. Seek his advice if she has poor weight gain or loses weight. Also get help if she seems generally unwell or spits up frequently between meals.

Bouncing your baby around during and after feedings can upset her stomach and trigger spitting up.

×