Infant reflux, also called as Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER), is a condition when the baby’s food backs up from stomach to his esophagus, causing him discomfort and making him spit up the food. It normally occurs to infants and lessens the frequency as the baby grows older. Every baby could experience this. Yes, even the healthiest one.
This reflux is not something we should seriously get worried of so as long as our baby is gaining weight, less fussy after feeding and doesn’t consistently spit up or vomit food forcefully. There is a rare chance also that the baby has blockage in his digestive system, also called as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD.
What causes Infant Reflux?
Lower Esophageal Spincher (LES) is the musclar ring connecting our esophagus and our stomach. It is like a small tube that closes the end part of esophagus so that the food that we swallowed will keep in place inside our stomach. In babies, their Lower Esophageal Spincher may not be fully developed yet during birth until their first few months of life. That is the reason why newborns and infants usually experience reflux. There are some factors that may contribute to this as well, such as
• When you don’t burp your baby after feeding, this might cause them to spit up a little.
• Premature babies have the tendancy of experiencing more reflux
• Completely liquid diet of infants since they just exclusively take milk as their food.
What you can do to prevent it
• When feeding, hold your baby in sitting position or at least elevate their chest and head part.
• After each feeding session, make sure to burp your baby by holding them up right for at least 20 minutes.
• Feed your baby in a small but frequent manner.
• Avoid laying your baby flat on their back most of the time.
When to consult your Doctor
• Constant vomiting or forcefuly spitting up
• Your baby loses appetite and refuse to take food
• Spitting colored fluids (green, yellow or having blood stain in spits)
• Constantly fussy and having discomfort every after feeding sessions
• Baby is not gaining weight and irritable most of the time
It is normal to get worried with everything that might go wrong with our baby especially if you are first time mom. If you are reading this article but would seem to worry still, you can also consult your pedia anytime to make sure that everything is ok with your little one. Make yourself at ease momma, as long as you do everything to prevent this infant reflux, and as long as your baby is looking and feeling well, then everything is alright.
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