Nutrition and diet 

Why does the baby spit up a lot after feeding. Physiological causes of regurgitation. What to do - the baby spits up constantly after feeding with the formula

Spitting up a baby after breastfeeding is a situation that worries every mother. Are there any reasons for concern? How to determine the cause of regurgitation? What to do to eliminate regurgitation?

Find out today.

In the meantime, a little background ...

Baby is 1.5 months old. Delivery on time, but there was hypoxia. Recently, she began to regurgitate a lot, more often after breastfeeding.

This greatly interferes with the restful sleep of the baby. After all, instead of relaxing and falling asleep after feeding, she spits up, worries, cries.

A soothing collection can be added to the bath when bathing (buy at the pharmacy, brew and add to the bath).

Each method can be applied separately. Better all at once in the aggregate. Apply within a week, and see how the situation with regurgitation changes.

By the way, the mother of the girl, whose story I told you at the beginning, literally a week later wrote the following letter:

Lyudmila, good evening!

Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. And for advice about an osteopath. We have already gone 2 times, the improvements are obvious. It turns out that these are the consequences of hypoxia, so there were a lot of regurgitation.

Try it, look for your own way to cope with regurgitation in your baby after breastfeeding.

Ask your questions in the comments.

Ludmila Sharova, breastfeeding and childcare consultant.

Belching is a normal phenomenon that occurs in almost every baby from birth to three months of age. This is how the baby's stomach gets rid of the air trapped during feeding. Sometimes belching goes along with the release of eaten milk. This is why the baby spits up after feeding. When this happens for the first time and then repeats itself, parents start to panic, not knowing what to do in a similar situation.

Many of them confuse this process with vomiting, but they have nothing in common. In some cases, regurgitation is associated with diseases of the nervous and digestive systems.

Regurgitation is facilitated by:

  • overfeeding;
  • improper attachment of the baby to the breast and nipple;
  • incorrect position of the baby during feeding;
  • weakness of the esophageal sphincter;
  • intestinal obstruction;
  • nerve diseases (hypoxia, intracranial pressure).

Too much milk or mixtures drunk provoke the release of excess fluid along with belching. The stomach in children 1 and 2 months of age is practically unable to stretch, which is why the excess food “throws out” from the stomach back into the esophagus. Belching occurs immediately, unchanged milk, within an hour - curdled cottage cheese, liquid with white splashes. Then the baby hiccups.

Breastfed babies overeat more often, because when they are completely full of milk, they do not stop sucking to calm down and fall asleep. It is difficult for mothers to determine whether a newborn has eaten enough, so they do not stop feeding until he independently removes from the breast.

The following ways will help to avoid overeating while breastfeeding:

  • apply the baby to each breast in turn;
  • breastfeed your baby for no more than 30 minutes;
  • a sleeping baby should be stopped feeding.

In bottle-fed babies, it is much easier to identify overeating. It is enough to make sure that the amount of the mixture corresponds to the age of the baby. For details, see instructions and product descriptions. In the case of a correctly selected dosage, the mixture may simply not be suitable for the baby.

Correct feeding

A huge role is played by the correct attachment of the baby to the breast, the appropriate position of the nipple. Capturing them incorrectly, while eating, the baby swallows a large amount of air that enters the stomach as a result. The baby then spits up immediately after eating and hiccups.

During breastfeeding, the following rules are required:

  • the baby should cover the entire nipple halo;
  • the baby's head should be located above the body.

When feeding with a formula, you need to ensure that the nipple of the bottle is completely filled during a meal and there are no air bubbles in it.

Weakness of the sphincter

At 4 months, regurgitation should decrease and even stop altogether.

From 1 to 3 months of life in children, the formation of the gastrointestinal tract ends. The esophagus takes on a regular curved shape, although initially it is completely straight and short. The sphincter that connects it to the stomach is also often poorly developed. Such factors contribute to the rapid passage of milk along with the air. Milk seems to "pour out" from the child's mouth in small quantities, usually some time after eating.

You shouldn't do anything special in such a situation. It is not difficult to avoid regurgitation if you hold the baby in an upright position immediately after feeding and let the air accumulated in the stomach escape. By 4 months, the problem usually stops bothering the baby, otherwise you should see a doctor. Up to this age, seizures can be repeated constantly, each time after feeding.

Intestinal obstruction

Bowel obstruction is a serious condition. It is caused by the accumulation of original mucus in the stomach of a newborn, feces in the intestines. Often, tumors in the colon or small intestine can cause obstruction.

The symptoms of intestinal obstruction are different from normal regurgitation. Usually, 2-3 hours after eating, an attack of vomiting occurs with an admixture of mucus and bile. Vomit has an unpleasant odor. With similar symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Diseases of the nervous system

Diseases of the nervous system in children are most often congenital. In such a case, the child does not regurgitate, but a full-fledged gag reflex. Hypoxia and increased intracranial pressure are diagnosed during an ultrasound scan of a pregnant woman, but are often detected at 1 month old during a visit to a neurologist. Usually, parents are immediately informed about the child's illness, as a result of which periodic bouts of vomiting are possible.

The gag reflex in infants is accompanied by the release of what was eaten by a fountain 1-2 hours after eating, and the regurgitated one often collapses and happens in the form of cottage cheese and liquid.

First aid

You need to know what to do if a child suddenly begins to vomit like a fountain.

  1. Calm down the baby, observe his condition. A sluggish baby with a high body temperature should call a doctor.
  2. Change the baby's clothes to clean.
  3. Lay the child on a side or tummy so that vomit does not enter the respiratory tract.
  4. Give the baby a small amount of boiled water.

Summing up

Up to 3 months of age, spitting up in babies is normal. In most cases, it is quite abundant. As the child grows older, seizures occur less often and later stop on their own.

  1. See a doctor when milk, formula, and other food spit up by a child change color, acquire a pungent odor.
  2. Do not try to feed your baby immediately after burping. Give it some time, the stomach needs to be "rested".
  3. It is recommended to lay the baby on the tummy for a few minutes before feeding. Such actions contribute to the discharge of gases from the intestines and the normalization of digestion.
  4. Constant and profuse regurgitation as a result of each feeding, affecting weight gain and general condition, is a reason to consult a gastroenterologist.
  5. There is a way to check how much the baby has burp: pour 2 tablespoons of water onto a cloth. Do not worry if milk and water stains are the same.

Regurgitation that occurs in a baby after feeding is usually normal. However, in some cases, there is also a sign of a pathological condition in newborns.

When, against the background of belching after breast milk, some discomfort appears. In children, all these processes are regulated immediately after birth.

A newborn "knows" how much to eat, when and what. Mother's milk is intended exclusively for her baby and is produced according to his needs.

Causes

Frequent regurgitation is the result of swallowing large amounts of air that cannot be accommodated in the infant's stomach during feeding (aerophagia).

Excess air bursts out in the form of belching.

This happens as a result of two main factors:

  • during feeding, the nipple is incorrectly applied and unnecessary gaps are formed between the mouth of the newborn and the breast;
  • when the baby is on a formula (artificial, bottle feeding), with a large hole in the nipple of the bottle, a similar situation develops.

Too frequent regurgitation is rare.

The situation when a newborn spits up after milk, but there are no signs of dehydration (see below), should not particularly alarm the mother.

  • It happens that the baby spits up breast milk 5 times a day.
  • The volume of one serving is no more than two to three tablespoons.

Sometimes the child eats more than he can digest, and the excess naturally comes back.

Norm

Even spitting up too often can be completely normal.

The frequency at which pathological signs indicating dehydration do not develop is considered within the permissible norm.

This is what the well-known children's doctor Komarovsky notes.

Spitting up by itself goes away by the seventh month.

Signs of normal discharge of ingested food and gas from the stomach in infants:

  • despite spitting up, children do not lose weight, but, on the contrary, there is a stable increase;
  • the fontanelle in an infant does not sink;
  • regurgitation occurs once, within an hour after feeding, color and consistency close to mother's milk, without yellow impurities;
  • the baby behaves as usual, that is, he does not have lethargy and irritability;
  • after regurgitation, the newborn does not cry.

In the case when the child has the opposite signs, parents should urgently seek help from pediatricians.

Since there is a possibility of the development of a pathological condition, and assistance not provided in time will lead to severe dehydration with all the ensuing consequences.

What to do

  • The baby should be in an upright position after feeding.

In this position, the child spits up milk and formula much less often. Sometimes you have to wear a baby on your hands for up to 20 minutes.

  • Before feeding, put the baby on the tummy for some time.

Mom can still stroke him on the back and speak in a soothing voice. A light tummy massage also has a beneficial effect.

  • If infants are bottle-fed, ask your pediatrician for advice on how to choose the best formula.
  • The correct nipple plays an essential role.

Take a closer look at anti-colic patterns. Milk should not flow freely, and it is better to choose anatomical shape of the nipple.

  • After feeding, the child should not play active games; it is recommended to be alone for a while.

By the way, the child does not even vomit, but it can vomit. Then specialized help is required.

It is important to remember: putting a baby to bed with regurgitation only needs to be on one side in order to avoid choking.

When to worry

It should be alarmed when the child spits up milk with a fountain, that is, strongly, under pressure. Then there is a plentiful yield of food - more than 2-3 tablespoons.

Most likely, the baby is vomiting, and which is quite a symptom of some pathological condition.

The reasons for vomiting after feeding are as follows:

  • Viral infections in children that often show signs of dehydration.

The child is lethargic, the temperature is lowered (increased), problems with urination.

  • Perinatal encephalopathy due to severe pregnancy and childbirth.

Often accompanied by fountain vomiting and poor sleep.

  • In premature babies due to insufficiently developed gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system.
  • Food poisoning that develops from the use of harmful, expired food.
  • Food intolerances of a certain class.

Often, the reaction manifests itself to cow's milk, which is recommended to be replaced with goat's milk.

  • Kid with intestinal dysbiosis.
  • Allergic reaction.

Newborns react by vomiting to any foods the mother takes in her milk.

Why does the child spit up? Young mothers anxiously watch how the newborn immediately after feeding begins to regurgitate some of the food. Nevertheless, regurgitation is a physiological process and does not apply to a disease. If the baby is cheerful and is recovering well, there is no reason to worry. How long will the baby regurgitate some of the food after feeding? Let's consider this question.

The baby's ventricle can be compared to an open bottle: the entrance to it is covered with a thin fold of mucous membrane. In fact, the entrance / exit from the stomach is not covered by anything. If you put the baby in the crib right after eating, the contents of the ventricle will begin to pour out of it.

Up to four months, the child often spits up after eating, but later this phenomenon ends without any medication and other interventions. As soon as the digestive tract completes its formation, the causes of spontaneous ejection of food from the stomach will be eliminated. This usually happens by the age of one year, when the baby begins to walk on his own.

Spitting up or vomiting?

Young mothers cannot tell the difference between regurgitation and vomiting. If a child spits up with a fountain, mothers think that he has caught some kind of virus. But this is not the case. Regurgitation by a fountain shows only the structural features of the digestive system in newborns and the intensity of the pylorus of the ventricle.

Why does the baby constantly spit up, and how to understand that this is not vomiting? Regurgitation is the discharge from the stomach of part of the eaten milk, like vomiting of milk (sometimes partially curdled). Vomiting with pure milk does not happen: when vomiting, only curdled milk is thrown out of the stomach. When regurgitating, the consistency and smell of the milk does not change. When you vomit, food may have a yellowish tinge and a sour odor.

After belching, the baby continues to walk and have fun: this process does not cause him anxiety or pain. Often, when belching, air comes out with a small portion of milk. Also, the muscles do not participate in this process: food is freely poured out of the stomach.

Before vomiting, the child's behavior changes:

  • heart rate and breathing increase;
  • salivation occurs;
  • whims and anxiety begin.

The baby can push the nipple out with the tongue, refuse to eat - these are signs of nausea. The causes of vomiting in newborns cannot be ignored, so the baby should be immediately shown to the local pediatrician.

Why does the baby spit up?

To understand why a baby spits up after feeding, it is necessary to establish the reasons. We figured out the structure of the ventricle, however, there are other factors. Belching happens when:

  • overcrowding of the ventricle with food and air;
  • weakness of the valve muscles;
  • colic in the tummy and constipation;
  • teething.

In rare cases, belching is a symptom of a child's gastrointestinal tract disease that requires therapeutic intervention. As a rule, belching is the result of either a weak ventricular valve or a violation of the feeding technique.

Important! If the baby spits up frequently, hold the soldier (upright) for at least twenty minutes after each feed. The air will come out, and the baby will be freed from the feeling of fullness in the tummy.

The valve that prevents food from leaving the stomach is poorly developed in newborns. In fact, the ventricle is not closed, and its contents can freely flow outward. Now it is clear why the baby spits up after feeding: these are not symptoms of the disease!

Some young parents begin to either lay the baby in the bed after eating and turn it over from barrel to barrel, or shake it up. Do not be surprised that the baby spits up after each feeding.

Constipation is a common cause of belching. Constipation is a temporary disruption of the digestive tract, in which the function of processing and assimilating food is impaired. If the baby suffers from constipation, you should get rid of this ailment. First of all, it is important to correct nutrition for the mother who is breastfeeding her baby.

Also, the baby often spits up after feeding due to colic and gas. In this condition, the process of assimilation and processing of nutrients is also disrupted: the body cannot cope with the digestive function. At the same time, a lot of milk can come out with belching.

Why does the burp go like a fountain?

Mom is especially worried when the child spits up with a fountain. At the same time, the contents of the stomach are poured out with great force over a long distance. The reasons for this phenomenon may be:

  • poor functioning of the digestive system due to prematurity;
  • a sharp transition from breast milk to an artificial mixture;
  • frequent colic and constipation, which prevent food from moving freely into the intestines;
  • deformation or improper structure of internal organs.

Why does the baby spit up like a fountain while feeding? The cause may be a spasm of the gatekeeper. Show your baby to the doctor immediately if such fountains happen every day.

What to do if the eructation went in the prone position? It happens that the baby spits up while lying in the crib. This is dangerous! To prevent the baby from choking on vomit, turn him over to face the floor and lightly tap on the back. At this point, the remnants of the belching will come out of the esophagus and will not enter the respiratory tract.

If a child spits up like a fountain, it can be cause for concern. However, this is not always a pathology. To resolve all doubts, show the child to the local doctor.

Help for the baby

What to do if the child spits up a lot? How can I help him? We have already found out that a baby can overeat breast milk and fill the stomach with air during active sucking. A portion of milk in a bottle can be dispensed, but it is impossible to control the milk sucked from the breast. Therefore, if you suspect overeating, it is necessary to weigh the crumbs before / after feeding.

Advice. When overeating, simply express the first milk from your breast so that your baby, with all his efforts, cannot suck more than he should.

What to do with a greedy baby who grabs a nipple with her mouth wide open and swallows a lot of air? Check the amount of milk in the breast and its nutritional value: the baby may not be full. Hence the greed!

To prevent the baby from constantly suffering from air in the stomach, it is necessary:

  • worn upright to escape air;
  • do not feed while crying;
  • make sure that the baby also captures the areola of the nipple;
  • use the correct nipple and a special bottle;
  • lay it on your tummy before feeding;
  • make sure that the head of the baby is slightly raised when feeding.

If the baby spits up intensively between feedings, and the belching has a rotten smell, immediately contact your local pediatrician.

1. Whether to feed the baby, if he burped out almost everything that he ate? In this case, take a closer look at the baby: if he does not show "discontent", you should not feed him.

2. If there is greenish mucus in the vomit, it may be a symptom of intestinal obstruction. Take the baby to the doctor urgently.

3. After vomiting, it will not be superfluous to measure the temperature of the crumbs: it is from vomiting that babies' illnesses begin.

4. Remember that timely weight gain is an indicator of your baby's health. If the baby is happy and gains weight well, no belching is terrible. This phenomenon will disappear when the baby starts to sit or stands on its legs.

How to get rid of stretch marks after childbirth?

The birth is over, but it's too early for the newly-made parents to relax. There are pleasant chores to take care of the baby, his first achievements, words, steps and more. However, not everything is so sweet. For example, sometimes a child often spits up for no known reason. Why is this happening and how to deal with it? This question is very relevant today, because if you do not take measures in time, then everything can end in disaster.

Basically, the regurgitation of a child occurs immediately after feeding and is a normal physiological phenomenon. The process is very simple - first, everything from the stomach enters the esophagus, then everything goes into the oral cavity and, of course, is naturally "pushed" out.

The baby cannot always spit up calmly, sometimes it happens in a "fountain" right through the nose. Everything will depend on how strongly the walls of the stomach decided to push the food out.

Sometimes parents confuse regurgitation and vomiting. However, it is very simple to determine vomiting - during this process, the baby's abdominal muscles tense. If the tummy is not tense, then the baby just burped.

Other signs of vomiting:

  • dizziness;
  • the baby is constantly crying;
  • there is increased sweating;
  • salivation is strong.

In the event that parents come to the conclusion that their child is sick, it is necessary to show it to the pediatrician in order to identify the causes of this condition.

Another question that interests new parents is whether their child spits up a lot after eating. There is one simple method to fix the problem. It is believed that the stomach walls push out 2 tablespoons of fluid when regurgitating. See if this is the case in your case. If the baby has spit up much more, it is possible that his body does not accept breast milk or, for example, pharmaceutical mixtures (for artificial people).

Why does the "eruption" of the stomach occur?

When a baby eats and immediately spits up - this is normal, parents should understand this. However, the reasons for what is happening can be different. They can be conditionally divided into 2 groups. The first group includes safe causes, and the second includes pathological ones that can harm health.

What belongs to the first group

  1. Involuntary swallowing of air bubbles. During feeding, if the baby does not properly grip the mother's nipple or the base of the bottle, air can enter the stomach.
  2. Binge eating. Sometimes the baby eats milk with such pleasure that he simply does not notice its amount. This leads to overeating. In order not to overload the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach voluntarily provokes regurgitation to remove all excess food.
  3. When your baby has been overly active all day, you should not be surprised if he regurgitates some of the food in the evening after feeding.
  4. When a baby is bottle-fed, the reason for spitting up may lie in a change in the manufacturer of the formula. It is no secret for new mothers that it is very difficult to pick up the mixture - from one allergy, the other does not eat the baby at all. As for regurgitation, in this situation it takes place.
  5. Regurgitation is possible in many babies due to colic. Parents should first get rid of the bloating of their child, and then try to feed again.
  6. The baby can constantly regurgitate milk during teething. Thus, the stomach is "cleared" of excess saliva.

What belongs to the second group

  1. Lactose intolerance. Every year this problem is encountered more and more often. The stomach of a small child simply cannot tolerate milk, both the mother's milk and the mixture from the bottle, therefore it constantly "pushes" it back. It is necessary to consult a pediatrician to prescribe food for the child.
  2. If the baby eats and spits up a lot of yellowish liquid, this indicates a possible infection.
  3. Pathology of the gastrointestinal tract - this problem also prevents the child from eating normally. From what exactly the baby spits up, a qualified doctor will help you figure out, based on the individual characteristics of the child's body and analyzes.

Sometimes the causes of frequent regurgitation can be hidden in the central nervous system of the child. It is possible that he was born prematurely or hypoxia actively occurred during labor. All this affects the further formation of the baby. Each parent should monitor the child's condition and, if abnormalities are found, consult a doctor.

How to help a child

What if the baby spits up often? Why is this happening? Are there any medications for the disease? These are just a few of the questions parents ask pediatricians. It is important to understand that if the baby eats a lot and regurgitates some of the food after feeding, this is normal. However, there are some useful tips for caring parents that will help to relieve the baby of stomach discomfort as much as possible.

  1. So that after feeding the food is better absorbed, it is recommended to put the child on his tummy before eating and give him a light massage.
  2. Make sure that the baby correctly grips the nipple or the neck of the bottle, otherwise air will enter the stomach and regurgitation cannot be avoided.
  3. If the child does not eat well (in the opinion of the parents), one should not be forced to do it against his will. Each child has his own portion, he must decide for himself how much he needs. When a child is gaining weight well, there is no cause for concern.
  4. Choose pants and romper with loose elastic. If she puts pressure on the tummy, the baby will spit up after feeding, even if he himself does not want to.

When to see a doctor

What is regurgitation and why it occurs has now become clearer. It remains only to figure out what symptoms you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

  1. Consultation with a pediatrician is necessary when a child spits up milk several times during the day in large portions, and the parents cannot understand why this is happening.
  2. When the child does not eat at all or after each feeding everything that has got into the stomach comes out - these are signs of dehydration. It is possible that there are some stomach problems, it is necessary to urgently pass tests and consult a doctor.
  3. The child begins to lose weight sharply, the regurgitated mass has an unpleasant odor and a yellowish tinge.
  4. When spitting up after feeding is accompanied by a high fever and occasional urination, these are signs of infection. It will not work to understand why this is happening without medical help.

When a child spits up frequently, parents should carefully monitor how they are feeling.

It is possible that there is nothing wrong with what is happening and that this is a normal physiological behavior of the stomach. However, if for several days spitting up occurs in large quantities and you cannot understand why this is happening, contact your doctor. Some symptoms that indicate a problem can only be noticed by a pediatrician.