The most joyful and brightest event in the life of every family is undoubtedly the birth of a child. For nine months, a woman with a sinking heart monitors changes in the body. Gynecologists monitor her health and development of the baby. Finally, this long-awaited and joyful event takes place - you become a mother and the happiest woman in the world.
And a few days later, on the threshold of the hospital, a proud and happy father of the child meets you. If you live on your own and grandmothers are not often with you, then from that moment your full-fledged family life begins with diapers and diapers, night awakenings and bathing of the baby.
For each mother, it is important that her baby grow up healthy and strong. When, after childbirth, a woman leaves the hospital, in which she was surrounded by the care of experienced medical staff, she is left with the solution to all issues that may be related to the condition of the baby. And not only the health of the crumbs, but also the atmosphere in the house, largely depends on how ready she is for making quick decisions.
Why is the baby crying?
Many future mothers during pregnancy draw idyllic pictures for themselves: a rosy-cheeked robber peacefully sniffs in a crib or is awake, fingering with arms and legs.
Undoubtedly, such situations are not uncommon when the child is healthy and well-fed, but it also happens that the baby is trying to inform the young parents of some discomfort by crying. Quite often, mothers react nervously to the crying of the child: they do not understand its true causes. They plague themselves about any changes that occur to their babies. And even the pediatrician’s assurances that all indicators and analyzes of the child are normal do not distract them from the fears that arise. One of these is hiccups in newborns after feeding. What to do in such a situation? Where to go?
First of all, mom should calm down, because your child is keenly aware of any nervous disorders. You should be aware that babies hiccup in the womb for several minutes with different intensities. Thus, the baby controls the process of swallowing and breathing in the womb. Numerous studies confirm that this period does not cause inconvenience to either mother or baby. And only a continuous hiccup can alert and become the reason for going to the doctor.
When the baby hiccups after feeding, but not for long - this is not a pathology, but a completely normal phenomenon for both breast-fed babies and artificers. During crying, all muscles are tensed in the child; he instinctively captures the air that enters the stomach. The diaphragm is irritated by the enlarged walls of the stomach, the baby begins to hiccup.
Do not call the doctor and panic. But you should know about the causes of hiccups and the actions of parents seeking to help their child cope with this condition.
The emergence of hiccups in a newborn
Why does the baby hiccup after feeding? This condition is explained by spasm during the contraction of the diaphragm. It is followed by a short intense sigh. In other words, this condition causes the vagus nerve to be clamped, which crosses the diaphragm and is connected with the internal organs. The diaphragm contracts, releasing the nerve, and restores the normal functioning of the whole organism.
May bother occasionally or continue for quite some time after a baby’s hiccups. What to do? How to help the baby? In the first case, if this happens sporadically, hiccups are harmless for the baby. But if it lasts two days or more, specialist advice is needed. So, serious diseases associated with damage to the spinal cord or brain, prolonged compression of the phrenic nerve can occur.
Breasts can hiccup in diseases of the liver, intestines, stomach. Lingering hiccups can be a symptom of diabetes, gastroesophageal disease, and parasite infection. If the baby, after feeding, spits up and hiccups for a long time and there is a cough, then the child should be shown to the doctor who will conduct the necessary examinations and begin to treat the disease, and not the hiccups.
Causes of hiccups in infants
There are a number of reasons that make a baby hiccup more often than an adult:
- During feeding, the baby swallows a lot of air, which leads to excessive stretching of the small stomach.
- The same thing happens when overfeeding an infant.
- Decrease in body temperature, hypothermia.
- Strong excitement, fright (very bright light, too loud music) cause muscle tension.
- Insufficient maturity of the internal organs of the baby - their final formation will last another 2 - 3 months.
How to help the baby?
It is very important to find out the cause of the hiccups and try to eliminate it. A few simple manipulations will help mommy not to get confused and help the baby.
Why does a baby hiccup after breast milk feeding? This is usually due to the fact that the baby drank too much milk, when it flows from the chest too quickly, with a stream. So, more liquid milk flows out, which is much more for a young mother than for the “back” one, nutritious and thicker, providing satiety. What needs to be done in this case?
Before feeding, express a little milk and try to put the baby correctly on the chest. It is necessary to hold the crumb at an angle or tighten to press the tummy to the chest. The baby should grab the chest correctly - the nasal circle, and not just the nipple.
Mixture feeding
If after feeding the baby the baby hiccups, preventing hiccups is somewhat more difficult. An artificial child also often swallows air and an excessive amount of mixture from a bottle. What should mom do in this situation?
The baby should be fed more often, but in small portions. In this case, he will not drink too much mixture and overeat. If the baby hiccups after feeding from a bottle, then it is necessary to help him digest the amount of food that has entered the stomach.
Massage the tummy with a small circular motion to the little man for two minutes in a clockwise direction. As a rule, children like this procedure, they begin to smile, hiccups pass. If you notice that the tummy has become hard and swollen from the gases, an upright position will help.
Interrupt feeding, swear the baby with a column, hugging it and stroking the back. This should be done until he burps the air that got into the stomach with food. This will help the baby relax, calm down, and after a while you will feed him.
The right choice of nipples
Bottle pacifier should be selected with a slow flow and one hole. If after each feeding the baby hiccups, try using anti-colic nipples, which have proven themselves in the fight against hiccups. They have a valve that prevents ingestion of air.
It is advisable that during feeding the baby should not be distracted by external stimuli, not in a hurry, since it is an unhurried meal that satisfies the sucking reflex. Mixture for babies must be purchased in accordance with the recommendations of the pediatrician. He will select a composition that does not cause hiccups and regurgitation after eating. Today, anti-colic mixtures have been developed which are thicker in consistency.
Feed by the clock or on demand?
Two decades ago, doctors were convinced that the child should be fed strictly by the hour. However, recent studies have made adjustments to this rule. When the baby hiccups after feeding, it can often be assumed that he was too hungry during the “break”. Therefore, he sucks a pacifier or breast especially actively and, accordingly, swallows a lot of air. In this case, pediatricians recommend switching it to feeding on demand.
Hypothermia
Often, the baby hiccups after feeding due to short-term hypothermia. The reason may be changing the child in a cool room. This is evidenced by cool nights, pens, baby's nose. Put warm socks on it, give some warm water.
What else can cause hiccups?
Not all parents know that the baby hiccups after feeding, reacting in this way to external stimuli: loud TV, too noisy guests. By eliminating the source of anxiety, you will allow the baby's nervous system to strengthen. Very soon you will notice that the reaction in the form of hiccups will manifest itself much less often.
The final chord of each feeding is a burping in the newborn. This is an important preventive measure for colic and hiccups. If in the process of feeding the child is dissatisfied, behaves too actively, moves his arms intensively, it is necessary to ensure that he burps. After feeding the baby, lay it on your shoulder with your tummy and hold it in this position until the air comes out.
When the baby hiccups after feeding, take a preventive measure before starting a meal. Five minutes before feeding, lay the baby on the tummy - this will free it from accumulated gases. After feeding, do not lay the baby on the back: carry it in an upright position for 20 minutes. The kid will burp, and hiccups will not bother him.
Signs of increased gas formation (regurgitation, colic, hiccups) may indicate errors in the mother’s diet. She should refuse cabbage, legumes, citrus fruits, peanuts, tomatoes.
What should not be done with hiccups in a newborn?
Fright baby can provoke an attack of hiccups. Throwing, slapping on the back will not correct the situation, but will only cause the baby to cry and worry. The child needs to be distracted by stroking him, showing toys. Do not confuse the baby - overheating is more dangerous for him than hypothermia. Make sure that in the room where the child is, the temperature does not fall below +22 ° C.
When does hiccups cause anxiety?
We figured out why the baby hiccups after feeding and whether this unpleasant condition can be prevented. True, preventive measures do not always allow you to cope with hiccups. If the newborn hiccups for a long time several times a day, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician, as this can be a sign of one of the serious diseases:
- birth trauma;
- changes in the functioning of the nervous system;
- digestive problems;
- inflammation and various infections;
- spinal cord injuries.
Inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract or lungs causes irritation of the diaphragm and, as a result, hiccups. “Persistent hiccups” - a syndrome in which a child cries, cannot breathe normally, sleeps restlessly, typical of spinal cord pathology or encephalopathy. This is extremely rare, but parents should be safe and timely inform the pediatrician about the condition of the baby.
To summarize
In a healthy baby, periodically occurring hiccups, which lasts no more than a quarter of an hour, do not cause discomfort. Thus, the newborn responds to some external stimuli. By six months, this condition occurs less and less, since the digestive system is improving. Until this time, parents should be patient and carry out possible preventive procedures, distract and reassure the baby.