One of the problems that often causes legitimate anxiety in parents of newborn babies is regurgitation. Let's try to figure out why this phenomenon occurs, and whether you need to consult a doctor about this.
Spitting is the involuntary throwing of a certain amount of food from the stomach back into the esophagus and oral cavity. This phenomenon is often observed in infants immediately or after a short time after feeding. According to statistics, almost seventy percent of babies under the age of sixteen weeks spit up food at least once a day.
In most cases, regurgitation is not a sign of ill health; this phenomenon, as a rule, passes by itself by the age of one. However, parents should be alarmed if the child has frequent spitting ups.
The anatomical features of the baby’s body are such that their structure predisposes to the development of such a phenomenon as regurgitation. Especially often this affects premature babies or those who have a marked intrauterine growth retardation. As a rule, as the child grows, his digestive system becomes more adapted, and spitting up stops.
What conditions can lead to the fact that the child often spits up? One of the reasons may be overfeeding, that is, an increase in the volume of fed food or a reduction in the interval between feedings. This phenomenon is often observed in babies who are actively sucking with an excess of milk from the mother. In babies who are deprived of breastfeeding, overfeeding can be caused by a change in the nature of nutrition. This is possible due to the fact that mothers often and unmotivated change the types of adapted mixtures. When overfeeding, regurgitation occurs, as a rule, immediately after feeding, while the amount of milk excreted is negligible (5-10 ml). Such regurgitation does not have any effect on the general condition of the baby, normal weight gain is noted, there are no problems with stool and appetite.
Another reason that leads to the fact that the child often spits up is aerophagia or ingestion at the time of feeding a large amount of air. This phenomenon is often observed in excitable children, especially if the mother has little milk. In addition, excessive ingestion of air is observed when the breast nipple is not properly grasped or if an excessively large hole is made in the rubber nipple worn on the bottle. Aerophagy is often observed in children who at birth had insufficient or, conversely, too much body weight. The regurgitation caused by this reason, as a rule, occurs a few minutes after feeding, while uncured milk is separated and a characteristic sound of outgoing air is heard.
The child often spits up in case of problems with the intestines and stomach, that is, if he has constipation, intestinal colic, flatulence. In this case, the intensity of regurgitation may be different.
Constant regurgitation can serve as a signal that the child has a malformation of some part of the gastrointestinal tract. This may be an abnormality of the esophagus, weakness of the food sphincter, narrowing of the entry of the esophagus into the stomach and many other reasons.
Therefore, if the child constantly spits up, and this phenomenon leads to a violation of his general condition (weight loss, anxiety), then you must definitely show the baby to the doctor so that the specialist can exclude the presence of pathology.
However, it is necessary to inform the pediatrician that the child often spits up, in any case, even if all other indicators of health are normal. The doctor will help establish the cause of the regurgitation and, if necessary, recommend treatment.
For example, sometimes it is just necessary to choose the right position for feeding, that is, hold the baby by the chest so that the upper part of his body is raised at an angle of 45-60 degrees to the horizontal. And after the feeding is completed, you need to hold the baby for about twenty minutes "column" so that the air swallowed along with milk can freely exit.
If such simple measures do not help, then the doctor may recommend the use of medicinal mixtures or medications. And in case of detection of congenital pathologies, surgical treatment is indicated.