Whatever the “School of Young Mothers” a pregnant woman goes through, it is impossible to fully prepare for the appearance of the baby. Along with the birth of a child, not only the owner in the house changes, but also the whole way of life. Inevitably, a situation will arise when young parents will not know what to do right. One of them is regurgitation in newborns. When is this normal and when is it time to sound the alarm and run to the doctor?
When considered normal
One of the most common causes of regurgitation is overeating. A newborn baby does not yet know its norm, its gastrointestinal tract is small, large volumes of milk simply do not fit. The body copes with excess in the most accessible way. Often babies overeat because they love the feeding process itself, it calms them and gives a sense of security.
Another reason is improper attachment to the chest. No wonder all pediatricians talk about this. The child in the right position should tightly and completely capture the nipple and areola, his nose should be pressed to his chest, but not so that his breath remains free. The newborn must correctly capture the chest. Otherwise, the mother will receive injured nipples, and the baby will swallow air.
If the baby is breast-fed, the fault of the regurgitation in the newborn may be an incorrectly selected nipple with a hole too large or a bottle directed at a large angle to the mouth.
Other reasons may include:
- Active activity of the baby immediately after feeding.
- Wrong position after eating.
- The weak muscles of the stomach and esophagus.
Why does the child spit yellow?
The above reasons are harmless to the life and health of the baby. It should be wary if there are yellow vomit. This is an occasion for going to the doctor.
Most often, yellow color is a sign that bile enters the esophagus. It irritates the walls of the organ, causing vomiting. It is possible that some pathological changes occur in the baby's body, so the child spits up yellow.
Congenital pathology
For various reasons (the wrong lifestyle of the mother, genetic disorders), the baby may have congenital diseases, for example, improper development of vital internal systems.
Also, organ pathologies often occur in children born much earlier than the term. In this case, they did not have time to develop to the required level.
If a congenital disease is actually present, doctors will prescribe drug or other therapy.
Lactose intolerance
One possible reason babies spit yellow is hypolactasia. With this disease, a person has a reduced level of the enzyme responsible for the absorption of lactose. Vomiting will be accompanied by bloating, watery stools, anxiety and crying in children.
It is worth noting that with lactose deficiency, these symptoms will only occur if dairy products are taken. Typically, children suffering from this disease, poorly gain weight and height. If such symptoms are present, consult a doctor. He will examine, direct for analysis and prescribe therapy and lactose-free mixture based on the data. After that, the child normalizes stool and digestion.
Antibiotic exposure
In some cases, the reason the baby spits yellow is due to antibiotic treatment. It should be considered if before the onset of vomiting, the baby was treated with these drugs.
Any antibiotics violate the intestinal microflora and irritate the stomach. Therefore, usually vomiting caused by the use of antimicrobials is accompanied by loose stools and gas.
It is very important to give the child medicines only as prescribed by the doctor, and if possible, at the same time take medications that restore the microflora. For these purposes, Linex or Hilak Forte is suitable.
As soon as the medication is finished, spitting up with yellow blotches should stop. If this does not happen, you should look for a reason further.
Infectious diseases
Young children are defenseless against numerous viruses, especially in the first year of life, because immunity is still being formed. Intestinal infections and other diseases in babies are accompanied by symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting of bile, and colic. These processes are the defense mechanism of the body against the penetrated virus.
In this case, the root cause must be treated. When the infection goes away, diarrhea and vomiting will stop.
Violation of normal peristalsis
Bowel obstruction is a complete or partial lack of advancement of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract. One of the symptoms of this disease is vomiting. At the initial stage, the baby is sick of the remnants of food taken, later bile.
Often a one-month-old baby spits up yellow due to colic, as a large amount of gas collects in his tummy, kicks his legs in pain, and cannot properly empty his intestines.
Mom helps him with the help of medicines and folk methods. If this is not done, chronic obstruction may occur. To determine the diagnosis should consult a gastroenterologist.
Why is vomiting dangerous?
If a child spits up yellow occasionally, then this is not yet cause for concern. But when this process becomes systematic, parents should consult a pediatrician. It is possible that this is a symptom of a more serious disease:
- Frequent vomiting is dangerous because the body of a newborn is easily exposed to complete dehydration. In the first few months after birth, the child receives water exclusively from mother's milk.
- When the contents of the stomach are returned back to the esophagus, part of it may enter the lungs. It is dangerous for respiratory diseases.
- With advanced bowel obstruction and regurgitation of bile, surgical intervention will be required, since drug treatment is no longer able to help. If measures are not taken in time, the disease will be fatal.
Diagnostics
If regurgitation in newborns after feeding is not systematic, then treating it, most often, is not required. In the first few months of life, this is normal, since the work of the gastrointestinal tract is only getting better, and the body is adapting.
In other cases, vomiting should be treated based on the diagnosis. If the pediatrician cannot install it, he will be referred to narrow specialists, for example, a gastroenterologist, a neurologist, etc.
Ultrasound and X-ray are used to diagnose diseases of internal organs.
If the cause of vomiting of the infant is due to intestinal obstruction, surgery may be required at an advanced stage.
With an infectious disease, antibiotic treatment will be required simultaneously with drugs that restore the microflora.
Prevention Recommendations
In most cases, the occurrence of vomiting in infants is associated with improper feeding and parental behavior after this. To avoid these troubles, it is necessary to follow certain recommendations:
- Proper posture while breastfeeding: the nipple and areola completely in the baby’s mouth. Thus, air will not enter the baby’s stomach.
- Do not wait until the baby is very hungry. Otherwise, he will eat very greedily, overeat and swallow air.
- Before feeding the newborn is recommended to lay on the tummy. So from the gastrointestinal tract excess gas will leave.
- After feeding, the mother should hold the baby upright for 15-20 minutes. At this time, air entering the stomach in the form of belching will come out.
- A child using artificial nutrition needs to choose a pacifier for a bottle with a small hole. Otherwise, the baby will be guaranteed to swallow air, and he may choke on a large stream of milk.
- The mixture should correspond to the declared age and health features of the baby.
- Scheduling a meal will help your child get used to the regimen. He will not have an elemental feeling of hunger, and his body will be ready to eat.
- To prevent colic and vomiting, you can give the newborn tea with fennel, dill water, and also contact the pediatrician for the appointment of a medicine against flatulence.
- Tummy massage and a warm heating pad are also effective in combating increased gas production.
Why does the baby spit yellow after feeding? Most often, the reason lies in the age characteristics. Be sure to consult with a pediatrician. If he did not notice any pathologies and deviations, you need to calm down and wait out this difficult time of adaptation, following all the instructions and recommendations.