Why does a baby spit up milk: is this normal? Should you worry if your baby spits up milk after breastfeeding

Physiological reasons

Why can even a healthy baby spit up? Everything is explained by the immaturity of the digestive tract. In newborns, there is practically no special valve that closes the entrance to the stomach - instead there is only a fold of mucous tissue. Part of the baby's digestive system (esophagus-stomach) resembles an open bottle. Food can easily either enter the stomach or splash back out.

The sphincter that closes the exit from the esophagus to the stomach should be fully formed in the child by the end of the first year of life.

When the situation develops within normal limits

Infrequent regurgitation of small amounts, which completely stops after 9 months, can be considered normal.

Signs of physiological regurgitation:

the child’s condition and well-being do not change;
frequency - no more than 2-3 times a day after 4 months, and before this age, regurgitation can occur after each feeding;
the amount of food mass regurgitated at one time is no more than a tablespoon;
Read also: Pranks and jokes on April 1 - let's celebrate April Fool's Day in a fun and creative way!
food is thrown away unchanged, without foreign impurities and odor;
regurgitation occurs within an hour after finishing feeding;
there are no other symptoms.

In other cases, we are talking about pathological regurgitation.

Alarming symptoms

You should definitely consult a doctor if regurgitation occurs as follows:

frequency of occurrence after 4 months - more than three times a day;
food masses come out in large quantities and in volume can exceed half of what is eaten;
the discharge contains impurities of bile, mucus and blood;
observed even after a small amount eaten;
accompanied by anxiety and crying of the child;
occurs against the background of symptoms such as fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, bowel dysfunction, weight loss, etc.

Regurgitation that occurs an hour or more after feeding is also pathological.

Late regurgitation

If regurgitation that occurs shortly after eating does not indicate pathology, then late regurgitation (after an hour or longer) is cause for concern.

However, if the child has no other symptoms, this phenomenon may be a variant of the norm and be explained by physiological reasons.

Milk or formula in the baby's stomach is digested for 2.5-3 hours before the next feeding. At this time, with active movement and turning the baby onto his tummy, the contents of the stomach can splash out in the form of fresh milk.

If more time has passed after eating, then it comes out in the form of partially/fully curdled milk or is erupted as water.

The walls of the baby's stomach are very elastic, easily stretched and contracted with any sudden movement, rotation or change of position. Therefore, until the age of 4 months - by the time the digestive system is functioning properly - regurgitation can occur after each feeding, even if a lot of time has passed since the meal.

Lazy stomach syndrome

Delayed regurgitation (an hour or more after eating) is sometimes explained by “lazy” stomach syndrome in infants. The rejected contents are a cheesy mass without a change in color or unpleasant odor. Sometimes vomiting of water is observed.

The thing is that babies up to 3-4 months undergo a global restructuring of the digestive system.

During this period, the intestines are populated with beneficial microflora and adjusted to regular work.

Until this age, food may be digested more slowly, take longer to move from one section to another and linger in the stomach. Late regurgitation may be accompanied by irregular bowel movements and intestinal colic. If nothing else bothers your baby, there is no need to worry. In some cases, the pediatrician will recommend therapy that normalizes digestion.

As a rule, this phenomenon goes away on its own after some time and completely stops when the child reaches the age of 3-4 months.

Not to be confused with vomiting

When a baby eats exclusively liquid food, regurgitation can easily be confused with vomiting and vice versa. Therefore, it is important for parents to know the distinctive signs of both in order to objectively assess the situation.

If the child feels and behaves as usual and his condition does not change (no temperature, changes in stool, abdominal muscles do not tense, food masses come out in the form of fresh milk, cottage cheese or water), then we are talking about regurgitation. Moreover, they are observed no later than an hour after eating in children over 4 months old and can appear within 2-2.5 hours in children under 4 months old.

Vomiting is a complex response of the body in which several systems are involved.

Before vomiting, the child’s pulse and breathing quicken, nausea manifests itself in whims and anxiety, and refusal to eat.

Food masses are pushed out like a fountain and have a yellowish or other tint. They can erupt with water mixed with bile, mucus and blood. At the same time, the child’s abdominal muscles become noticeably tense. Vomiting can occur at any time after feeding.

Inexperienced parents may mistake vomiting that occurs in a baby after feeding for regurgitation. However, you need to be able to distinguish it, since vomiting often indicates pathological processes. Periodic vomiting can be caused by infections, neurological or organic problems.

Causes of pathological late regurgitation

In addition to physiological explanations, late regurgitation may have pathological causes, such as pylorospasm and pyloric stenosis.

Pylorospasm

With this disease, spasm of the lower part of the stomach occurs, which impairs its emptying into the duodenum. Food masses are retained in the stomach.

Factors influencing the occurrence of pylorospasm:

allergy;
vitamin B1 deficiency;
neurological problems;
hypoxia during pregnancy;
intrauterine infection;
birth injury;
in addition, the predisposition to pylorospasm is explained by heredity.

The spasm is not permanent, so symptoms appear with varying intensity. The baby begins to spit up from birth. The intensity of regurgitation can increase, decrease, and occur both during meals and an hour or more after eating. The erupted masses have a normal color without an unpleasant odor, and their quantity does not exceed the volume of what was eaten.

If regurgitation occurs two hours or more after eating, the oxidized food may be regurgitated as water.

Since the spasm itself causes discomfort to the baby, the child begins to worry. A small amount of digestible food leads to gradual weight loss. If parents notice such symptoms, they need to show the child to the doctor. The diagnosis is made based on examination and clarified using ultrasound.

Diet therapy and physiotherapy are used as treatment. In some cases, special medications are prescribed. As a rule, with effective treatment, the condition improves after 4 weeks, and by 6 months the child is completely free of this problem.

Pyloric stenosis

Pyloric stenosis is a congenital narrowing of the lumen of the lower stomach (pylorus).

In newborns, symptoms begin to appear after 2-4 weeks in the form of profuse vomiting, which occurs regardless of food intake (during, immediately after completion, an hour or more later).

Food masses have a stagnant, sour smell and may exceed the amount eaten in volume.

Usually the baby does not show concern, but frequent and profuse vomiting should alert parents and prompt them to show the child to the doctor.

Pyloric stenosis is a dangerous disease that requires immediate surgical treatment. Without treatment, the child will not be able to receive enough nutrition, which can lead to the death of the baby.

Any condition of the baby that causes concern to parents should not be ignored. Whatever the actual reasons may be - purely physiological or pathological - it would be useful to conduct an examination to dispel all doubts.

It is not uncommon for a baby to spit up curdled milk. Sometimes a month-old baby spits up water. It happens that a 5-month-old baby spits up bile. Also, parents may not understand why the newborn spits up like a fountain after each feeding. The condition of babies can be very difficult to understand and can add to the already high stress levels of new parents. If your baby spits up curds, there's probably no need to worry. But there are symptoms that indicate more serious conditions, and they require attention.

Pathological conditions of newborns accompanied by regurgitation

But, unfortunately, this process is not always physiological and in some cases requires mandatory consultation with a doctor followed by medication or surgical treatment.

If a child burps after each feeding, this can contribute to the baby’s body weight deficiency, metabolic disorders, and the development of inflammatory processes in the esophagus - esophagitis. If regurgitation is constant and abundant, a large loss of water occurs (dehydration).

This condition can also occur due to pathological reasons:

abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract. Examples of them are pyloric stenosis, diaphragmatic hernia, cardia chalazia, congenital short esophagus;

Pyloric stenosis is a narrowed pyloric region of the stomach. The maximum number of cases when it is detected occurs within a period of two to three weeks from the moment the baby is born (more often in boys). This anomaly is characterized by persistent and prolonged regurgitation, lack of weight gain and its decrease.

perinatal lesions of the central nervous system (with severe course of both the prenatal period and difficult labor, as well as low Apgar scores, increased intracranial pressure). The baby may be restless, his hands, chin, etc. may shake, and there may also be other neurological symptoms;
infectious processes (sepsis, meningitis, hepatitis), which are accompanied by lethargy, discoloration of the skin, monotonous crying;
hereditary metabolic disorders (phenylketonuria, galactosemia, adrenogenital syndrome);
kidney pathologies (renal failure);
poisoning with various substances.

According to this information, three main causes of pathological regurgitation can be distinguished: congenital pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, neurological causes, and digestive disorders in a child.

Congenital pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract

These include:

diaphragmatic hernia. This disease is congenital and is a consequence of underdevelopment of the connective tissue structures that strengthen the diaphragmatic opening. Clinical manifestations of the disease occur two to three weeks after the baby is born. They are characterized by persistent, prolonged regurgitation that appears immediately after eating, loss of the child’s body weight;

This diagnosis can be confirmed or refuted using x-ray examination.

pyloric stenosis, pyloric spasms. Due to these pathologies, the flow of gastric contents into the duodenum is disrupted. Clinical manifestations do not occur immediately after birth, since the volumes of milk entering the body are small. Regurgitation appears at the end of the first – beginning of the second month of the baby’s life. They can acquire a fountain-like character, have a cheesy consistency and a sour odor;

The diagnosis can be confirmed or refuted by endoscopic examination of the stomach.

chalasia cardia, that is, relaxation of the cardiac sphincter of the stomach. Since this sphincter does not close completely, gastric contents are thrown into the esophagus. Clinical manifestations occur immediately after birth. Confirmation of the diagnosis is carried out by x-ray examination of the stomach;

Why does a baby spit up after breastfeeding with chalasia cardia? The answer to this question is obvious - regurgitation has an unchanged consistency (in the form of milk or formula), since it occurs immediately after feeding and the food has not yet had time to be digested. In a horizontal position they are stronger. Additional symptoms may be: sluggish sucking, rapid fatigue of the baby, poor monthly weight gain, restless sleep.

congenital short esophagus, that is, the length of the esophagus does not correspond to the chest. Because of this, part of the stomach moves towards the diaphragm.

It is very important to position your baby correctly to the breast to prevent air from entering the stomach. The feeding position must be correct and during this process the mother needs to control that the baby grasps not only the nipple, but also the areola.

Neurological causes

The most common cause of regurgitation in children under one year of age is considered to be perinatal encephalopathy. It is a consequence of acute or chronic oxygen starvation of the fetus or injury during labor.

When a baby is born prematurely, the development of the sphincter is not complete, and therefore the baby can burp for up to six months until the postnatal formation of the gastrointestinal tract is completed.

Pathologies that developed perinatally include: impaired functioning of the central nervous system, disturbed sleep, increased intracranial pressure, high excitability of the vomiting center, etc.

Due to a difficult birth, the baby may experience damage to the cervical spine. For these injuries, consultation with a neurologist is required, followed by treatment in the form of massages, physiotherapy, and medications.

Digestive disorders in a child

They can have both functional and organic genesis. In the first option, physical ailments are caused not by a disease of the organ, but by a violation of its function. In the second option, the structure of the organ is damaged, which can manifest itself as either minimal enzymopathies or gross developmental anomalies.

Functional disorders occupy the leading place among children in the first months of life. Their percentage is 55 – 75%. This type of disorder occurs due to: previous antenatal and postnatal hypoxia, morphological and functional immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract, a later stage of development of the vegetative, immune and enzymatic systems of the digestive tube, inappropriate nutrition for the age of the child, violation of feeding rules, lack and excess of drinking.

Most often, parents have to deal with these disorders by the time the early neonatal period ends. The greatest number of functional disorders occurs in the first-born in the family, as well as in children born through in vitro fertilization. In more rare cases, their occurrence is possible in a large family.

Regurgitation in newborns is one and a half times twice as common if the child is bottle-fed than natural-fed.

If the baby is premature or immature, then the likelihood of these digestive disorders occurring increases. This is all due to the fact that in these children, intestinal hormones are produced more slowly, motor processes in the stomach and duodenum are not coordinated, and the response of the central nervous system to the occurrence of pain is slowed down. Therefore, these processes take longer and are more pronounced for them.

If functional changes are not diagnosed in a timely manner and these digestive disorders are not treated correctly, even though they are not of an organic nature, more serious diseases may occur in older age. So, for example, regurgitation can lead to esophagitis or gastroesophageal reflux disease.

If the baby has an uncoordinated regurgitation syndrome, then otitis media, sinusitis, iron deficiency anemia, and gastroduodenitis may subsequently develop.

What is regurgitation?

Neonate regurgitation, sometimes called physiological or uncomplicated reflux, is common in babies and is usually (but not always) normal.

Most young babies spit up occasionally because their digestive systems are immature, allowing stomach contents to return to the esophagus.

Many newborns and infants spit up some of their mother's milk or formula during or shortly after feeding. Some babies spit up only occasionally, while others spit up after every feeding.

The baby often spits up after feeding when he receives a lot of milk in a short period of time. This happens when the baby suckles very quickly and forcefully or when the mother's breasts are too full.

When a baby is often distracted (pulling the breast to look around) or fussing at the breast, he swallows air and therefore will burp more often. Some babies spit up more when they start teething, crawling, or eating solid foods.

Several statistics

The child vomits curdled milk immediately after eating. But it happens that the baby spits up an hour after feeding;
half of all children under 3 months burp at least once a day;
regurgitation usually peaks at 2 to 4 months;
many children outgrow this condition by 7–8 months;
Most babies stop spitting up by 12 months.

When a baby spits up milk, this is not a cause for concern. The fact that the baby regurgitates a curdled mass is explained by the action of an enzyme contained in the stomach juice. The enzyme is responsible for preparing food for the next stages of digestion.

Why does a baby spit up milk like a fountain?

Spitting up milk like a fountain scares many mothers. If the situation occurs once a day and the volume of milk discharge is no more than 50 ml, then this can be considered the norm. Repeated or excessive regurgitation may indicate health problems in the baby. Burping up like a fountain several times a day can cause dehydration or choking in your baby.

It is important to distinguish what is happening: regurgitation or vomiting. Main differences:

• regurgitation of milk usually occurs 2-5 minutes after feeding, less often up to an hour after it, vomiting does not depend on feeding and can be repeated several times in the interval between them;

• when vomiting, the child’s well-being worsens, he becomes lethargic and pale; when he regurgitates, he feels well and is active;

• the color and smell of regurgitation are not specific, unlike vomiting.

Why does a child burp often?

Drinking large amounts of foremilk

This is a common reason why a baby spits up. During breastfeeding, breast milk changes in consistency and composition.

At first, the milk is more watery and rich in lactose. Later, the milk becomes richer and more nutritious. Accordingly, as the baby eats, the amount of fat in human milk increases.

It is possible that the baby is constantly spitting up because he is receiving more foremilk.

This can happen if a nursing mother takes too long a break between feedings and the amount of foremilk in the mammary glands increases.

Milk coming in too quickly

Children's stomachs are small and fill up quickly. If the mother's milk comes in too quickly, the baby needs to be weaned almost every 5 minutes to get rid of the air absorbed during hasty sucking.

Immature digestive system

A newborn often spits up because the esophageal sphincter does not close completely after the stomach is full. This is due to the infant's immature digestive system. Because of this, the baby spits up.

Allergic reaction

If your baby spits up frequently, the baby may be having an allergic reaction to the presence of wheat or cow protein in the mother's milk. The baby will also have symptoms such as diarrhea, bloating, frequent passing of gas, and a rash around the anus.

Characteristics of the baby

A fussy baby at the breast swallows a lot of air, which is why the baby spits up breast milk.

Why does a child spit up like a fountain?

If your baby spits up frequently and a lot, he may have the following conditions that require medical attention.

If your baby spits up like a fountain, he may have a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Symptoms:

frequent regurgitation or vomiting;
discomfort when regurgitating.

It happens that the child does not burp in the full sense of the word, but quiet reflux occurs. This is a phenomenon in which the contents of the stomach only reach the esophagus and are then swallowed again, causing pain.

Signs of severe reflux:

the child cries a lot during feeding, it is impossible to calm him down;
poor weight gain or loss;
refusal to eat;
difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, chronic nasal congestion, chronic ear infections;
regurgitation that is yellow or mixed with blood.

Pyloric stenosis

A condition in which the muscles at the bottom of the stomach harden and prevent food from passing into the small intestine. Fountain regurgitation in newborns in combination with underweight are clear signs of pyloric stenosis.

And it affects more boys than girls. This usually occurs in infants at about 1 month. Pyloric stenosis requires surgical correction.

Intestinal obstruction

If there is green bile in your baby's regurgitation, this is one sign of a blockage in the intestines, which will require an emergency room visit, a scan, and possibly emergency surgery.

Disorders of the central nervous system

Disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system are also the answer to the question of why a newborn spits up like a fountain.

Infection

After the first months of life, the most common cause of regurgitation is a stomach or intestinal infection. Viruses are the most common infectious agents, but sometimes bacteria and even parasites can be the cause. The infection can cause fever, diarrhea, and sometimes nausea and abdominal pain.

Rotaviruses are the leading cause of regurgitation in infants and young children, with symptoms often progressing to diarrhea and fever.

Rotavirus is one of the viral causes of gastroenteritis, but other types of viruses such as noroviruses, enteroviruses, and adenoviruses can also cause this condition.

Sometimes infections outside the gastrointestinal tract cause regurgitation. These are infections of the respiratory system, ear infections, and urinary system.

Some of these conditions require immediate medical treatment. So be vigilant no matter your child's age and call your pediatrician if:

blood or bile in vomit and regurgitation;
severe abdominal pain;
persistent, repeated fountain regurgitation;
a swollen or visually enlarged abdomen;
lethargy or severe irritability of the baby;
convulsions;
signs or symptoms of dehydration - dry mouth, lack of tears, recessed fontanel and decreased amount of urination;
prolonged vomiting for more than 24 hours in a row.

When should you contact a specialist if your baby is regurgitating?

This condition does not always require medical intervention and consultation with a doctor, but in some cases it is simply mandatory when:

expressed anxiety of the child;
the presence of blood or bile in the vomit;
severe abdominal pain (in young children this is manifested by severe crying and severe anxiety);
persistent repeated fountain regurgitation;
bloated and visually enlarged abdomen;
lethargy and severe irritability of the child;
poor appetite and regurgitation immediately after eating a large amount of food (more often occurs with pyloric stenosis);
burping too often (with an interval of five to ten minutes) after receiving formula or milk;
poor monthly weight gain or lack thereof;
refusal of breast milk or formula.

If a child burps after each feeding and in large quantities, and also has increased excitability and poor weight gain, you should immediately consult a doctor to rule out congenital pathology.

What to do if a child spits up?

If your baby spits up frequently, change your feeding position to a more upright position. Gravity will play a role in retaining milk in the stomach if the baby is held upright for about half an hour after feeding.
Avoid any vigorous activity immediately after eating. This may cause the baby to burp.
Provide a calm and relaxed atmosphere during feeding. Don't leave your baby very hungry before you start feeding him. A hungry and anxious baby may swallow a lot of air, increasing the chances of breast milk reflux.
Feed your baby in small portions, but more often, to avoid an overfilled tummy.
Avoid overfeeding your baby.
Have your baby burp as often as possible to get rid of any air that might be absorbed from the food. If you don't see a burp after a few minutes, don't worry. Your baby may not need this.
The child should be placed to sleep on his side or back, and not on his stomach. If your baby spits up during sleep, keep his head elevated.
Don't put pressure on your stomach. Loosen any tight clothing, and do not place your baby's stomach on your shoulder so he can burp.
Eliminate certain foods from your diet to see if the problem of frequent spitting up resolves.

Prevention. Tips for parents

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/breastfeeding-newborn-baby-mother-2090396/
In 45 - 65% of healthy newborn babies, this regurgitation may occur, which is physiological and disappears on its own. But there are cases when doctors prescribe dietary correction to reduce the severity of their manifestation.

To prevent this condition, it is recommended:

Before each feeding, place the baby on his stomach;

In case of frequent episodes of this phenomenon, the pediatrician may recommend increasing the number of feedings by one or two compared to how the child should eat at a given age (while reducing the single serving of milk/formula).

The baby’s position during feeding should be semi-vertical, while it is better to take breaks and hold him in a “column” (that is, in a vertical position);
apply the baby to the breast correctly (the nose should not rest against the mammary gland, and the mouth should grip the nipple and areola);

If the baby is artificial, the pacifier must be completely filled with the mixture during feeding.

eliminate factors that may increase abdominal pressure or cause constipation. For this purpose, it is not recommended to tightly swaddle the baby, in addition, a nursing mother should monitor her diet and exclude from her diet foods that can increase flatulence (beans, cabbage, etc.);
do not overfeed the child. For “artificial” babies, the pediatrician must correctly calculate the volume of one-time and daily feedings. Breastfed children are recommended to be weighed periodically both before and after meals;
for bottle-fed babies, choose the correct hole in the nipple (it is better to give preference to anti-colic bottles and anti-reflux formulas), and also adhere to the correct posture during this procedure;
in case of difficulty in nasal breathing, crusts or discharge from them must be removed from the nasal passages;
after the child has been fed, you should not throw him up , turn him over, or play active games with him for 30-40 minutes;
try to feed your baby in a relaxed and calm atmosphere;
do not force the child to eat if he does not want to;
feeding should be done in small portions so that the tummy does not become full;
Sleep should be on the right side or on the back and in no case on the stomach. If the baby burps in his sleep, it is necessary to raise the head end;

Children under one year old are not recommended to sleep on a pillow, but in this condition it should be used only for a short period of time (15-30 minutes) so that the child does not burp or aspirate vomit during sleep.

Changing a diaper or clothes should be done before meals to reduce shaking and twisting of the baby.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/baby-newborn-child-parenting-4100420/

When is a doctor needed?

Frequent regurgitation in newborns is a process that almost any mother can cope with. But in some cases treatment is necessary.

If the child constantly burps or the amount, smell or color of the regurgitation has changed, contact a specialist. First of all, visit your pediatrician. Then he can refer you to a gastroenterologist, neurologist, or surgeon.

Do not delay a visit to the doctor if the child spits up heavily and then screams or squirms. This behavior may mean that the baby's esophageal walls are irritated.

Increased attention is required if the regurgitation looks like a fountain, occurs after each feeding, or looks like vomiting and after it the body temperature rises.

Don’t take unnecessary risks, show your child to a specialist.

Sometimes regurgitation is so frequent that the child does not gain as much body weight as necessary. This is much more important and may require special tests and more aggressive treatment. If testing confirms gastroesophageal reflux, treatment may include gentle feeding techniques and possibly medications.

Some medications, such as ranitidine, help neutralize stomach acids and protect the sensitive lining of the esophagus, which is exposed to stomach acid due to regurgitation. Others, such as Omeprazole or Lansoprazole, stimulate the stomach to move food into the intestines more quickly.

Causes of the problem

If your baby spits up curdled milk, there is no need to worry, as the reasons may be completely natural. Most often this happens due to the following:

with the help of regurgitation, the baby tries to get rid of excess air accumulated in the stomach;
when overeating, the baby has to regurgitate excess food;
sometimes this is due to the physiological development of the baby (for example, premature babies suffer from this problem more often).

There are times when such a problem in children should cause some concern among parents. Sometimes a baby may burp when the following problems develop in the body:

regular nervous tension leads an infant to similar behavior patterns;
if the baby loses weight due to regular regurgitation, this may indicate an infectious disease;
often this symptom indicates lactose intolerance, which means the mother will have to change her eating pattern;
improper development of the gastrointestinal tract also leads to such strange complications.

Typically, such milk has a sour smell, and it is released almost immediately after feeding. Babies often spit up before the age of six months. If the problem persists later, you should sound the alarm.

It is quite possible that against the background of a problem that is standard for all infants, a more serious disease develops. Making a diagnosis yourself is a thankless task, as you can stumble upon the incorrectness of your own theories. Even if the child spits up frequently, and the color of the returned milk becomes yellowish or greenish, there is no need to panic, since only after a medical consultation will it be possible to understand what is wrong.

Baby spits up milk - causes and solutions to feeding problems

Many mothers are scared if their babies spit up milk. In reality, this process is completely physiological and there is no reason to worry. However, in some cases, you may need to consult a doctor.

Possible causes of milk regurgitation

Why does a baby spit up milk? There may be the following reasons:

Air entering the stomach. This can happen due to the baby's rapid sucking at the breast or due to the baby's improper attachment to it.

Binge eating. This is the most common cause of belching. To prevent regurgitation, try not to overfeed the baby. And if you feed your little one artificially, then monitor the dosage of the mixture more carefully.

Incorrect position of the baby after feeding. After eating, the child should be given an hour's rest. There is no need to pick him up, change his clothes, etc.

Gastrointestinal pathology. This reason is typical for premature babies and babies with low weight.

If the baby burps no later than 60 minutes after feeding, gains weight normally and does not show signs of pathology, then there is no reason to worry.

Reasons for spitting up formula

Many parents ask the question: “What to do if the child spits up too often?” In this case, if you are feeding your baby with formula, you need to check the formula - the baby probably has an allergic reaction to some component.

Another reason could be incorrect dosage. Some mothers forget to adjust the amount of formula taking into account the time of day and the child’s well-being. As a result of this, the baby overeats.

Belching can also be caused by gases accumulated in the intestines. In such a situation, fennel-based preparations will help.

The difference between normal and pathological

If a child spits up curdled milk and then behaves as usual, then this is normal. The baby can begin to behave restlessly only with frequent belching, since gastric juice enters the esophagus along with milk, which causes discomfort.

The following situations are considered pathology:

regurgitation is accompanied by lethargy, loss of interest, and moodiness;
belching is repeated too often and the volume of regurgitation is quite large.

In this case, you need to urgently call a doctor.

What measures should be taken when regurgitating?

Many mothers are at a loss if their baby spits up after breast milk or formula, and in vain. This is a completely natural process.

To prevent regurgitation, you can purchase preparations with fennel at the pharmacy. They will help with the problem of increased gas formation, which is one of the causes of belching.

Here is a list of tips on what to do if your baby spits up milk or formula:

Temporarily reduce the amount of food you give your baby. If the baby is artificial, then reduce the dosage of the formula; if the baby is a baby, reduce the time of breastfeeding.
Pediatricians recommend swaddling your baby at night. In this case, the child will sleep more peacefully, which will have a beneficial effect on his health and the frequency of belching.
Periodically give your baby a pacifier - sucking it stimulates the gastrointestinal tract.
Try to do some physical activity for your little one. Increase the duration and frequency of walks, sign up for a massage or swimming, and do gymnastics. Physical activity strengthens muscles, including the gastrointestinal tract.
Follow your diet.
Hold the bottle correctly when feeding.

In addition, make sure that the head of the crib or stroller is raised. You can use a thin pad for this.

Prevention of regurgitation

To reduce the likelihood of your baby burping, place him on his tummy a few minutes before eating. This is both gymnastics for the abdominal muscles and a way to get rid of excess air. It is also important to observe how the baby holds the bottle or breast.

It is often quite difficult for mothers to hold and feed their baby at the same time. In this case, it is advisable to purchase sligs.

After finishing feeding, hold your baby in a column for about 10-15 minutes. During this time, excess air that got there along with food will be released from the gastrointestinal tract.

Provide your baby with an hour and a half rest and only then begin active activities with him.

If you follow all these tips, you can reduce the number and volume of regurgitation. As your baby grows, his stomach will also become stronger, and, as a result, belching will disappear completely.

Photo of babies spitting up milk

Simple tips to combat the problem

If a child spits up curdled milk too often, it means that he has some problems in the functioning of the body. What basic tips will help minimize the existing problem?

After feeding, you need to keep the baby in an upright position for about 10–20 minutes, which will help remove excess air from his body and reduce the number of regurgitations. His head should be pressed against the mother's shoulder.
When feeding, you should not rush, because if the baby eats quickly, the risk of a problem increases.
If the baby is bottle-fed, you should check whether the nipple size is appropriate. If the hole in the nipple is too large, the baby will continue to eat a lot and will have to get rid of the excess.
It is recommended to walk with your baby as much as possible, lead an active lifestyle, and swim with the baby in the pool, as all this improves the functioning of the digestive system.

Many doctors believe that you can get rid of this unpleasant problem in a fairly elementary way, namely through tight swaddling. The baby should be swaddled in such a way that his legs remain free, but his movements are limited. This elementary measure reduces the child’s activity, preventing unnecessary irritation of the stomach walls.

If the baby overeats or too much air enters his body and is not expelled in a timely manner, there is no way to avoid regurgitation. The task of parents in this case is to take note of the above basic rules in order to prevent the baby from regurgitating the food he needs.

When to worry if your baby is spitting up milk

It is important to differentiate between normal reflux and regurgitation that signals serious illness.

You should be alert for the following symptoms:

• regurgitation “fountain”;

• violation of the child’s general condition: fever, anxiety, lethargy;

• weight loss;

• the appearance of blood impurities in regurgitated milk.

If such signs appear, you should definitely consult a doctor. Most often this indicates one of the following violations:

• lactose intolerance is a deficiency or absence in a child of the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for the breakdown of lactose (a protein contained in the milk of mammals, including humans) in the stomach. In such cases, the child cannot digest mother's milk in sufficient quantities, often spits up and loses weight. If an enzyme deficiency is detected, the doctor prescribes lactose-free mixtures and the problem is usually eliminated;

• abnormal development of the gastrointestinal tract - deviation from the norm in the size, shape of the digestive organs, their compression. There are many options for development, so if unfavorable symptoms are detected, you need to contact a specialist for examination;

• neurological disorders that appear due to intrauterine pathology - increased cranial pressure, disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system, muscle tone;

• dysbiosis develops in children who are bottle-fed and after taking antibiotics;

• infectious diseases – intestinal infections, meningitis, hepatitis, accompanied by additional symptoms – fever, anxiety, colic, diarrhea;

• allergy - to breast milk when the mother consumes products that cause an allergy in the baby or to the formula.

Cases when you should consult a doctor

Sometimes the natural physiological need to regurgitate develops into a serious problem, subject only to medical treatment methods. In what cases is it necessary to contact a pediatrician?

If the color of the discharge is green or bright yellow, as this indicates an infectious disease.
If the baby spits up like a fountain, this is a sign of a serious nervous disorder.
The discharge may smell like rotten meat, and this is also an extremely alarming symptom.
Belching blood is the first symptom of internal bleeding, and parents should consult a doctor immediately.
If the baby spits up all the time, regardless of the duration and time of feeding, we may be talking about problems in the gastrointestinal tract.

An unpleasant odor, a sudden change in the color of the discharge, a deterioration in the baby’s general well-being - all this cannot be ignored. Otherwise, parents may risk the life of their baby due to their own indifference.

After diagnosis, doctors prescribe treatment algorithms. If we are talking about an infectious infection, you will have to take medications. If the problem is internal bleeding or a nervous breakdown, the baby often requires hospitalization.

Also, in case of nervous exhaustion, it is recommended to give your baby a spoonful of chamomile tea a day, as it has a calming effect on the entire body.

Only a doctor can say exactly why a child is spitting up. If the baby does not lose weight during the process, it means that development is proceeding on its own and there is no need to worry. If the problem appears more and more often, and the baby’s condition worsens, you need to seek help from a pediatrician. Only making an accurate diagnosis will reveal the true causes of constant regurgitation.

Why does a baby spit up after feeding breast milk or formula?

Every new parent begins to worry about some kind of reaction on the part of the newborn baby, and the most common among them is regurgitation. Why does a baby spit up after feeding breast milk or formula? You will find the answer to this question in our article.

Experts reassure mothers that regurgitation in a newborn is normal and does not require any treatment. Only in 10% of cases, regurgitation may indicate some pathology in the body.

Causes of regurgitation

Regurgitation is the expulsion of milk or formula from the stomach. There may be several reasons for this feature. Let's consider the main ones:

In most cases, the cause of regurgitation is overeating.
If the baby has consumed a large amount of milk or formula, the excess food comes out through the mouth.
If a child has difficulty defecating or intestinal colic, the normal passage of food is disrupted, as a result of which the child may vomit.
If, along with eating, the child swallows air, then regurgitation will definitely occur. The cause of this incident is improper attachment of the baby to the breast.
Regurgitation can occur due to an underdeveloped sphincter, and this is not a pathology. Normal functioning of the sphincter occurs closer to one year.
If immediately after feeding you play active games with your baby, turn him on his tummy or on his side, then regurgitation cannot be avoided.

The above reasons for regurgitation are features of the baby’s physiology and are considered the norm. The cause of regurgitation can also be pathology of the digestive tract or central nervous system.

It should be noted that not only newborns are prone to regurgitation; regurgitation in a one-month-old baby is also considered normal.

Burping up like a fountain

If a child spits up like a fountain, then parents should be wary. This factor may indicate the following pathologies:

Increased intracranial pressure.
Deformation of internal organs.
Pathologies of the digestive tract.

Also, spitting up like a fountain can occur due to incorrect transfer from natural feeding to artificial feeding.

If your baby spits up a large amount of what he has eaten, be sure to seek help from a doctor to rule out these pathologies in your baby.

Parents should be alerted to regurgitation with mucus - this may indicate certain diseases, in which case consultation with a doctor is also necessary.

Assessing the intensity of regurgitation

After breastfeeding

Some parents prefer mixed feeding, that is, the child is fed mother's milk and formula at the same time. Typically, such feeding is practiced when there is insufficient breast milk.

Sometimes it happens that a baby spits up only from breast milk. This phenomenon can be explained by various reasons. If a baby spits up breast milk but not formula, this may indicate:

about the presence of lactose intolerance in a child . To find out, you need to see a doctor and undergo the appropriate tests.
about overfeeding with milk . When feeding formula, parents see how much the child has eaten and dilute the portion appropriate for the baby’s age. In the case of natural feeding, it is impossible to measure the amount of milk consumed. In this case, regurgitation of breast milk occurs due to overeating.

Why does a baby spit up formula?

Regurgitation of the mixture can be caused by the following reasons:

The size of the diluted portion does not correspond to the age of the child.
The feeding bottle has a hole that is too large; when food is swallowed, air enters the baby’s stomach, resulting in regurgitation.
The formula is not suitable for children. This happens quite often. In this case, you need to contact your pediatrician, who in turn will advise you to use a different mixture.

Infant formulas that prevent regurgitation

How to distinguish vomiting from regurgitation

Many mothers turn to the doctor to understand how to distinguish vomiting from regurgitation - after all, it is not so easy to do. Experts say that the following factors are present when vomiting:

Before rejecting the eaten food, the child cries.
If the child is older than 1 year, and regular regurgitation continues.
In addition to regurgitation, the child has an elevated temperature/disordered stool/abdominal pain.
The baby's weight does not increase.
Vomiting is often carried out through the nose, and regurgitation is carried out exclusively through the mouth.
After regurgitation, the child begins to hiccup; after vomiting, this feature is absent.

If your child regularly regurgitates the above factors, be sure to consult a doctor to rule out possible pathologies.

Dietary recommendations

If the child does not have any pathologies, the problem of regurgitation can be solved at home. Let's look at a few nutritional recommendations:

Do not overfeed your child under any circumstances.
If the child is bottle-fed, dilute the formula according to his age.
If we are talking about breastfeeding, experts recommend expressing breast milk into a bottle to control the baby’s portion.
After feeding, do not put the baby down; you need to hold him in an upright position for 10-20 minutes until he burps air.
Try not to feed your child if he strongly refuses to eat and is capricious.
Immediately after feeding, try not to play active games with your baby or place him on his stomach.

Komarovsky's opinion

A well-known pediatrician believes that there is no reason to panic if a child spits up, but at the same time there is a weight gain in accordance with the norm. To numerous questions about regurgitation, Komarovsky answers that almost all infants are prone to regurgitation.

The doctor explains that a small child eats not as much as he needs, but as much as he can fit. Therefore, most often the child simply overeats, as a result of which regurgitation is observed. If a child regurgitates almost the entire portion of food eaten, then it is necessary to consult a doctor for advice.

Parents' experience

Based on reviews on the Internet, we can conclude that every second child spits up after eating; in 70% of cases, this phenomenon occurs when bottle-fed. Some note that after replacing the formula with another, the regurgitation stopped.

Source: https://deti-zdorovy.ru/chto-proishodit-s-moim-rebenkom/rebenok-srygivaet-posle-kormleniya/