What is the problem with newborn spitting up milk? How to deal with newborn spitting up milk

What should I do if my baby always spits up? It is common for babies to spit up milk. Before parents deal with it, they should first know whether the child's spitting up is pathological or physiological. Physiological spitting up is mostly caused by improper feeding. Pathological spitting up should alert the baby to gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, parents should feed scientifically and strengthen care. Let's follow the editor to see how to feed scientifically!

What is spitting up?

Spitting up and spitting up milk are two common phenomena that have a certain impact on the child's development.

Vomiting up milk is usually caused by the stenosis of the pyloric stenosis of the newborn's stomach, and the relaxation of the junction between the stomach and the esophagus. When the stomach moves strongly, the milk in the stomach flows back from the esophagus and is vomited out of the mouth, forming vomiting milk. When vomiting milk, the milk is vomited out of the mouth forcefully, even in the form of a jet.

Milk regurgitation is caused by the incomplete development of the sphincter at the end of the esophagus, which results in incomplete closure between the stomach and the esophagus. As a result, the milk that enters the stomach flows back into the esophagus and overflows from the mouth. Newborns are in the developmental period and have a great demand for nutrition. Therefore, it is a must for mothers to do a good job of prevention and provide adequate nutrition for their children's development.

The amount of spitting up is large, and it often happens after feeding. Before spitting up, the baby will stretch his neck or open his mouth, showing a painful expression.

Spitting up is a small amount of milk, usually when the baby finishes feeding, and spits out one or two mouthfuls of milk at random. Spitting up is a normal phenomenon in newborns, and most babies spit up milk several times a day in the first few months after birth.

Reasons for baby spitting up

The reason why newborns spit up milk is not only because of the change of holding position after feeding, but also because of the physiological characteristics of infants. First, let us understand the stomach structure of infants and the characteristics of their feeding methods.

The reason for spitting up: the baby's stomach and throat are not yet fully developed

The stomach of a newborn baby is lying horizontally when viewed from the front, which is unstable, and the cardia (entrance to the stomach) is relatively loose. In other words, when adults eat, after food enters the stomach, the cardia will contract to prevent food from flowing back into the esophagus; but because the cardia of the baby's stomach cannot contract well, the milk that enters the stomach can flow back into the esophagus more easily. In addition, compared with adults, the position of the larynx of newborns is higher, and their way of sucking the nipple is clumsy, which makes it easy for air to be inhaled into the stomach along with the milk when feeding, so when the child burps or shakes, the milk that has been eaten is more likely to be vomited out.

When should you see a doctor after your child spits up milk?

In terms of avoiding spitting up, breastfed babies are better than bottle-fed babies in this regard. Bottle-fed babies swallow a lot of air, but breastfed babies don't, because the baby's mouth and the mother's nipple form a vacuum adsorption, and air is not easy to enter. As for the amount of spitting up, it only looks a lot, but in fact most of it is gastric juice, and the child will not be hungry because of it. As long as the baby does not show discomfort, does not lose weight, or has abnormal phenomena such as frequent vomiting, green color, crying and coughing, there is no need to see a doctor.

However, we need to pay more attention to the mental and physical state of the child after vomiting. After the vomiting is relieved, if the baby is still listless, just wants to sleep, is emotionally upset, can't fall asleep, has a fever, has a bloated stomach, etc., it may be sick and you should see a doctor.

How to care for baby spitting up milk

1. Keep your upper body elevated

Once vomitus enters the trachea, it will cause suffocation. Therefore, when letting the child lie down, it is best to put a bath towel under the child's body and keep the upper body elevated. If the child vomits while lying down, we can turn the child's face to one side.

2. After spitting up, pay more attention to the child's condition

When the child is lying down, you should raise the child's head, or simply hold the child upright. After spitting up milk, the child's face may not look good, but it is okay as long as he recovers later. In addition, you can give the child some water according to the situation.

3. Rehydrate within 30 minutes after vomiting

If you give your child water right after he or she spits up, it may cause him or her to vomit again. Therefore, it is best to try to give your child some water a little at a time with a spoon about 30 minutes after he or she spits up.

4. After spitting up, the amount of milk you feed each time should be reduced to half of the usual amount.

When the baby recovers and wants to breastfeed again, we can feed the baby some more milk. But the amount of milk each time should be reduced to about half of the usual amount, but the number of feedings can be increased. During the period of continuous vomiting, we can only feed the baby milk, and not other foods, including complementary foods.