What should I do if my baby cries and has a bloated stomach?

Since babies cannot express themselves verbally, they can only cry when they feel uncomfortable, especially when they have abdominal pain. Abdominal bloating is related to age and diet.

Causes of abdominal pain in babies

The baby is not yet mature: Generally speaking, the belly of an infant or young child is originally larger than that of an adult and looks bloated. This is because the abdominal wall muscles of the child have not yet matured, but need to accommodate the same number of internal organs as an adult.

Insufficient abdominal muscle strength: When the abdominal muscles do not have sufficient strength to bear the load, the belly will appear more prominent, especially when the child is held, the belly will appear to be protruding and sagging.

Different shapes: The front and back of infants’ bodies are round, not as slightly flat as adults, but this is also one of the factors that make the abdomen look bloated. Infants and young children often cry when they have bloating.

Crying and being too hungry: When the baby cries too much, or the child eats and sucks too quickly, letting air into the stomach, especially when the baby is too hungry to be fed with milk.

The shape of the nipple hole: If the nipple hole of the bottle is not the right size, gas will enter the baby's body through the gap of the nipple. The milk or other food sucked into the body will be fermented by intestinal bacteria and other digestive enzymes in the digestive tract, thus producing a large amount of gas.

What to do if your baby has abdominal pain

Pat the back to induce burping: There are some ways to dissipate gas that can help infants and young children get rid of gas problems, such as gently patting the baby's back after feeding to induce burping, so that the gas in the gastrointestinal tract can be discharged from the esophagus.

Farting and gastrointestinal absorption: Some infants and young children are quite good at passing gas, and can expel excess gas from the body through the anus; in addition, relying on the absorption of the stomach and intestinal walls can also relieve abdominal distension and pain.

How to prevent baby's bloating

Stabilize emotional excitement: When a baby cries, it is very easy to have bloating. If this happens, parents should comfort or hug the child more to avoid the severity of bloating by regulating his mood.

Feed your baby on time: Don’t let your baby be hungry for too long before feeding. If your baby is hungry for too long, he will suck too quickly and swallow a lot of air. Therefore, you should feed your baby on time and encourage your baby to pass gas after feeding.

Abdominal massage: Parents can help their baby press and massage their belly, which will help gastrointestinal motility and gas discharge, and improve the absorption of the digestive system.

Give special treatment rules

According to the child's condition: Basically, the criterion should be based on the child's symptoms. If the baby can eat, defecate, and has no nausea or vomiting, the abdomen feels soft and normal, the baby has good mobility, normal gas discharge, and normal weight gain, most of the cases are functional bloating and do not require deliberate treatment.

Doctor's diagnosis and treatment: If the baby is sick, such as having respiratory infection, gastrointestinal inflammation, or constipation, etc., it is easy to have poor gastrointestinal motility and poor absorption and digestion function, which will cause bloating and even affect appetite.