What is the reason for a newborn to spit up milk? Why does a newborn spit up milk from the nose?

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.

What to do if your newborn spits up

Many mothers will find that their babies always spit up milk easily after drinking milk. So how to deal with newborn spitting up milk?

Burping the baby can reduce the baby's spitting up and spilling of milk. Burping can make the baby feel more comfortable. Generally, physiological spilling of milk does not require special treatment. Just pay attention to it when feeding. Hold the baby upright and burp after each feeding so that the baby can expel the inhaled air smoothly. It should be noted that if the inhaled air cannot be burped out, it cannot be burped all the time. In this case, you can continue to hold the baby upright for 10-15 minutes. This method can also reduce the spilling of milk in newborns. Do not change the baby's diaper after feeding, and do not let the baby practice rolling over and other exercises. When feeding, mothers should pay attention to the amount of milk. Do not feed the baby too much milk each time, and burp the baby more often after feeding. In addition, do not let the baby move violently within half an hour after eating, and help him keep his body upright to help digestion.

In addition to some relatively normal vomiting caused by drinking too much milk or incorrect feeding posture, mothers should also learn to judge whether the baby is vomiting due to gastrointestinal bacterial infection. The baby's intestinal tract is not fully developed and is easily invaded by gastrointestinal bacteria. This symptom is easier to distinguish. After being infected with gastrointestinal bacteria, the baby may have diarrhea, loss of appetite and fever in addition to vomiting. At this time, burping the baby is useless and should be treated in time.

Specific treatment methods for newborn spitting up

1. Don’t overfeed each time;

2. The nipple hole should not be too large. Be careful not to leave air in the bottle head when feeding, so as to prevent the child from inhaling too much air;

3. When feeding, raise the baby's head and upper body to a 45-degree angle, and do not let the baby lie flat to feed;

4. After feeding, the baby should be held upright and patted on the back until the air in the stomach is expelled.

What to do if baby spits up milk from nose

It is common for newborns to spit up milk. The pyloric stenosis of the newborn's stomach and the loose junction between the stomach and the esophagus make the stomach move strongly, and the milk in the stomach flows back from the esophagus and is spit out from the mouth, forming spit up milk. When spitting up milk, the milk is spit out from the mouth forcefully, even in the form of a jet. Some spitted-up milk will also spray out from the baby's nose. If parents do not clean the baby's nasal cavity in time, it may cause the baby to have difficulty breathing and suffocate. How to care for the baby after drinking milk?

1. After spitting up milk, pay more attention to observe the child's condition. When the child is lying down, raise the child's head, or simply hold the child upright. If milk sprays out of the nose, the nasal cavity should be cleaned in time. After spitting up milk, the child's face may not look good, but as long as it recovers later, there is no problem. You can give the child some water according to the situation.

2. Keep the upper body raised. The air inhaled into the stomach is sometimes caught in the milk inhaled before and after. At this time, if the child's upper body is upright, it will be helpful to discharge the air in the stomach. Therefore, the mother can hold the child upright, or raise the child's back to keep the upper body tilted for about 30 minutes. If the child vomits milk while lying down, the child's face can be turned to one side.

3. Burp your baby during feeding and after feeding. After 3-4 months old, the baby can not only master the sucking skills well, but also the contraction function of the cardia has matured, so the frequency of spitting up milk will be significantly reduced. Before that, it is best to burp your baby after each feeding.

4. After vomiting, 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, you can feed the baby some more milk. However, the amount of milk you feed 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, you can only feed the baby milk, and not other foods, including complementary foods.

Mothers should not be nervous when their babies spit up milk. Find out the reason for the spitting up milk and prescribe the right medicine. In the process of taking care of the baby, various problems will inevitably arise. Mothers should deal with them rationally.