Can
acid reflux occur in newborns? This is one
of the most common questions asked by new parents.
The truth is that most newborn babies have
spitting up problems during and after feeds.
Technically, it can be referred to as gastro
esophageal reflux or infant acid reflux. But the
important thing to keep in mind is that in
majority of cases it is not caused by the same
factors as in adults. The spitting up or acid
reflux occurs in infants during the first months
of life and has physiological reasons and is quite
normal. It is serious only if the baby spits up
large amounts or with force or chokes on the
regurgitated food, or fails to gain weight.
Medical intervention then becomes
necessary.
In
newborns, the lower esophageal sphincter or the
LES is not fully developed and so it is easy for
the stomach contents to flow back into the
esophagus causing acid reflux. Spitting up
normally disappears by the baby’s first
birthday.
While
every baby is different there are many common
symptoms of acid reflux in newborns.
A
baby
may exhibit none, few, or many of the following
symptoms.
The number of symptoms, may
be unrelated to the severity of reflux:
weight loss or poor weight gain, frequent spitting
up, projectile and forceful vomit sometimes out
the nose, sour breath, persistent hiccups or
cough, excessive crying or colic, poor day and/or
nighttime sleeping habits, refusal to nurse, poor
feeding habits - arches back, stiffens or screams
while feeding, prefers upright or inclined
positions.
Before
considering medications, it is worthwhile to try
out a few changes to see if they bring about
relief of symptoms:
-Keep
babies upright while feeding and for at least a
half an hour afterwards.
-Position
the baby on its back during sleep.
Raise the baby’s crib to about thirty degrees.
This will reduce the regurgitation. Sleeping on
his/her left side will help to keep the food down
because the inlet of the stomach is higher than
the exit.
-More
frequent feedings will reduce the chance of
refluxing. Filling up the stomach to capacity will
increase the pressure and result in more
refluxing.
-Burp
your baby while feeding and after feeding. Sit the
baby upright and support its head. Air bubbles
will rise to the top of the stomach in this
position. When you burp the baby in the standard
way, with the baby over the shoulder, you can put
pressure on the stomach and increase the incidence
of infant acid reflux.
-Breast
feeding has proved to be better than bottle
feeding for reflux.
The main reason is that breast milk is digested
faster. This reduces spitting up, and it has
special enzymes which help digestion.
Additionally, breast milk does not cause allergies
like other milks available in the
market.
-Do
not wear tight clothes especially around the waist
and stomach.
-Thicken
Feedings: add 1-2 teaspoons of rice cereal to each
ounce of formula to thicken it up. Stop if you
don't notice any improvement in 3-5 days.
-Provide
a pacifier. Sucking
on a pacifier can increase saliva production.
Saliva is alkaline and can neutralize some of the
acid that may have been
refluxed.
-Massaging
the infant has been shown to improve digestion and
relax the baby.
Most
of these suggestions will definitely relieve
symptoms of acid reflux. A baby should lead as
medication-free life as possible. Hence, making
these changes will not only bring about relief of
symptoms but also prevent the condition from
becoming chronic and avoid complications. These
changes form the protocol for holistic treatment.
It is important that parents are educated and
involved in the treatment as this will reduce
their stress levels help them cope with the
problem better.
