Causes of babies spitting up milk
It is very common for children to spit up milk, and many new mothers will be anxious about it. Many people think that vomiting is caused by excessive milk supply or poor digestion. In fact, there are many reasons for spitting up milk. Below we will explain it to you from several aspects.
First of all, an important reason for spitting up is the imperfect development of the baby\’s digestive system. Since babies will not fully develop in the future, their stomachs are relatively small and the secretion of gastric acid is not very strong. Therefore, if the milk they eat is indigestible, it will easily increase the pressure in the stomach and cause vomiting.
Secondly, it is also common for breastfed babies to spit up milk easily. Because breast milk has complex components, many enzymes are secreted during its digestion to help the stomach break down and absorb it. However, these amino acids and enzymes take a long time to react in the stomach, so the process of stimulating the gastric mucosa to secrete gastric acid will be longer, and the risk of vomiting up will be greater.
Finally, the baby\’s eating posture and method can easily lead to spitting up. If the baby\’s posture is incorrect when drinking milk, he will swallow too much gas, which will increase the pressure in the stomach and cause vomiting. At the same time, feeding too quickly or using a bottle with a nipple with a hole that is too large can also cause spitting up.
How to deal with babies spitting up milk
Mothers don’t need to worry too much about spitting up milk, because it is a very common phenomenon. However, if the baby spits up milk frequently or in large amounts, we need to solve it in time. Below, we will introduce some methods that can help relieve or prevent your baby from spitting up milk.
First of all, we can let the baby eat in the correct posture, such as feeding the baby upright or lying on the back. Adults can keep the bottle angle at about 30-40 degrees. This allows the stomach to digest food better and reduces the risk of spitting up milk.
Secondly, for breastfed babies, we can try to shorten the feeding time and let the baby chew slowly while drinking milk. This will help reduce indigestion and prevent vomiting caused by drinking milk too quickly.
In addition, controlling the amount of milk produced at each feeding is also a good way to reduce the baby\’s spitting up. If the baby eats too much each time and is too full, it will easily cause vomiting. Therefore, we can feed in divided doses more frequently and at the same time give a smaller amount of milk each time, which can also effectively avoid spitting up.
The dangers of babies spitting up milk
Generally speaking, spitting up does not pose many risks to the baby\’s health. However, if the frequency of spitting up is too high or too much, it may cause some harm to the baby\’s health.
First of all, babies who spit up milk will increase their risk of gastrointestinal infection. Because spitted food residues can easily hide between the baby\’s mouth and gums, multiplying bacteria, and then cause diseases such as stomatitis and pharyngeal infection.
Secondly, spitting up milk is a waste, especially in breast-fed babies. The baby may lose a lot of important nutrients when spitting it out, resulting in slow weight gain or other nutritional deficiencies due to insufficient food.
How to identify the degree of baby spitting up milk
In most cases, infant spit-up does not pose a significant threat to health. However, if the spitting up is serious, it needs to be dealt with in time to avoid harming the baby\’s body. Below, we\’ll introduce some methods to help identify the extent of your baby\’s spit-up.
First, monitor how often and how much your baby spits up milk. If your baby spits up milk frequently or in large amounts, you need to pay close attention to your baby\’s condition.
Secondly, observe the time when the baby spits out milk. If the baby\’s attitude is stable after spitting up milk and there is no pain in the stomach, it means that there is basically no need to worry too much about spitting up milk caused by improper eating.
In addition, if the baby has a loss of appetite, slow weight gain, etc., it may be related to spitting up milk. At this time, it needs to be dealt with in time to prevent the baby\’s health from being affected.
Summary
It is a very common phenomenon for babies to spit up milk. If it happens too frequently or the degree of spitting up is too severe, parents and doctors need to pay attention to it. In order to prevent the baby from spitting up milk, we can help the baby use the correct feeding posture, shorten the feeding time, and provide a smaller amount of milk each time to reduce the possibility of spitting up milk. In addition, we also need to observe the baby\’s spitting up in time to determine whether the spitting up requires further treatment.
