Infant reflux is one of the top reasons families reach out to our pediatric providers. It’s very common, but finding the right treatment for how to help infant reflux can be challenging.
What is infant reflux?
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER), or infant reflux, occurs when both food and acid come back up into the esophagus. When this happens, regurgitation, spitting up or liquid coming out of the nose or mouth often occurs. Infant reflux is common because babies don’t have stomach muscles that are strong enough yet to keep their food down, and they spend a lot of time lying down.
“Infant reflux affects almost all families at one point in their parenting journey,” Morgan S. Allen, APRN-CNP, at Bon Secours Pediatric Gastroenterology Associates, shares. “As a provider who focuses on infant reflux, I hear the difficulties parents have with managing their baby’s reflux. In our pediatric GI office, we can sit together and review what exactly infant reflux is and different ways we can cope so you can enjoy your sweet baby!”
How to help infant reflux
While common, infant reflux is a condition that can sometimes be very challenging for families to manage. Recognizing the symptoms and understanding the causes can help determine the best course of treatment for your baby.
Symptoms of infant reflux
Infants are particularly prone to reflux because they spit up a lot. In addition to regurgitation of infant breastmilk or formula, infant reflux symptoms can also include:
- Irritability
- Excessive crying
- Back arching
- Excessive vomiting
- Poor weight gain
- Decreased oral intake or refusal to eat
- Poor sleeping
- Coughing
What causes infant reflux?
While symptoms of reflux can vary from baby to baby, so can what causes it. Some issues that lead to babies developing infant reflux include:
- The fact an infant’s diet is solely milk-based
- Certain feeding positions
- Feeding techniques
- Immature function of the lower gastro-esophageal junction
How do you treat infant reflux?
Infant reflux can be very stressful for new parents, especially during an already challenging time. However, most acid reflux in babies improves over time, and they usually outgrow it by the time they are 1 year old.
Some ways to treat infant reflux include:
- Feeding: Giving your baby smaller amounts of breastmilk or formula but more often can help keep more of their stomach contents down.
- Burping: Burping your baby more often can help release trapped air in their stomach, allowing milk to occupy that space.
- Holding your baby upright: During and for 30 minutes after feeding, keep your baby upright. This can help keep milk in their stomach until it settles down, preventing much of it from coming back up.
- Potentially thickened feedings: With your pediatrician’s guidance, you may consider thickening your baby’s formula with rice cereal. However, this is only an option for babies who are 4 months or older.
- Possible formula changes: Depending on the cause of their reflux, changing the formula your baby drinks may alleviate some symptoms.
- Medication: Babies who show more significant symptoms – refusing to eat, poor weight gain, excessive vomiting and even trouble breathing – may be prescribed medicine to lessen the amount of acid the stomach produces.
If you are a breastfeeding mother, treatment options are available that support the continuation of your breastfeeding journey
How we can help
Our hope is to help people recognize when infants, children and adults are experiencing gastroesophageal reflux disease-related symptoms and to encourage them to consult with a health care provider. Understanding how to help infant reflux can allow parents whose babies are suffering from it to find relief until they outgrow the condition.
Learn more about the pediatric services we provide at Bon Secours.
