Infant Acid Reflux

Infant Acid reflux is an important issue. Infants are often seen spitting up after having their meals. This very common site seen all over the world. It is nothing else but your baby is suffering from acid reflux. Mainly because of the feeding habits infants are more prone to spiting up whatever they consume. With the growing age this reflux level decreases. This can be caused during sneezing, coughing or even when the infant cries. It is caused due to the pressure on the digestive system. As a caring parent certain changes can be made in some of the habits of your infants feeding. The position of holding your infant should be observed while and during feeding, the infant should be kept straight after or in between the feedings, to make him burp to release the gas, should be fed with smaller but repeated meals. Observing these methods will decrease the symptoms and the intensity of the reflux. However if the symptoms still continue a doctor should be consulted.

How do I know if my infant is suffering from Acid Reflux?
If your infant throws out what he/she has eaten then its time to consult a doctor.
This throwing or vomiting of food is called spiting up and is the prominent symptom of acid reflux.

What are the causes of you infant spiting up?
The tube through which the food passes into the stomach is still not developed in infants.
Feeding excessively may cause pressure on the tube which may make the contents of the stomach to come back in the throat of the infant. Thus causing spiting up.

Care to be taken:
To keep the baby clean certain tips can be followed.
Let the feeding of the infant be done in a peaceful and stress free place to avoid any pressure on the infant.
Hold the baby in a vertical position in between and after the feeding.
Feed regular little meals and make sure the infant burps during the meals.
Keep the consistency of the food thick, but do so after taking the doctors consent.
The amount of liquid going in your infant's stomach should be checked if feeding by bottle. The size of the bottle's nipple should be small to avoid too much liquid oozing out from it.

Observing the infant:
Keeping a watch on the infant's health can help ease the health problems. Maintain a weight chart, see the color of the spit, note if your baby is rejecting the food, notice if the infant has repeated fever and check if the breathing is normal. These should be done under the guidance of a good pediatric.

Difficulties the infants can face:
Infants suffering from acid reflux can face health problems such as weight loss, slow growth, respiratory problems, blood complications etc. Immediate necessary steps against acid reflux should be taken.

Treatments may vary on the severity of the reflux. Some refluxes may reduce with age which may not require any medicines some may require medicines or some may even need surgery. Consulting a doctor is the vital role of the parents in such matters.

Infant Acid reflux - take steps to help baby!