Newborn baby's throat gurgling when drinking milk

If a newborn baby makes some throat noises when drinking milk, be careful as it may be a symptom of laryngitis, which is a disease caused by laryngeal tracheal cartilage softening. It can cause laryngeal wheezing in patients. The main reasons are injuries during delivery, throat edema and serious diseases. As a mother, you need to observe patiently at ordinary times.

Causes of neonatal stridor

1. Causes of Laryngeal stridor: Laryngeal stridor is mostly caused by diseases of the larynx or tissues near the larynx.

The common reasons are as follows.

1. Congenital simple laryngeal stridor (laryngeal tracheal chondromalacia), congenital laryngeal tracheal malformations (laryngeal webs, bifid epiglottis, epiglottis hypertrophy, subglottic stenosis, tracheal stenosis, etc.), congenital large blood vessel anomalies (double aortic arches), congenital laryngeal cysts or tumors (laryngeal cysts, laryngeal hemangiomas, laryngeal papilloma, intralaryngeal thyroid, etc.).

2. Acquired traumatic laryngeal stridor (birth trauma, laryngeal edema, acquired subglottic stenosis), neurogenic laryngeal stridor (vocal cord paralysis, laryngeal neuromuscular incoordination). In short, there are many causes of laryngeal stridor in newborns, and it is easy to misdiagnose. Once a child is found to have laryngeal stridor, he or she should be taken to the hospital for a laryngoscopy in time. If conditions permit, a laryngeal CT scan should be done to avoid delaying treatment.

(ii) Pathogenesis: Laryngitis is caused by turbulence of airflow through the narrow section of the airway during inspiration or exhalation.

1. Physiological and anatomical characteristics:

Newborns are more prone to airway stenosis due to their smaller diameter, and the cartilage supporting the airway is poorly developed, making it prone to twisting and collapse. Therefore, the airway of newborns is more prone to physiological stenosis than children of other age groups.

The airway can be divided into three parts anatomically:

① Supraglottic part: including nose, nasopharynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx.

② Laryngeal segment (glottic segment): includes vocal cords, subglottic area, and cervical trachea segment.

③Intrathoracic segment: includes the trachea and bronchi in the chest cavity.

2. Expiratory throat

Congenital abnormalities of the trachea and bronchi in the chest cavity are relatively rare. Tracheal softening, tracheal stenosis, congenital abnormalities of the great vessels compressing the airway, or airway inflammation caused by recurrent gastroesophageal reflux can all cause airway obstruction in this section, manifesting as expiratory laryngeal stridor.

3. Inspiratory stridor

The supraglottis is the weakest part of the newborn. Obstructive diseases in this area can often cause inspiratory laryngitis. For example, micrognathia or macroglossia can block the airway due to the backward movement of the tongue.

4. Biphasic laryngitis

The larynx is the narrowest part of the neonatal airway in terms of anatomy. Diseases here, such as congenital laryngomalacia, vocal cord paralysis, subglottic stenosis, laryngeal webs, subglottic hemangioma and laryngeal cysts, can all cause laryngeal obstruction. The airflow is equally affected during inspiration and exhalation, thus manifesting as typical biphasic laryngitis.