What to do if your baby spits up breast milk

Breast milk is the most natural and safe food for babies. However, many babies spit up milk when they are breastfeeding, which often makes parents very scared. They don’t know if there is a problem with the breast milk or the baby’s swallowing ability is limited. If such symptoms occur, timely adjustments must be made. Otherwise, long-term spitting up will have a certain impact on the baby’s stomach health and swallowing ability. Let’s understand why babies spit up milk when they are breastfed.

What to do if your baby spits up breast milk

Spitting up is a common phenomenon in young babies because the baby's stomach is horizontal, has a small capacity, the cardia connecting to the esophagus is wide and has poor closing effect, and the pylorus connecting to the small intestine is tight. Babies often inhale air when feeding, and milk can easily flow back into the mouth, causing vomiting. When a mother sees her baby spitting up for the first time, she may be worried and at a loss as to what to do. In fact, as long as you pay attention to the following issues, you can prevent your baby from spitting up milk.

1. Master the time interval between feedings. Usually, it takes about 3-4 hours for milk to be emptied from the baby's stomach, so it is more reasonable to feed the baby every 3-4 hours. If the baby feeds too frequently, some of the milk from the previous meal will remain in the stomach, which will inevitably affect the amount of milk taken in at the next meal or cause stomach bloating, which will cause vomiting.

2. Pay attention to the breastfeeding posture. Appropriate feeding posture can effectively prevent and treat newborn spitting up. Some mothers like to breastfeed while lying down, that is, the mother and baby lie sideways facing each other to breastfeed. If you use this feeding position, your baby is more likely to spit up milk.

If the mother holds the baby to feed, the chance of the baby spitting up milk will be reduced. When the baby is in the arms, the body is tilted, and the lower opening of the stomach has a certain inclination accordingly. The inhaled milk can partially flow into the small intestine due to gravity, making the stomach empty. When the baby consumes the same amount of milk, the chance of spitting up milk is less when being held up for feeding than when lying down for feeding.

3. After breastfeeding, you should hold your baby upright, let him lie on your shoulder, and pat his back gently with your hands to help the air swallowed during milk be expelled and cause burping. After the baby burps, the gas in the stomach is emptied and it is less likely for him to vomit milk when he is put down again.

4. Pay attention to the lying posture of the newborn after eating. Usually, babies lie on their backs in bed, but this can easily cause them to spit up milk. To prevent spitting up, the baby should be placed in the right side position first, and then placed in the supine position after no spitting up is observed.

The above is an introduction to why babies spit up breast milk. After understanding it, we know that there are many reasons for this phenomenon, so mothers must pay attention to the correct methods and ways when feeding their babies. In addition, they must also pay attention to adjusting their diet, pay attention to balanced nutrition, and eat more light foods, so that the body can become healthier.