Do newborns need to be burped?

The digestive system of a newborn baby is not perfect, so parents need to help burp the baby. This can prevent the milk from flowing back into the esophagus and endanger the baby's life. There is a method to burping a baby. Parents should not just burp the baby as they please. If the baby does not burp after burping, parents should make sure the baby is safe before putting the baby down. Be careful not to feed your baby too hastily; it will be easier to digest if you feed him slowly.

Reasons why newborns need to be burped

First, let us understand the stomach structure of newborns and the characteristics of their feeding methods. Newborns are prone to spitting up because their stomachs and throats are not yet fully developed. The stomach of a newborn baby, viewed from the front, is lying horizontally and is in an unstable state, while the cardia (the entrance to the stomach) is relatively loose. That is to say, when adults eat, after food enters the stomach, the cardia will contract to prevent food from flowing back into the esophagus; but because the cardia of the newborn's stomach cannot contract well, the milk that enters the stomach can flow back into the esophagus more easily.

What to do if burping your baby doesn't work?

1. If your baby still doesn't burp after you've been burping for a few minutes, it may not be necessary. However, this is not the case for all babies. For some babies, it is not that they do not need to be burped, but that it is difficult for them to expel gas through burping.

2. If your baby doesn’t burp after you burp him but is obviously uncomfortable, you need to continue burping him. This may be because the baby's immature digestive system causes air to penetrate deep into the intestines, making it difficult to be expelled through burping. So you may still have to keep patting your baby's back until he or she has a loud burp, as some babies seem to be able to expel swallowed air only by burping.

Precautions

Hand posture: Put five fingers together and close together, bend the palm to catch water, do not let air leak when patting the baby's back, and the force of the patting should be enough to cause vibration without making the baby feel pain.

Multiple burping: Each meal can be divided into 2 to 3 times to burp the baby. Do not wait until the baby has finished drinking. If your baby is prone to bloating, regurgitation, spitting up, or is very hungry, you should burp him shortly after starting feeding. This can effectively prevent bloating or spitting up.