Why does the baby spit up after feeding with formula or milk

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Spitting up in babies is a common occurrence that worries mothers of any age very much. Often, the baby spits up after feeding with formula or breast milk immediately after a meal or within half an hour after. It is important to know what is normal and when to seek medical attention.

Possible causes of regurgitation

A variant of the norm is regurgitation in a child under the age of 3 months. At the same time, this usually does not negatively affect the state of health. Almost every baby spits up at least once a day.

The main factors affecting this condition are:

• physiological features;
• psychological problems;
• pathological conditions.

Physiological causes disappear as the child grows up, while psychological and pathological ones require medical intervention.

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Physiological features

Depending on the individual characteristics of the physiological development, the baby stops spitting up at the age of 3 to 6 months, in rare cases - up to 7 months. Rejection of food in a child after eating is a variant of the norm for the following reasons:

• underdeveloped sphincter of the stomach;
• narrow spherical esophagus, expanded from above;
• insufficient length of the esophagus.

Due to too weak muscles of the stomach and sensitive mucosa, when food enters it, the bottom of the organ is sharply reduced, and it is pushed back into the esophagus, as a result of which it flows out of the mouth.

In a premature baby, regurgitation may be the result of a prenatal disturbance in the functioning of the nervous system or morphofunctional immaturity of the digestive system.

Also, the physiological reasons for regurgitation include:

• Tight swaddling, as a result of which air stagnates in the baby's stomach.
• Active movements of the baby immediately after feeding or too frequent changes in its position.
• The wrong mixture is one of the most common reasons why a child may spit up after eating.
• Increased gas production, as a result of which the intestines exert strong pressure on the stomach.
• A baby swallowing large amounts of air while sucking (aerophagia).
• Meals on demand from "artificial". Formula is heavier than breast milk and is therefore absorbed more slowly. If the child spits up after feeding with the formula, then the food intake should be set strictly according to the schedule.
• The norm of the fed mixture is more than necessary for the age of the child.

Usually, when all of the above reasons are eliminated, the child spits up very rarely or stops altogether.

Psychological problems

An unstable emotional state of a child or a nursing mother can also cause the infant to regurgitate. It can occur due to a child's poor sleep, teething, a nervous situation in the family, etc. You can try to eliminate negative psychological factors on your own or with the help of a pediatrician.

Pathological conditions

Sometimes babies can develop illnesses that cause regurgitation after eating. These include:

1. Lactose deficiency. Can be congenital or acquired. It occurs due to the small amount or complete absence of an enzyme involved in the breakdown of lactose. If a child spits up after breastfeeding, then first of all, tests should be carried out for the presence of this enzyme.
2. Pylorospasm. A disease characterized by spasm of the muscle tissue of the stomach. Often accompanied by weight loss and restlessness, tearfulness of the child.
3. Pyloric stenosis. Severe pathology, which, in the absence of timely treatment, can lead to the death of the infant. In addition to spitting up with a fountain, there are a number of other symptoms: weight loss, constipation, insufficient urine, and others.
4. Brain tumors of various etiologies. Parents should be alerted to the following symptoms: an increase in the size of the skull, seizures, squint, unnatural body position, and others.
5. Allergy to cow's milk protein. Often hereditary. In addition to regurgitation, it is accompanied by increased gas production, diarrhea, an almost complete lack of weight gain, skin rashes and other symptoms. If the baby spits up after feeding the formula, then you can try changing it to a product that does not contain cow's milk protein.
6. Gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is a variant of the norm until the child reaches the age of 12-18 months. If this condition persists longer, surgical treatment may be indicated.

There are other diseases that can cause a child to regurgitate. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a doctor after a thorough examination.

Types of regurgitation

Experts identify 3 main types of regurgitation, by which it is possible to determine whether a doctor's help is needed. These include:

• Belching. In this case, the air swallowed while sucking comes out without any unpleasant sensations for the baby. Together with it, a small amount of formula or milk may be released.
• Regurgitation. Excessive flow of milk and air immediately after a meal or within 30 minutes after it. At the same time, the appetite remains, the emotional state of the baby is stable, the weight comes within normal limits.
• Vomit. In terms of the amount of air and milk rejected, it is similar to regurgitation. But at the same time, the child's behavior changes. Lethargy, drowsiness, tearfulness and complete or partial loss of appetite appear.

Vomiting in an infant can be one of the signs of a serious illness, so even in rare cases, you should immediately consult a doctor.

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When there is no cause for concern

To find out if there is cause for concern when spitting up in an infant, you need to carefully look at the child's behavior. The absence of any deviations is indicated by the following signs:

• The child's behavior remains normal. There is no unreasonable crying, unnatural movements, disturbances of night and day sleep, increased body temperature.
• The child's appetite is good. He eats the usual rate of formula or breast milk for his age.
• The baby's weight is appropriate for its age.
• The regurgitation is not profuse. The norm is 30 ml or about 2 tablespoons.

In newborns, regurgitation occurs 5-6 times a day and becomes less and less frequent as they grow older. By 12-18 months they stop altogether.

When to see a doctor

If a child's regurgitation is accompanied by any symptoms uncharacteristic of his usual condition, then you should immediately consult a doctor.

Concerns are:

• too much food rejected;
• no weight gain;
• constant sleepiness, even with a well-established sleep schedule;
• increased body temperature;
• convulsive conditions;
• violent vomiting in a fountain;
• diarrhea, sometimes with blood streaks in the stool;
• bloating;
• the baby cries if you touch his belly;
• the rejected food contains foreign impurities (bile, blood).

The appearance of even one of the above symptoms is a reason to undergo a medical examination.

Do I need to feed the child after regurgitation

Many mothers are concerned about the question of whether it is necessary to supplement if the child spits up after feeding with breast milk or formula.

Experts give such advice:

• With a small amount of regurgitation, food should be continued as usual.
• Spitting up immediately after feeding is a direct sign of overeating.
• If food is rejected a few hours after eating, there is no need to supplement, since the child has already managed to get all the nutrients.

It is not recommended to supplement with abundant regurgitation. In this case, if there are no other negative symptoms, it is necessary to select another product with the pediatrician.

How to reduce the amount of regurgitation

There are several recommendations from pediatricians and baby food specialists that can significantly reduce the number of regurgitations per day.

These include:

• Practice adaptive bathing, especially in the first months after birth. In this case, the child is wrapped loosely in a diaper and bathed in a small bath. A decoction of a calming herb - chamomile, thyme and others - can be added to the water. This method helps the child's body to adapt to the environment, as a result of which the digestion process is established faster.
• Breastfeeding your baby in an armpit position. This position helps to better control the position of the nipple in the baby's mouth.
• Achieve a correct latch on the breast, otherwise the baby quickly gets tired of sucking and swallows too much air during feeding. The nipple and areola should be completely in the baby's mouth.

If you regularly adhere to the above rules, the risk of regurgitation can be minimized.

How to feed properly

It is important to know what to do so that the feeding process does not bother either the mother or the baby. Feeding must be organized according to the following algorithm:

1. 10-15 minutes before a meal, the baby must be placed on his stomach, this will help his digestive system to prepare for the receipt of food.
2. During feeding, carefully monitor the latch of the breast.
3. After eating, the child should be held in an upright position until belching occurs. This will help the excess air out of the stomach.

It is also important not to overfeed your baby. You should not breastfeed him too often. If the baby is not hungry, but simply naughty, then you need to try other ways to calm him down.

With artificial feeding, the amount of the prepared mixture must strictly comply with the recommended age standards.

Outcomes

Spitting up in a baby after feeding is one of the most common reasons for seeking medical attention. But, in fact, there are not very many reasons for concern. Usually food rejection occurs due to overfeeding, improper breastfeeding and non-compliance with the feeding algorithm. Seek medical attention when the child's behavior or physical condition has changed.