First, let’s look at a scene:
Ah! Ah! Ah! Husband/Mom! Come on!
What’s the matter? What’s the matter!
Oh, my God! The child vomited! ! Vomit all wet!
Did you throw up what?
Milk!
This kind of scene must have appeared in many families that have just had children. When the baby vomits milk, the whole family is nervous. Perhaps it is because vomiting is a very terrible thing in our cognition, because vomiting means that there may be digestive system problems. But does vomiting milk mean that the child is ill?
Why does the baby spit milk?
There is a difference between vomiting and vomiting milk.
After the baby has finished eating the milk, occasionally, the milk flows out along the corners of the mouth, or with hiccups, or when the mood is excited and the movement range is large, it suddenly gushes out from the oral cavity and nostrils. However, the baby has no discomfort, and has good growth and development, good spirit and good milk intake. This kind of situation is spitting milk (this article mainly mentions physiological spitting milk).
Vomiting means that the contents of the stomach are forced from the stomach [squeezed] into the esophagus and spit out through the mouth. Spitting milk is only a slight reflux of the contents of the stomach into the mouth, and often accompanied by hiccups. When the baby vomits, there will be discomfort manifestations, such as crying, irritability, etc.
There are two reasons why babies spit milk:
1. Physiological spitting
For babies under 1 year old, spitting milk is very normal, especially for babies around 4 months old, which is related to the baby’s immature digestive system and eating.
The human body’s stomach has two [gates], the place where the stomach borders the esophagus is called [cardia], and the place where it borders the intestinal tract is called [pylorus]. Compared with adults, the muscles in the cardiac part of the baby are not fully developed and relatively relaxed, while the muscles in the pylorus are relatively tense, which will cause a situation: gastroesophageal reflux.
In addition, because the baby’s stomach is horizontal and the volume of the stomach is small, and the pyloric muscles are tense, if the feeding amount is too large (i.e. Overfeeding), the shallow stomach will naturally not be able to hold the surging milk, and the lower head will not be able to go, so it can only rush up, resulting in milk vomiting.
If the baby drinks too much and too fast when drinking milk, and swallows a lot of air in the process, then when the air is discharged from the stomach, which is what we call [hiccups], some of the milk drunk will also [hitch a ride] and run out together.
Most babies’ milk overflow and vomiting will gradually improve around the age of 6 months, while a few babies may not improve until around the toddler period.
2. Pathological vomiting
It should be mentioned that some diseases may also be manifested by vomiting milk.
If the baby has various discomfort manifestations such as poor spirit, poor milk intake, abdominal distension, diarrhea, fever, crying and uneasiness while vomiting milk, he should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Serious diseases such as intestinal obstruction, intussusception, esophageal atresia and intestinal atresia can all be manifested as vomiting milk.
How do babies spit milk?
Step 1 Never do it
In addition to spitting milk after feeding, the baby may also choke milk for many reasons during feeding.
At this time, Bao’s parents must not lift the baby who is spitting milk upright, which may allow choking milk to enter the baby’s lungs.
If choking milk occurs, we should first observe the degree of choking milk of the baby, and then, according to the degree, let the baby pat the baby’s back behind his side face, or let the baby lie prone on an adult’s leg and pat the baby’s back hard to let the milk flow out.
Step 2: What should I do
Don’t panic when your baby vomits milk. Ask yourself three questions: Does your baby show any discomfort? Are there any other symptoms? Is growth lagging behind?
If there is no discomfort, no other symptoms, good growth and development, eat well and sleep soundly, there is no need to worry about this physiological spitting milk. Go and change clothes for the baby.
If the answer to one of the three questions is yes, the following situations should be observed at the same time of spitting milk, and Bao’s parents should be on guard:
- Repeated spitting of milk; Large amount of milk spitting; Jet vomiting; Reduced urine volume; Weight gain is slow or even stagnant. Not in good spirits; Vomit with yellowish green, brown or bloody vomit; Blood stool; Complicated with fever, diarrhea, dyspnea and other symptoms; To cry;
In case of the above situation, parents should take their children to see a doctor in time to judge whether vomiting is caused by pathological reasons.
How to prevent babies from spitting milk?
It is very difficult to completely solve the problem of spitting milk, but the following methods can help babies reduce the frequency and amount of spitting milk.
After feeding, pat the back gently to expel the air swallowed during feeding. For children fed with formula milk, because the contact angle between the bottle and the child is different from that of the mother’s breast, more air may be swallowed during feeding than breast feeding, and the back can also be properly pat during feeding.
- For children fed with formula milk, choose a nipple hole suitable for the swallowing and sucking speed of the baby. If the nipple hole is too large, it is easy to choke milk too fast, and if the nipple hole is too small, it is difficult to suck milk and it is easy to swallow too much air. After feeding the milk, hold the baby vertically for 15-30 minutes, and do not tease the baby immediately. Try to be quiet and calm every time you nurse. Don’t lie down and nurse, as much as possible half lying down or holding the breast vertically; Grasp the time and frequency of breast-feeding, and try not to breast-feed the baby before it is extremely hungry. The amount of milk fed each time should not be too much, but a small amount and many times. Raise the upper body and let the baby sleep on his back, which can prevent suffocation caused by spitting milk after falling asleep.