Hic-cup! hic-cup! My baby would make the sound again and again and for the umpteenth time I put the wool of her shawl on her scalp again and again in an attempt to make the hiccup stop, but it never works. What causes hiccups and how can I prevent my baby from hiccuping I asked myself and since I got no answers, I asked google and here’s what I got.
Hiccups are strong contractions or spasms of the diaphragm caused by irritation or stimulation of the muscle. Everyone gets hiccups, even babies in the womb do too so hiccups are nothing to worry about. It might be a nuisance to the parent as we’d want to find solutions, but it doesn’t affect the baby in any way.
Meanwhile, there’s no scientifically proven way to cure hiccups, so starling your baby, putting wool dampened with saliva on their head or every other folk remedy you’ve heard about won’t really do much but you can prevent it from happening.
1. Don’t overfeed your baby
The primary cause of hiccups is overfeeding, if your baby’s stomach is too full in a short while this can cause the diaphragm to go into contraction. So when breastfeeding your baby, go slow and burp him when you switch from one breast to the other. And if you’re bottle feeding your baby, stop from time to time to burp him.
2. Ensure your baby doesn’t suck in too much air
When babies swallow too much air during feeding, they might get hiccups, if this happens often after feeding your baby, check your latching technique. Ensure that your baby’s lips is wide open and form a tightly sealed around your areola, not just the nipple. If you hear a lot of gulping sound while your baby is sucking, this is a sure sign that your baby is sucking in too much air.
3. Don’t feed her while lying down
I know most mothers find it easy to breastfeed while lying down but this allows for air to settle in your baby’s tummy, you can have your baby sit on your lap as you breastfeed him or after feeding, make her sit upright for sometime so air can rise to the top of her tummy, making it easier for her to burp.
Finally, a baby’s hiccups might be caused by gastroesophageal reflux (GER), a temporary condition where a baby regurgitates what’s in her stomach, causing pain and hiccups. If your baby often exhibit colicky behaviour, have abdominal pain after feeding, spitting up or have wake up at night in pains, these are other signs that your baby is suffering from reflux. It’s not serious, but talk to your doctor.
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