Are you wondering “why do babies spit”? Spitting up is a natural phenomenon in small babies. It is a result of their very young and still developing gastrointestinal tract. Spitting up is a regurgitation process of milk, baby formula and saliva due to the incomplete closing of the valve leading from the oesophagus into the stomach. We know that when we eat; the food passes into our stomach through the oesophagus and is held in place by the sphincter as it passes into the intestines. In babies, the sphincter is not fully developed yet, which means their no return policy isn’t working well yet and hence the spitting.
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Spitting up usually occurs after feeding and after being burped. It is very prevalent in babies aged from zero to four months. Babies outgrow it as they eat more solid food at eight months. They usually outgrow it by twelve months.
Although it is perfectly natural for your baby to spit food after being fed, there are reasons why babies spit in certain situations and they are enumerated below:
Fast feeding
The first reason that answer the question “why do babies spit” is fast feeding. When a baby eats too quickly, he swallows down pockets of air that get pushed down as he continues to feed. Since air can rise, it comes out of the baby’s stomach and pushes food out with it.
Overfeeding
A baby typically has a tiny stomach that grows and develops as the child grows. When the baby is overfed, the food is forced down into the stomach and the excess comes back up.
Breast letdown
Excessive flow of breast milk may also cause spitting up. The flow overwhelms the baby, and he takes his mouth off the breast to breathe and gulps down air which leads to spitting up. It can also occur when the nipple used to feed the baby formula is too wide or too small.
Food sensitivity and allergy
Your allergies or change in diet can affect the baby. Allergens can be transferred into breast milk, which may cause spitting up.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
This is a condition where the spitting becomes vomiting and hence, painful for the baby. It may associate with breathing problems, fever, feeding discomfort, and weight loss. If you note these symptoms, you must visit your doctor immediately.
Since most of the causes are mild, steps can be taken to reduce and control spitting. Some of those steps include:
1. Maintain an upright position during and after feeding
This helps to ease the movement of the food in the baby’s gastrointestinal tract while feeding. In this way, the baby has a steady flow of food which eliminates the prospects of having air caught inside.
After feeding, it would be counterproductive to lay the baby on his back or stomach immediately. Still maintain the vertical upright position, this inclines the flow in a downward position, keeping the food from coming back up.
2. Feeding should be calm, let down.
While feeding your baby, ensure that there are no noises that could distract the baby and cause him to take a gulp of air. Try to be away from any source of sudden noise or doing something that may startle the baby. Ensure that the baby is calm and not fidgety or fussy, which will make him gulp air and spit up more often.
Also, with a heavy overflow of breast milk, try to recline while breastfeeding. Without the effect of gravity aiding the downward movement of breast milk, the excessive pressure will reduce giving your baby respite and allowing him to feed at a gradual rate.
3. Do not overfeed, burp often
Although some people use extra feeding to avoid a crying baby, overfeeding makes the food flow back up to the baby’s mouth when it can no longer go into the stomach. It also makes the baby uncomfortable and fussy which makes feeding time tedious and causes more frequent spitting up.
Burping is expelling excess air from your baby’s gastric tract, which helps to settle him and the tensions in his stomach. It helps reduce the air that went down as your baby fed. Burping at intervals while feeding helps to make room so that the baby can feed more.
Furthermore, while burping, keep pressure off the baby’s tummy. Remember that the issue is that the baby isn’t able to keep his food down properly. Therefore, avoid burdening the lower region of the stomach, it may cause spitting up.
4. Space out feeding time
To be able to achieve this, do not let your baby stay hungry for too long. Being hungry for a long time creates an eagerness in the baby. Therefore, when the baby eventually comes to feed, he rushes which ultimately causes spitting.
What you should do is, feed the baby less at a time, don’t let him get too full then counter that by making meal times more frequent. This way, your baby is never too hungry at a time and each time he feeds, he gets just the right amount to nourish him and still keep him from spitting up too much.
5. Keep the baby still after feeding
Moving a lot after feeding may cause regurgitation. Ensure that you still hold your baby after mealtime if he needs more burping. Avoid car rides immediately after feeding and avoid allowing the baby to be carried about at such a crucial time.
When movement becomes too much and occurs immediately after feeding, it may even result in choking. Therefore, it is better to let the baby settle in your arms for a few minutes with gravity in his favour, assisting him to keep the food down.
Note that your baby will probably continue to spit until his sixth or seventh month. Study your baby’s spit pattern and how often he does and any discomfort he may have in case it’s GERD. Do not lay your baby down immediately after feeding, this causes him to sleep. Sleeping after feeding is problematic for several reasons. One is poor digestion and the other is becoming dependent on feeding before sleeping.
Above are reasons that answer the question “why do babies spit? and how you can stop it fast. It is time to watch your baby and ensure the spiting reduces greatly.
