How To Calm Baby’s Hiccups?
There are many daily challenges that a woman faces when she gives birth to a child. One of these is to calm the baby’s hiccups.
Hiccups are a very common condition in babies, especially infants. In the first six months of the baby’s life, hiccups will be very frequent. The fact that it appears repeatedly and consecutively, however, does not necessarily indicate a major health problem. In this article we tell you everything you need to know about how to calm baby hiccups.
What is hiccups?
Hiccups are a sudden, involuntary movement of the diaphragm that repeats itself at regular intervals. When a person has hiccups, their lungs expel air violently and intermittently, producing a characteristic sound.
What are the possible causes of hiccups in babies?
The most common reasons why hiccups occur in babies are the following:
1. Lack of development of the cardia
The digestive system not yet fully developed can be one of the causes of this malaise. There is a valve called the cardia, which connects the esophagus with the stomach. It may not close completely due to a lack of development and, for this reason, favor the onset of hiccups.
In the first months of a baby’s life it happens very often that this alteration occurs due to this cause. As the nervous system and digestive system are more developed and strengthened, hiccups will gradually become a thing of the past.
2. Indigestion
When the baby’s stomach is very full, the diaphragm undergoes compression. For this reason, hiccups are very likely to occur.
3. Cry
When episodes of intense crying occur, the baby breathes in excess air at an accelerated rate so that he can express himself fully.
As a result, hiccups can occur after a crying fit, thanks to the amount of air drawn in over a short period of time. The same happens when the little one ingests food very quickly or regurgitates it.
How to avoid hiccups in babies?
By following these practical tips, you can prevent your baby from suffering from hiccups:
- Avoid sudden changes in temperature.
- Dry the baby well after bathing and avoid exposure to cold drafts.
- Feed the baby only when it is completely calm.
- If, when the baby is eating, he cries and despairs, his posture must be changed often, to calm him down and make him burp.
- Don’t give him a drink during a crying fit. The baby must be reassured and then fed or hydrated.
- Always check that he has grasped the nipple well with his mouth.
- Choose the correct size of the bottle teat .
- Respect meal times.
How to calm baby’s hiccups?
There are many legends and grandmother’s remedies to calm baby’s hiccups. Some are recommendable, while others are not at all. What matters is knowing what alternatives are useful for dealing with this annoying and intermittent disorder.
1. Massage
Hiccups can be a little annoying for the baby, and may cause crying or restlessness. should this situation arise with these mitigating circumstances, it is recommended to calm the baby so that he does not make more sudden aspirations of air.
A good round of gentle massages on the back and abdomen will help the little one relax and, as a result, calm the hiccups.
2. Check the speed at which the food is taken
It is possible that the baby desperately desires to eat, and that he demonstrates this by his behavior in front of the bottle or the mother’s breast. If your baby has hiccups, it is best to take a moment to rest while feeding to help control it.
It is advisable to take breaks while the baby is being fed, so that he can expel the gases. In order for him to do it easily, then, he must wait at least ten minutes after he has finished eating.
3. Water
If the baby’s diet is still exclusively based on milk, when he has hiccups, you can calmly offer him a few teaspoons of water and give him a gentle tap on the back.
In case the baby is already a little older, these teaspoons can be honey or sugar instead of water.
4. Find him a better position
Picking up the baby in an upright position to encourage the emission of a burp will be useful to calm the hiccups. In the same way, it will also be of great help to make small movements by swinging from side to side, to try to release the gases.
We must avoid at all costs to plug the baby’s nose, in an attempt to force him to hold his breath and thus make the hiccups disappear. This practice, far from calming the baby’s hiccups, instead causes anguish and tears, making the situation worse.
As we’ve pointed out, there are some tips for stopping the hiccups we normally hear that work. However, there are other unsubstantiated ones that we must avoid. In any case, the secret lies in the information.
