Posts Tagged ‘Baby Hiccups’

Hiccups in Babies

Hiccups in babies are quite normal in the first months of baby’s life. This usually happens right after meal. If you are a young mother and still learning about your new baby and parenthood, you might get concerned about hiccups. But don’t be. You are about to find out what hiccups really are. You’ll see that there is no reason to worry.

Hiccups are more frequent in newborns than in older infants. This is so because baby’s organs develop as baby grows and hiccups gradually become less frequent until they are completely gone.

It is important to be aware of the fact that there is nothing you can actually do to stop this. Remember these old tales about what you should do if someone has hiccups (“one should grab a paper bag and breathe into it; one should stand on his head; if someone has hiccups, scare him”)? Well, no matter what you have heard – do not ever try this on your baby! It will not be helpful, but may seriously harm your child.

On the other hand, hiccups can not really harm your infant, although you may find them very annoying. They can last for the whole hour! But in most of the cases hiccups do not last for more than a couple of minutes. Keep in mind that hiccups do not bother your baby at all; it’s more likely that they will be bothering you – the parent.

In most cases, hiccups go away spontaneously. You can never know when it will stop, but as your baby is growing, hiccups will keep reducing until they disappear. Meanwhile, make sure not to feed your baby during hiccups. Also, do not wait till the baby is too hungry.

Hiccups in Newborns

We have already described baby hiccups in general, but if you have a newborn, here is something about hiccups in newborns. Everything we said about hiccups in babies also stands when it comes to newborn hiccups. Still, there are slight differences, since the newborns are even more sensitive. So you should be extra careful.

Although the exact reason for hiccups in newborns hasn’t been definitely determined, it is believed that the diaphragm tightening is the main cause. Furthermore, other possible causes to hiccups are air swallowing. It happens while you feed your baby from a bottle. Also, according to some sources, hiccups may become more frequent if your baby consumes formula milk. If your baby is very hungry, it is possible she will eat faster and take more food all at once, so this can also cause hiccups! Do no wait until your newborn is that hungry! Try to keep your baby calm since it can help reduce hiccups.

Regardless to all the possible causes (mentioned above) doctor still believe that hiccups are quite normal. They believe that the main reason for hiccups is a newborn neurological system which is immature thus incapable to function the way it would if the child was older.

We have already said that there is no a remedy that would help you get rid of hiccups in your newborn. All you can actually do is to wait. Try not to be frustrated. Keep in mind that your baby is not in any pain and hiccups actually do not bother her. They are more annoying to you. You can try to feed your newborn very slowly to make sure he is not swallowing any air. Try different positions and see which one is best for your baby.

Let you baby burp! It was helpful in many case – and which is more important than anything – be patient and wait till your baby grows a bit and hiccups go away in natural way, just as they first started.