If your baby spits up while sleeping, try gently propping up their upper body with a small pillow or a rolled-up towel to help reduce the likelihood of reflux. It’s important to ensure that the sleep environment is safe and conducive to comfortable sleep.
For those who require further information
If your baby spits up while sleeping, it can be a cause for concern for many parents. However, there are precautions you can take to help reduce the likelihood of reflux and ensure a safe and comfortable sleep for your little one.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that spitting up is quite common in babies, particularly during their first year. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), approximately half of all babies experience gastroesophageal reflux (GER) to some extent. As long as your baby is gaining weight and doesn’t show signs of discomfort or distress, spitting up is generally considered normal.
To address the issue and minimize discomfort for your baby, gently propping up their upper body while they sleep can be helpful. You can achieve this by using a small pillow or rolling up a towel and placing it under the mattress to elevate the head of the crib or bassinet. This slight incline can help prevent stomach contents from flowing back up into the esophagus, reducing the frequency of spitting up.
However, it’s crucial to ensure that the sleep environment remains safe. The AAP advises against using pillows, cushions, or any soft objects in the crib, as they can pose a suffocation risk. Instead, opt for positioning devices specifically designed for infants, such as foam wedges or incline sleepers that meet safety guidelines.
Additionally, keep in mind the following tips to promote comfortable sleep and minimize spitting up:
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Burp your baby during and after feedings: Burping can help release any trapped air that may contribute to reflux. After each feeding, hold your baby upright against your shoulder or sit them upright on your lap and gently pat or rub their back to encourage burping.
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Avoid overfeeding: Feeding your baby in smaller, more frequent sessions can help prevent them from becoming overly full and experiencing reflux during sleep.
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Use the appropriate nipple size: If you bottle-feed your baby, make sure the nipple size is appropriate for their age. Using a nipple with a slower flow can help prevent them from swallowing excessive air.
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Keep your baby upright after feedings: Holding your baby in an upright position for at least 20-30 minutes after they eat can aid digestion and reduce the likelihood of spitting up.
Here’s a quote from Dr. William Sears, a renowned pediatrician and author, regarding spitting up in babies: “Spitting up is an anatomical and physiological response in healthy babies. It’s messy but normal.”
Interesting facts about spitting up and baby sleep:
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The peak age for spitting up in babies is around 4 months, and it gradually decreases as they grow older and their digestive system matures.
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Some babies may experience improved sleep when gently elevated due to reduced discomfort from reflux.
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It’s important to differentiate between simple spitting up (gastroesophageal reflux) and more severe conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which may require medical intervention.
Table: Tips to minimize spitting up while sleeping
| Tip | Description |
|---|---|
| Gently prop up your baby’s upper body | Use a small pillow or rolled-up towel to elevate the head of the crib or bassinet, creating a slight incline that helps reduce the likelihood of reflux. |
| Burp your baby during and after feedings | Burping releases trapped air, reducing the chance of reflux. Hold your baby upright and gently pat or rub their back to encourage burping. |
| Avoid overfeeding | Feed your baby in smaller, more frequent sessions to prevent excessive fullness and reflux during sleep. |
| Use the appropriate nipple size for bottle-fed | Ensure the nipple size is suitable for your baby’s age to control the flow of milk and reduce the swallowing of air. |
| Keep your baby upright after feedings | Hold your baby in an upright position for 20-30 minutes after feeding to aid digestion and minimize spitting up. |
Remember, each baby is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. If you have concerns about your baby’s spitting up or their sleep patterns, it’s always wise to consult with your pediatrician for personalized advice and guidance.
Further answers can be found here
If you’re concerned about spit-up during sleep, you can elevate the head of your baby’s mattress or crib a few inches to keep their head higher than their stomach. Following every feeding, hold the baby in an upright position for 20 to 30 minutes.
Watch a video on the subject
This video emphasizes the importance of placing babies to sleep on their backs and dispels the myth that they may choke in this position. By sleeping on their backs, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and other sleep-related deaths is significantly reduced. The speaker explains that the anatomy of a baby’s air pipe and food pipe makes it harder for spit up to enter the air pipe when they are on their backs, whereas sleeping on their stomachs increases the risk of choking. Therefore, it is crucial to always put babies on their backs for both naps and bedtime to ensure their safety.
People also ask
What to do when baby spits up while sleeping? Consider these tips:
- Keep your baby upright. Feed your baby in a more upright position.
- Avoid overfeeding. Feeding your baby smaller amounts, more frequently might help.
- Take time to burp your baby.
- Put baby to sleep on his or her back.
- Experiment with your own diet.
Also to know is, Will my baby choke on spit up while sleeping?
Regurgitated milk from the oesophagus lies at the lowest level and can be easily swallowed. It is difficult for the fluid to work against gravity and be pushed up and into the respiratory tract. Hence, the risk of choking is reduced when baby is sleeping on the back.
Accordingly, Should I be worried about my baby spitting up while sleeping? Answer to this: You may worry that if your baby spits up while on her back she will choke. This is a natural concern. However, your baby has natural ways to prevent spit-up from going down the windpipe (also called the airway). This special protection even exists when she is on her back.
Also question is, Is it normal for newborn to spit up while sleeping? The answer is: Spit-up is very common and all babies will have some sort of reflux. The top of the stomach is just not tight yet and as they grow it will get tighter and you won’t see that. We start to worry about spit-up when babies aren’t gaining weight because they’re spitting up too much or it seems like it’s causing them pain.
Is it normal for babies to spit up while sleeping? Response will be: This is not a disease. Baby spit up while sleeping. This condition is considered normal in infants up to two years of age. On the other hand, salivation can also be seen at teething times of babies. It is necessary to know the causes of this condition in order to determine whether the oral provider is present due to a serious illness.
Should newborns be held while they are sleeping? Sometimes there is no way around holding a sleeping baby. Enjoy this time together and start to get to know each other in a comfortable chair (we recommend a lay-z-boy). Don’t get stuck in a kitchen chair with a sleeping baby! Your new child will be looking, listening and smelling all the new people in their life and you will be the main person!
Should newborns be swaddled to sleep? Answer to this: “A newborn can be swaddled correctly and placed on his back in his crib at home, and it can help comfort and soothe him to sleep. When the child is older, in a new environment, with a different caregiver, he is learning to roll, and perhaps he hasn’t been swaddled before, swaddling becomes more challenging and risky.”