Hiccups in infants often worry young parents, although more often it is only a very harmless reaction of the child's body to external and internal stimuli.
Not everyone knows that children begin to hiccup even in the womb - so the baby’s diaphragm is prepared for new living conditions. After birth, the baby’s digestive and nervous systems are still imperfect, the baby is struggling to adapt, and for a long time (up to one or even two months) he suffers from colic, gas, hiccups and loose stools. Many mothers do not know how to cope with the problem, how to stop hiccups in infants.
The mechanism of hiccups in infants
During the first months of life, hiccups in babies arise as a result of the fact that they still have a rather weak diaphragmatic muscle, which begins to contract even due to the slightest irritants. In excitable babies, it can appear even because of a sharp movement, bright light or sound. Its mechanism is quite simple: the diaphragm begins to involuntarily reflexively contract, while the lungs make a sharp sigh, which is accompanied by all the known sound. In fact, hiccups pose no serious danger to a child. However, the very fact of involuntary shuddering can scare the baby - he is worried and crying, often can not sleep normally and eat, which leads to additional whims. What causes this condition? How to stop hiccups in a newborn?
The main causes of hiccups in newborns
Before telling how to stop hiccups in a child, it is important to know its causes. The main ones are the following:
- the child is cold;
- the baby is thirsty;
- the baby was swallowed air while feeding;
- the infant experienced a sharp emotional stress - a bright light, a loud harsh sound, etc .;
- a small child overeats, as a result of which the fragile children's stomach is stretched, the diaphragm is reduced in size, and the newborn begins to hiccup intensively.
An attack of hiccups in newborns lasts on average for about 10-15 minutes. However, if the baby has frequent and longer hiccups, then the cause may be serious violations in his body. In some cases, prolonged hiccups in newborns indicate diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, pneumonia, and spinal cord injury. Therefore, if a child has a prolonged frequent hiccup lasting more than 20 minutes, it should be shown to a doctor.
Digestive Air
As a rule, the reason for this is the features of the digestive system of newborn babies. The walls of the stomach and digestive tract are still thin, they are easily stretched and often when they swell or overeat, they press the vagus nerve.
But the most common cause of hiccups in young infants is the ingestion of air in the stomach if they are not properly breast-fed. In this case, the contraction of the diaphragm is a purely physiological reaction of the body, helping it to burp. If this does not occur, then regurgitation or colic are possible if gas enters the intestines.
How to stop hiccups in a newborn after feeding?
To avoid mistakes during feeding, we suggest considering a few tips:
- The baby can not overeat, because the walls of his intestines are still very thin to withstand heavy loads.
- It is necessary to feed the newborn at an angle of 45 degrees.
- If a child does not have time to swallow it with a quick flow of milk, he also swallows air in a hurry with food, which then comes out with hiccups. To eliminate this problem, before feeding again, the baby needs to be given a breath.
- If the baby is breast-fed, it is important to monitor the hole in the nipple, since a poor-quality nipple can cause this phenomenon. Special bottles are provided to prevent air from entering.
- After feeding the baby, you need to hold it for a while in an upright position so that the milk goes down the esophagus without difficulty. For the baby, such support from the parents is very important until his digestive system is strengthened.
How to stop hiccups in a newborn baby with emotional shock?
Newborn babies are very impressionable. Breasts often start hiccuping in fright (with a loud sound, an unexpected touch, a flash of light or a sudden turn-off, etc.). Any emotional shake can cause a contraction of the diaphragm. There are kids for whom even going to visit is stressful. How to stop hiccups in this case? First of all, remove the irritant. Then it is necessary to reassure him and help cope with the shock, hug him and let the baby understand that he is not in danger. Such simple measures will be enough to resolve the problem caused by increased excitability.
Thirst
Another reason may be thirst. As a rule, the drying of the mucous membrane of the mouth and digestive tube often provokes hiccups.
How to stop hiccups? Often enough to just give your baby water to drink.
Hypothermia
One of the most common causes of hiccups is hypothermia. If the baby is not dressed entirely in the weather or in the room where he is, it’s cool, the air conditioner is turned on, the window is open, etc., the baby freezes, his muscles begin to contract, which, of course, is natural.
To find out, it is enough to touch the child for the elbow and knee bends or cervical region. How to stop hiccups caused by really hypothermia? To rid the baby of this problem, it is enough to warm him and continue to prevent such a mistake.
Periodic hiccups in infants are completely normal and most often cease quickly without causing any particular concern. However, there are situations when hiccups are a harbinger of disease.
Hiccups for diseases
If the hiccups in infants become systematic, have no apparent causes and exhaust the child, this should not be taken lightly.
Contact your doctor and examine the baby if:
- The duration of the attacks is more than an hour (the norm is 15-20 minutes).
- Attacks occur several times a day and for no apparent reason.
- If the baby cries, worries, sleeps poorly.
In this case, only specialists can establish the true cause of hiccups. The doctor, when visiting the hospital, is likely to schedule an examination for the presence of helminthic infestations. As medical practice shows, it is worms that cause hiccups in children.
How to stop hiccups in this case? Take a course to remove worms, and all the symptoms go away. Most often, helminths are found in older children, in newborn babies this is a very rare occurrence.
Hiccups can also be caused by disorders in the spinal cord or brain. This happens if pregnancy and childbirth are accompanied by any complications, hypoxia. This is a problem of central origin. To find out the cause, it is necessary to take an X-ray and undergo an ultrasound scan (ultrasound examination). How to stop hiccups in an infant in this case? Consult a neurologist who will prescribe treatment.
Hiccups can occur with liver, pancreas, and digestive problems. In this case, a gastroenterologist consultation is necessary.
Persistent hiccups are sometimes caused by pneumonia. These may be viral or bacterial infections. The inflammatory process irritates the diaphragm and causes its contraction. These moments should be especially carefully considered if the baby has recently had ARI.
Despite the fact that such events are rather rare in newborns, you need to know about them in order to come to the aid in time if necessary.
Conclusion
As a rule, hiccups as such do not require treatment, and the doctor, when contacting him, most likely will not prescribe any medications. However, if the child’s body signals a problem, it must be identified and eliminated as soon as possible.
When assessing the condition of the child, it is very important to consider his age. The development of babies in their first year of life occurs at an enormous rate. Accordingly, phenomena that are considered normal for a month-old baby can be a pathology for a one-year-old child. If a newborn baby hiccups after eating, this is most likely nothing to worry about. When, after eating, an older child begins to hiccup constantly, there is something to think about.