Infant Reflux Treatment And Advice

According to the National Institute of Health, more than half of babies under three months old are diagnosed with infant reflux. In the majority of cases, this condition is not be cause for serious alarm. Infant reflux treatment can often be accomplished at home with changes to diet and feeding routine.

In the case of bottle fed babies, acid reflux can be managed by thickening their formula. With breast milk you can try expressing the milk and mixing it with some rice cereal. Add 1 tbsp. per four ounces of formula or breast milk and mix thoroughly. If this mixture is too thick to flow through the nipple, the infant may fuss and parents can confuse this with food refusal. However, if this happens while trying this infant reflex treatment, you should try switching to a different size nipple or enlarge the opening on the nipple slightly by cutting a small X on the tip. Alternatively you may spoon feed the baby.

Another infant reflux treatment some parents have had success with involves slight changes to the feeding routine. Though some infants like to drift off to sleep after a feeding, keeping the baby in an upright position for 30 minutes after a feeding may reduce infant reflux.

The general advice is to keep the baby's head a minimum of 30% higher than their stomach. Always burp babies suffering from acid reflux frequently during feeds. Stop to burp the baby after 2 oz. if bottle fed. If you are breastfeeding trying burping every few minutes. This should also help keep the infant awake for the feeding and make it easier to keep the infant upright after feeding. Lastly, when your baby does nap after feeding, make sure he sleeps on his back.

In the majority of cases acid reflux can be successfully treated and managed with simple changes to the baby's diet. More serious cases of infant reflux may require immediate medical attention. Signs that your baby's reflux is severe include: projectile vomiting or regular vomiting; difficulty breathing after vomiting or spitting up; yellow vomit; or, vomit containing spots of blood that may look like coffee grounds.

If an infant does not respond well to the natural treatments for infant reflex detailed in this article, this can be indicated by poor weight gain or by weight loss, excessive crying or irritability, parents may need to consider a medical alternative to natural infant reflux treatment. These alternatives can include over the counter or precribed medications or in severe cases feeding tubes.

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