You are a new mom and learning different things about your baby. Just recently you saw, that your baby is having hiccups now unlike the adult hiccups, you cannot give your baby water to drink. So, now you are worried as you are searching for How to stop Hiccups in New Born Baby? Well, do not panic. Hiccups in newborns are pretty common and they are totally harmless to your baby. The way they make adults uncomfortable, they do not hurt your baby.
In babies, hiccups last only for few minutes. Although it is nothing to worry about, you can still try and prevent these hiccups and try to stop them. Check out some simple ways to stop baby hiccups.
Keep Reading-
Why Do Babies Get Hiccups?
Infant hiccups are very normal and very frequent too. They are the reflex that starts very early, even before your baby is born. This hiccupping reflex is very strong in your newborn baby. You won’t believe it, but babies spend around 2.5% of their time hiccupping. It is when they get past the newborn stage, the hiccups tend to decrease.
Certainly, you cannot stop hiccups from happening. It is a reflex action, just like coughing and sneezing. Though you can try to prevent it. Let’s first understand babies hiccups reason-
- Overfeeding
- If baby is very hungry and eats too quickly
- Swallows too much of air
All the above causes can make a baby’s stomach expand. This expansion pushes against the diaphragm, which leads to hiccups.
Note: Indeed, Hiccups and Breathing pipes are closely related, but they are both not connected. Both Hiccups and Breathing are two separate mechanisms.
Ways to stop Baby Hiccups
1. Feed Baby Smaller Amounts-
When a baby is hungry, they tend to drink a lot of milk at one go this creates both gas and hiccups in the baby. Therefore, instead of one big feeding, try to feed the baby in small quantities, this way it is easy for your baby to digest milk and avoid hiccups.
2. Change Baby’s Feeding Position-
This remedy comes in the hit and trial method. You should try to hold your baby in an upright position while feeding. This position helps the gas to rise and pass easily, also the chances of hiccups get decreased. Sitting in an upright position means holding the baby above your elbow at a 35-45-degree angle.
3. Burp Baby between Feeding-
If you feel your baby is drinking milk too fastly, you can help the baby take burp in between the feedings. In the breastfeeding condition, burp the baby when you switch the breast.
Just hold your baby, and sit him in the upright position while you gently pat baby on back. This helps to reduce the air bubbles, making the chances of hiccups less.
4. Latching correctly-
This is a very important step, as many times baby’s hiccups start because of improper latching. If you are breastfeeding your baby, make sure they are latching properly. With proper latching, the chances of swallowing air decrease which reduces the chances of hiccups.
5. Massage baby’s Back–
If you feel the baby’s hiccups last longer, you can place your baby on their tummy. Sometimes, the pressure also helps to subside the hiccups. Also, you can massage your baby’s back to ease the process.
What not to do for Baby Hiccups
Whenever your baby is having hiccups, the following are the things that you should not do for hiccups-
- Never startle or scare your baby to relieve from hiccups.
- Many people try to hold the breath for hiccups, never try it on baby. It is very dangerous.
- Do not put wet cloth on their forehead, it doesn’t help with the hiccup.
How to prevent Baby Hiccups?
Hiccups are not always preventable, but with the following strategies, you can help calm them down-
- Feed the baby is smaller quantity.
- Never startle or scare a baby.
- If you are bottle feeding your baby, make sure that they have the nipple properly covered to avoid swallowing of air.
- Hold your baby up, after feeding this will help to prevent hiccups.
Baby hiccups are normal and harmless. They can come till 6 months and then they start decreasing, but even if you feel hiccups are continuous for your baby try the above remedies to stop hiccups. If you feel your baby’s hiccups are causing baby pain or discomfort, it is better to see doctors.
How do you stop hiccups in your newborn?
FAQ
1. What are Hiccups?
We all have faced hiccups one or the other time. The way they irritate us, they do not harm your little one. Hiccups are the involuntary contractions of the diaphragm. It can happen if you eat too much or too quickly.
