Treatment for Newborn Acid Reflux

Do newborn babies even get acid reflux? Is it a real condition? How do you treat newborn acid reflux? As a parent who had two children that had acid reflux, I can tell you it is a very real condition, but luckily it is easily treatable.

More than half of infants show minor symptoms of acid reflux. The most common symptom is spitting up during or after feeding. However, other infants may show more severe symptoms, such as weight loss, difficulty swallowing and respiratory problems. These severe symptoms can be dangerous.

Treating newborn acid reflux includes burping baby, gas relief products, raising baby's bed and, most importantly, prevention of acid reflux. Acid reflux can usually be prevented, and there are several ways to do this. You can even prevent acid reflux without medication. If you need medication to prevent or treat acid reflux, you should consult with your pediatrician.

The first step in preventing acid reflux is to make sure you do not overfeed your baby. When your newborn is sent home with you from the hospital, you have instructions that say to feed baby every three hours. You do not want to feed baby more than every three hours, because this causes acid reflux. It is also a vicious cycle, because if your baby is having acid reflux and he or she takes a swallow of milk, it helps baby feel better, but can worsen the condition.

If you are feeding baby from a bottle, do your best to make sure your baby sucks the least amount of air in as possible. If you use a formula that you have to mix, try to get all the bubbles out of it before giving it to your baby.

Do not actively play with your baby as soon as they are finished eating. Shaking up baby shakes up your baby's food. This can cause your baby to have acid reflux.

A great prevention as well as a treatment for acid reflux is burping your baby. Whether your baby is eating or you just notice baby is looking uncomfortable, burping your baby helps get the air out of your baby's tummy and relieves acid reflux.

Another treatment for acid reflux is to elevate your baby's head when he or she is sleeping or even lying down. If your baby has or is prone to acid reflux, make sure your baby's head is higher than his or her stomach. This helps to keep the acid from traveling up baby's esophagus.

Medication can also help acid reflux in your baby. You should talk to your pediatrician about the use of medication. You can use mylicon or gas relief drops either in baby's formula or separately. If you have to shake your baby's bottle to mix his or her formula, you may want to put the gas relieving medicine in your baby's formula. Not only does this help baby's current gaseous problem, but it will keep baby from getting more gas from the formula he or she is about to drink.

Using these treatment options for your baby's acid reflux will keep your baby healthy. If your baby is not in discomfort from acid reflux, he or she will be a lot happier. If your baby is happy, he or she will not be as fussy. It is a win-win situation for the household to use these treatments for acid reflux on your baby.