My baby is gassy. Is this caused by something in my diet? By Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC Does a mom need to watch everything she eats to avoid having a gassy baby?
The idea that certain foods in any mom’s diet will cause gas in her baby is incredibly persistent but is not founded in research. If certain foods in moms’ diets were an overall problem for most babies, we would expect that cultures that emphasize those foods would have more gassy and fussy babies, but this does not occur at all. This is not to say that certain foods would not bother a particular baby – this does happen occasionally (and it’s more likely with very young babies). However, there is no list of foods that every mom should avoid while breastfeeding.
Most babies are gassy from time to time, some more than others. The list of foods that “might cause gas” is practically endless, and moms who try to avoid all these foods will (needlessly) have a *very* limited diet. Some causes of gas in babies Frequently Asked Questions about breastfeeding and gassy babies Time So, what does work? The Great Baby Reflux Epidemic (or not….) How many people do you know whose baby has, or had, reflux?
A lot I’d imagine. Reflux medications such as infant Gaviscon, Losec, Omeprazole, Domperidone, Nexium and Ranitidine are all too common place in homes with a baby. Ditto too special formula milks such as Nutramigen and Neocate. It seems that everyone you meet either knows, or had a baby with reflux. Yet nobody really seems bothered by this. Baby reflux is grossly over-diagnosed. Recent estimates suggest that around a quarter of all young babies will be diagnosed with reflux, I would go so far as to say it is higher than that. Dr. He goes on to say: “Two phenomena have long been observed in otherwise healthy, thriving infants. Research in 2013 has highlighted the worrying public trend for parents to want to medicate their babies for reflux. So if it’s not GORD – or GERD if you’re in the USA – (infant reflux), then what IS wrong with the babies? There is no one single answer to this question. 1. Understanding oversupply. Does my baby have reflux? Is it colic? Why is my baby so gassy and unsettled?
Most of us mothers have a bit of an obsession with our baby’s “gassiness”.
We analyze every little fart and burp. We inspect their poop and how many times they squirmed around and seemed unsettled. We basically blame every little unsettled, “colicky” episode on gas or reflux. We then head out to buy some sort of concoction to help remedy our little fart machine babies. We need to understand the causes of gas, what is normal, what is abnormal and when we need to worry. So what is normal? Your baby is going to fart. What is NOT normal? *A baby who cries or is unsettled ALOT, or very frequently-24/7. What is causing these abnormal symptoms and what can I do? 1. THIS IS NOT A LACTOSE INTOLERANCE. Three important aspects of figuring out if this is the cause: -You must cut it out for at least 3 weeks to see if this is it. -It must be 100% NO DAIRY. If after 3 weeks you have not noticed a changed, cut out gluten and soy. 2.
Do you have fire-hose boobs like I did with all 3 of my babies?! Reflux in Newborns - Breastfeeding Support. Reflux, spitting up or possetting are all names used to describe babies bringing back some of the milk that they swallowed earlier.
Some spitting up is quite normal in young babies, this may simply be how they deal with too much milk or anything that doesn’t agree with them 12. Reflux is very common Reflux —full name gastroesophageal reflux (GER)—in newborns is very common. In Breastfeeding and Human Lactation3, the authors explain that infants with reflux are generally happy and thriving babies who spit up at least once or more per day most days. One study found 73% of babies spit up in their first month of life and that babies who were exclusively breastfed spit up less often than infants who received mixed feeding4.
Unless your baby has the more severe symptoms of gastooesophageal reflux disease (GERD) discussed below, the only problem with a lot of spitting up might be that you have more laundry to do.