Hiccups in infants - reasons for what to do and how to help

Young parents are often worried about hiccups in infants, although in most cases this is a very harmless reaction of the child's body to internal and external stimuli.

Not many people know that children hiccup in the mother’s stomach - this is how the diaphragm of a child is prepared for new living conditions. After birth, the infant’s nervous and digestive systems are not yet perfect, it is difficult to adapt, so for up to a month or even two, it is tormented by gas, colic, loose stools and hiccups.

Hiccups in infants - the causes of hiccups, how to rid a baby of hiccups

Kids hiccup due to contractions of the diaphragm, which responds to various irritations. Some pediatricians believe that this is due to the vagus nerve, which is excited for no particular reason. The vagus nerve has a direct effect on the phrenic muscle, causing it to contract.

Reasons for hiccups

Attentive parents may notice that hiccups occur immediately after feeding the baby, or even during the meal. Overfilling of the stomach leads to its stretching and pressure on the diaphragm, and the child begins to hiccup. Almost the same effect is exerted by the full gas intestines of the baby.

The causes of hiccups in infants can be not only internal, but also external, i.e. usual hypothermia while taking an air bath or while walking in most cases cause an unpleasant symptom. As soon as the baby’s nose or fingers become cool, hiccups begin.

Those. briefly summarized, then in principle there are only two reasons:

1. Hiccups with food;
2. Hiccups from hypothermia.

BUTA serious symptom requiring immediate treatment at the hospital can be hiccups, which are repeated very often and for no apparent reason, lasting a long time, and severely debilitating the child. The cause in this case may be an inflammatory disease of the lungs or digestive organs, because the processes of inflammation irritate the diaphragm. Encephalopathy or pathology of the spinal cord cause stubborn hiccups that prevent the baby from breathing normally. Although this is extremely rare, be safe and consult a pediatrician.

What to do, how to stop and rid a child of hiccups?

When the hiccups in the baby begin, not many mothers know what to do, and in order not to get confused, you need to remember a few simple steps to help the baby.

Method 1 Hiccups during feeding

For example, if the baby hiccups with food, then you do not need to continue feeding, but raise it vertically and press it against your stomach. Perhaps the child was swallowing air when he ate too eagerly, and having belched excess, he would feel better.

Since it is very difficult to stop the hiccups in the baby after eating, and you need to wait for the milk to digest in his ventricle, the only thing parents can do is to hold the child upright. In the supine position, an overflowing stomach presses on the diaphragm, and the hiccups can last a long time.

Method 2 Hiccups from hypothermia

There are several ways to save a child from hiccups, which began from mild hypothermia. First of all, you need to warm the baby by dressing warmly, covering with a blanket or simply clinging to yourself. Even if the feeding time has not come yet, you can give the baby a breast or a warm milk mixture - this will quickly warm him.

With hiccups, the baby does not need to panic and think that the child is seriously ill: in most cases, it is simply a reaction of a small organism to irritants. Calmness and confidence of the parents are passed on to the children, and the mother’s nervousness can provoke the baby’s anxiety.

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