What to do when the baby has reflux

There are many children who suffer problems of gastroesophageal reflux (when food comes back up from the stomach to the mouth through the esophagus) and although there are drugs specially designed to alleviate these symptoms, it is something that could be solved by means of home or natural remedies.

Let us know all the possible options that can help our child feel more relieved and the problem of gastric reflux gradually disappear.

What you should do if your baby has reflux

Gastric reflux is not a serious problem. More than half of children under one year suffer from it, so there is no need to be alarmed by such a problem. This problem occurs because the lower esophageal sphincter, which are the muscles that allow the passage of food to the stomach and that contract to prevent them from returning up, has not yet matured and lacks strength to stay closed.

Here are some tips for you to try to relieve your baby's reflux:

- To increase the food: In very young children suffering from reflux, it is advisable to thicken the liquid to be ingested since it helps to lower the food into the stomach when making it More dense. You can use cereals or pharmaceutical preparations.

- Frequency of bottles: There are children who do not tolerate large quantities of food in one shot and it is the excess of liquid in their digestive system that causes the expulsion of liquid into the mouth, so a good solution would be give bottles with less quantity, but more frequently. The feeding will remain the same only that less spaced in time.

- Do not beat the bottle excessively: One of the mistakes that parents make is to shake the bottle excessively when the preparation is made with porridge, since this will generate air bubbles that will complicate the baby's digestion. food and will favor the appearance of reflux. -

Posture at bedtime : Bedtime is one of the black spots in gastric reflux, since placing the child in a horizontal position is favoring the appearance of the dreaded reflux, so it is advisable to place the cradle or bed with a 30º inclination that will facilitate digestion and relieve burning. This can be achieved by placing a pillow on your back-

Time between food intake and sleep : Another thing to consider is the time between when the child eats and goes to bed. It is advisable to wait between 30 minutes and one hour in an upright position after each meal, since lying down or shaking it playing or jumping, would only favor the appearance of reflux and even vomiting.-

Remove gas after each meal : Children need to expel excess gas and air after each meal, and there are children who burp more easily than others, but it is very important that they do so to avoid gastric reflux later. So if your child has trouble expelling the gas, try to do everything in your power to help, such as regulating the flow of air that the child swallows with a sucker for the bottle of slower flow.Daniel Fernández.

Editor of Guiainfantil.com