How to stop hiccups in a newborn: 8 ways

When a baby appears in the house, mom and dad are ready to fight with a hawk so that the child will be nourishing, warm, safe and comfortable. But not always the life of the baby seems carefree - colic, constipation, regurgitation, gaziki - not to list everything. One of the unpleasant children's problems is hiccups.

Hiccup is a reflex contraction of the diaphragm. In fact, hiccups do not pose any danger. However, the very fact of spontaneous startling often frightens the baby - the child worries and cries. Often, hiccups prevent the newborn baby from eating and sleeping normally, which leads to additional moods. To get rid of hiccups, you need to understand what can cause this condition.

Why baby hiccups

1. Ingestion of air. The digestive tract of the child in the first months of life is imperfect, and this explains various colic and regurgitation.When air enters the baby’s stomach with milk, the body tries to push it out. Thus, hiccups occur. If the air does not come out with belching, and enters the intestine, this leads to the formation of gas and colic. Therefore, hiccups are a kind of signal to help the child get rid of excess air in the stomach. Most often, the baby swallows air when improperly grabbing the breast. Pay attention to baby feeding. The child’s mouth should completely cover the areola of the breast in order to form an absolute vacuum. If the child is an artificial artist, perhaps the hole in the nipple is too big. In this case, the milk pours a large stream, the child does not have time to swallow it, and often releases the nipple, capturing part of the air.
2. Hypothermia Often, grandmothers complain that the child is cold, because he hiccups. And in this they are right. Hiccups may be evidence that the baby is cold. For example, cold air gets on the diaphragm and simply annoys it. If the baby is in wet diapers, then he, too, is sure to start hiccupping. Usually the temperature of the air in the room with a newborn baby should vary from 18 to 26 degrees.It is easy to check whether the baby is cold - if the baby is freezing, his hands, feet and nose are getting cold. Try to warm the baby or raise the temperature of the air in the room to get rid of hiccups.
3. Scare Often kids start to hiccup, frightened by something. It can be a loud, harsh sound, a flash of light, an unexpected touch. If this happens, you need to calm the child, stay close to him, pull over the body and show him that there is nothing to fear - the mother is near.
4. Thirst. Sometimes a child hiccups simply because he wants to drink. This is due to the fact that the mucous membrane of the diaphragm dries out and gives spasm. In this case, a little water or mom's milk is enough to stop the hiccups.
5. Disease. Sometimes a hiccup lasts more than two hours, it does not stop, no matter what measures you take, it occurs several times a day. In such cases, we can talk about pathological hiccups. In this case, you need to consult a doctor and diagnose the true cause of hiccups. This may be evidence of the presence of worms in the body. Sometimes hiccups manifest with problems of the spinal cord and brain.This happens if the birth process was with complications, especially if the child suffered from hypoxia. In this case, you need to undergo ultrasound and consult with a neurologist. Sometimes prolonged and frequent hiccups indicate violations in the digestive tract, then you need a pediatric gastroenterologist. But do not panic ahead of time - in 90% of cases, hiccups do not seem dangerous, this is just the body's response to external factors.

How to get rid of hiccups

Usually, hiccups disappear by themselves within 15–20 minutes. But why wait if you can help your child?

1. First you need to eliminate the provoking factor. Check if the baby is in wet diapers, if he is cold. Baby need to change clothes, wear little things warmer.
2. If the hiccups are not from the cold, you should try to help the child burp the air. To do this, wear the baby "column", that is, in an upright position. To do this, hold the baby to him and hold his head. Carefully stroke and massage the back of your back with one hand to speed up the process of “burping out”.
3. Offer the child a breast — this is both comfort and quenching of thirst.
4. You can warm the baby’s tummy with a warm diaper. Heat the diaper with the iron and apply it to the baby’s belly. This is a great way to get rid of hiccups and colic.
5. Prepare a decoction of chamomile. To remove the diaphragm spasm, you need to drop a few drops of chamomile decoction to the child under the tongue. This will help get rid of hiccups and calm the baby.
6. Sometimes, in order to rid the child of hiccups, it is enough just to distract him. Sing a song to him, talk to him. The lingering notes make the baby listen.
7. Drink the child with a spoon of clean water. Sometimes it helps to cope with hiccups.
8. Another great way to cope with lingering hiccups is a warm bath. Type in a bath of water, lower the child there so that his chest and tummy are immersed in warm water. A light massage and warmth will help relieve spasm of the diaphragm.

These simple rules will help you stop hiccups in a newborn. However, you should not worry about the situation, the hiccups disappear in 15-40 minutes. This is a common occurrence in newborns. However, in order for the hiccups to appear as little as possible, some preventive measures must be followed.

What to do so that the child does not hiccup

First of all, wear a child for the weather. It is very important to maintain a balance here, because overheating is just as dangerous for a baby as hypothermia. Touch the child's limbs - if you overcool it, its legs, arms, and also the nose and cheeks will be cold. And if the child is hot - the back and neck sweat first of all - do not let that happen.

When feeding, make sure that the baby is well gripped nipple along with the areola. Feed your baby in a half-sitting position. Feeding a baby while lying down often provokes the appearance of hiccups and regurgitation. If the baby is feeding on the mixture, it may be necessary to change the nipple of the bottle to another, with a smaller hole, so that the child has time to swallow the mixture and not enough air.

Sometimes the cause of frequent hiccups can be a pacifier. The child gets used to it and when capturing the breast can not change the bite. This provokes air into the stomach, which leads to hiccups. It may be worth giving up the pacifier.

It often happens that the children of the "hurry-up" are very hungry, they eat very quickly, swallowing milk with air. This should not be allowed. Do not wait until the child gets very hungry, feed him every 2-3 hours or on demand. If the baby is in a hurry to eat, after a minute of feeding, interrupt food intake and hold it in a “pillar” so that the air that has already come in will come out with a belch. And only after that continue feeding. This will help protect your baby not only from hiccups, but also from colic.

If a child has a hiccup because of fright, try to stabilize the situation in the family. Protect your baby from harsh sounds and flashes of light, do not turn on the music loudly. Sometimes older brothers and sisters play with a newborn baby and playfully scare him. What may seem like a fun hobby to an older child is a frightening unknown to a kid.Therefore, it is worth explaining to the older child that the baby has not yet grown to this kind of games.

Hiccups are normal for most babies. She does not require treatment and there is no medicine for her. You just need to wait out this difficult period when the baby's digestive tract will form and get stronger. And then nothing can ruin his cheerful, carefree mood.

Video: how to get rid of hiccups in a child